Thriving in Place: Kathy Barnhart_Covid Blues

8 x 8", printed on metal with a matte finish.

Artist Statement

I created this work sometime in July of 2020 during the pandemic. All the time at home led me to video tutorials and trying some new Photoshop skills. This is a composite photo, using images of weeds to create brushes in Photoshop, then applied onto a blue background at different opacities. The little dots are a visible reminder that Covid germs flit about us, contained in aerosols and droplets and spreading widely. And yes, sheltering in place has resulted in some blues, worse on some days than on others.

Artist Bio

Photography as a passion evolved from her lifelong love of nature. Kathy was born and raised in the Bay Area and early in her life her parents instilled in her a love of wildflowers, trees, birds, camping, and the California landscape. She loves the process of being outdoors, noticing and capturing the beauty of a particular time and place. Later at home with her computer she enjoys the image again and artistically refines her memory of what she saw and the mood it conveyed. She is more concerned with the artistic rendering of the subject than documenting in a journalistic way.

It has been in the last several years after retirement from her work as a helping professional that she has developed her passion for photography and her skills at post processing. Kathy has taken photo workshops but is mostly self-taught. Since 2010, she has more time to pursue photography.

The origin of the quote below is unknown, though it is believed to come from a Cumberland headstone. It reflect her feelings about nature photography:

            The wonder of the world,

            The beauty and the power:

            The shapes of things,

            Their colours, lights and shades.

            These I saw

            Look ye also while life lasts.