SUMMER SCHOOL AT THE NOVA SCOTIA COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN  1998

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About Barbara bickle

Barbara is from Toronto, Ontario and moved to Halifax in 1980 to attend the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), where she majored in painting and art history. She has been active as a practising and exhibiting artist since graduating.

An interest in portraiture began early as a five-year-old posing on a ping pong table for an amateur painter and became the focus of her art-making in 2016.

Portraits are of people in spontaneous moments in familiar settings, as illustrated in I'd Rather Be Painting and Portrait at Noon. As each painting progresses, she adds realistic details unique to the sitter, providing insights into the sitter's personality.

Some portraits take a more intuitive, impressionistic or playful approach, with few details from the photographed setting. 

In My Imaginary Studio, Barbara posed David Hockney, the most influential British artist of the 20th century, in the centre of her studio. Behind him is a wall with images of artists who have influenced her, such as Henri Matisse, Picasso, and Edward Hopper.

Barbara loves the engagement of balancing strokes, texture, and colour in expressive compositions to create distinctive portraits. One of the rewards upon completion is the sitter’s response, which is often entertaining, insightful and surprising, from 'That is not me, but it is a nice interpretation' to 'Oh, it's my mother!' to 'You forgot my pearls!'

Portrait Exhibition: bicklecreative.com/blog

Member:
Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia
The Antiquarian Club of Halifax
The Friends of the Public Gardens