Barbara Reade - A Very Colourful Alibi - Acrylic on canvas

Barbara Reade (@bdreade_art) completed her BFA in Illustration at Parsons School of Design in New York City. Her artistic career has come full circle after many rewarding years in education and as a retail business owner. Barbara paints out of her light-filled studio in downtown Burlington that she shares with her two studio cats, Forrest and Jenny. Barbara's paintings appear in private collections throughout North America.

"As an abstract artist, my work is an exploration of energy and the intangible connections that shape our human experience. I am drawn to the interplay of colour, texture, and form to create pieces that evoke a sense of energy and movement. Every painting is an instinctual response to a thought or feeling, evolving through layers of experimentation and discovery.

I work with acrylic and mixed media, allowing for complete freedom in my process. Inspired by nature, music, and the rhythms of daily life, I aim to capture fleeting moments of recognition and introspection. Each piece is a dialogue between intention and spontaneity – a balance of control and surrender. I begin every painting with play and a willingness to let the painting develop organically. Never knowing where a piece is headed keeps my studio practice fresh, unpredictable and dynamic. A painting is complete when there is just the right balance between wildness and precision.

Recent work has focused on creating a series of floral-inspired paintings. This collection is more about what flowers feel like to me, rather than a literal representation. These paintings are an explosion of colour, petal shapes, meandering lines, and abstracted backgrounds that suggest all things garden, summery and fragrant

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Acrylic on canvas