Josie Barrow’s Journey into Colorful Creativity at Orcas Center

Friday September 5 reception at 5:30., Orcas Center

— from Josie Barrow —

Josie Barrow

The Orcas Center Lobby Gallery will show the art of Josie Barrow during the month of September. The exhibit will be partially a retrospective show, beginning with 3 pieces from her high school days, and then fast- forwarding to when she retired to Orcas Island and began painting in watercolor, then later in pastel, and more recently in oil.

Over the years Josie has been inspired by the beauty around her, but rarely paints things just as they are. She prefers to use her imagination and her sense of color and design to create something a little different, and leave some things up to the imagination of the viewer.

Josie majored in Art and Fashion Design at the University of Washington, which may be why color and design are so important to her. She often prefers to change colors, and design her own color combinations. She believes that each artist’s work should be unique.

A few of the earlier watercolor paintings in the show are from art workshops in Greece and France conducted by Caroline Buchanan, local artist and teacher, and attended by other Orcas painters. Josie often paints in a series of paintings and some of these are represented in the show. Among them are “Flowers in Glass Jars,” “Pears,” “Legs with Shadows,” and more recently “Clouds.”

The artist says “I feel blessed to be able to live and paint in this beautiful corner of God’s creation, and I choose to return a large portion of the sales of my paintings to community and child centered charities.

The exhibit opens Friday September 5th with a reception at 5:30. There will be art by other local artists in the Moran Room, and as usual there will be beverages and goodies.