I've just received some fabulous news from two unexpected places -- Nacogdoches, Texas and Coos Bay, Oregon -- and couldn't resist sharing it. Two of my paintings were accepted into the Texas National Juried Exhibition (in Nacogdoches, TX), and Dave Hickey, the juror, selected "Portrait of a Romance" for the Second Place cash award.   And two paintings were selected by the juror, Douglas Russell, for Expressions West 2012, a juried exhibition at the Coos Art Museum in Oregon.  He awarded the third place cash award to "Some San Francisco Ballerinas." I'm a very happy artist!

I heard today about a Martha Graham quote that was posted on the wall in a ballet studio. It is this: "Discipline is liberation."

This strikes such a profound chord with me. People often say to me, "You are SOOOO disciplined!" when talking about the long hours I spend in the studio painting. And I always answer, "It's not discipline, it is passion." And that's what the "discipline" of showing up at the easel, or the ballet barre, or the writing desk is for artists. We show up, no matter how we feel that day, knowing that the "discipline" of being there will transform and lead us eventually to the truth and beauty we are seeking.

Southwest Art Magazine has just announced the winners of their Artistic Excellence Competition -- and my painting, "Portrait of a Social Columnist" was one of thirteen winners -- and I am featured along with the other winners in the December issue. Who says that 13 is unlucky? My contemporary still-life paintings (actually, a fusion of portraiture and still life, which I call portraits in absentia) aren't precisely southwestern, but it seem to me that the definition of southwestern art has changed -- it doesn't have to be cowboys and wildlife and western landscapes anymore -- it can be anything that is beautiful and tells a truthful story. Here's a link to the article and interview, if you care to take a dip!

"http://www.southwestart.com/articles-interviews/emerging-artists/artistic-excellence-barlow-dec2011"

This week I had the pleasure (and luck!) of being one of the featured artists on a Margy Boyd Art Tour. Margy is a beloved Bay-Area institution who leads groups of art collectors/lovers on tours of artist's studios and homes. Margy brought 31 of her bright, incredibly curious art mavens to our home -- where I was able to hold them captive for an hour and show them six of my newest paintings. Talking about my work in front of 31 VERY knowledgeable art lovers was intoxicating and exhilarating -- what artist doesn't love being asked about her inspiration and process?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHANNES VERMEER! People often ask me who my favorite artist is, and I always pause. It feels like a trick question -- do I REALLY have to choose? Why? But one artist who makes me weak in the knees when I have the good fortune to see one of his paintings is Vermeer. His feel for light and the palpable sense of a moment in time that he imparts -- it takes my breath away. I only wish there were more Vermeers in this world and that I could spend time with each and every one of them.

I read this quote from Thoreau early this morning, while drinking my tea and watching the sun begin to rise over San Francisco Bay. It's a call to the power of the "dawn" inside each one of us.

"Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me....We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few object beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look.....To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." Thoreau, Walden

My painting "Portrait of a Marriage" was selected to be part of Berkeley Art Center's Annual Juried Exhibition. The exhibition is called "California" and my painting depicts the marriage of my friends Jake Heggie and Curt Branom (below). It is part of my new series called "In Their Shoes," in which I am exploring the idea of shoes as both intimate objects and cultural artifacts. You can discover a lot about someone by their shoes!

The exhibition runs from August 20 - October 2, 2011 at the Berkeley Art Center.