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Greg Barnes
Greg Barnes began painting full time in 2002, taking a leap of faith following the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Feeling that “life is short”, he finally took his Fine Arts degree from Wake Forest University to heart. Barnes became attached to soft pastels through his love of drawing and doing portraits when he first began to make a living as an artist. Soon he discovered plein air landscape painting to be his greatest joy, so he pursued that further. To jump start his career, Barnes took pastel and oil painting workshops with nationally recognized instructors Albert Handell and Scott Christensen.
While selling at art festivals, Barnes received requests from potential students to teach them what he knew. He then began teaching his own pastel workshops. Now he divides his time between plein air painting, selling work at outdoor art festivals, and teaching. His work has received numerous awards and is collected throughout the US and beyond.
Barnes enjoys painting on location, and as a result of working quickly, leans toward impressionism. A mix of realistic and impressionistic elements give his pieces a life of their own, while a free and creative use of color punctuates his style.
A note from Greg about soft pastels and their longevity:
The biggest concern I hear from art buyers who haven’t purchased pastels before – how long will a pastel painting last? For some reason, pastel paintings have a reputation for being delicate little flowers that wither away with time.
It’s been proven, however, that because the pastels are created with a simple combination of pigment and binder, their colors remain brilliant and last just as long oil paintings, if not longer. If you were to set a 200 year old oil painting next to a 200 year old pastel painting, you would see that pastel do indeed retain their color. For added conservation, I work on an acid-free sandpaper surface.
To keep your pastel painting in good condition, it must be framed under glass. I use a museum-grade non-reflective glass with 70% UV protection.
Awards/Recognition:
-May 2021 – Best in Show and Artist’s Choice Winner, Plein Air New Bern
-Mar 2020 - 1st place: drawing category- Under the Oaks Art Festival, Vero Beach FL
-Feb 2020 - UCI Institute & Museum for California Art award- Maui Plein Air invitational
-2018 Under the Oaks, Vero Beach FL, 1st place in drawing category
-2018Art in the Square, Southlake TX, Exceptional artist award
-2017-2020 participant in Maui Plein Air Invitational, Hawaii
-Summers 2016-present Studio & plein air Instructor - Wildacres, Little Switzerland NC
-2009-2015 Participant in Forgotten Coast Paint out, Apalachicola FL
-2006-2014 Participant in Telluride and Aspen plein air paint outs, Colorado.
Memberships:
Plein Air Painters of the Southeast (PAP-SE)