Beth L Barry

Year of birth: 1955.
Where do you live: NYC.
Your education:
MPS Art Therapy, Pratt Institute, New York, NY.
BA Studio Art & Child Development, Connecticut College, New London, CT.
Describe your art in three words: Organic, playful, gestural.
Your discipline: Painting.
Website | Instagram

Can you tell us more about how your background in art therapy influences your work as a landscape artist?

As an art therapist, I understand the therapeutic value of making art. The creative process is curative in itself. While there is no direct influence for me between being a therapist and a landscape artist, the beauty of nature and the capturing of emotional impact is both therapeutic and uplifting.

Your paintings often explore the emotional resonance of nature. How do you choose which landscapes to represent, and what feeling do you aim to evoke in the viewer?

The landscapes I chose are a combination of what I have literally seen, filtered through what I feel when I experience nature. There is no specific feeling I am hoping that the viewer experiences. It’s about the emotion itself and what the viewer brings to the experience.

Beth Barry | Salmon Run | 2024

You mention the importance of gestural lines in your creative process. Can you explain how this starting point shapes the final composition?

My paintings all start with a gestural line. The gesture usually has some mass, creating the beginning of visual tension. That tension grounds the composition as the painting evolves.

Color plays a crucial role in your work. How do you approach your color choices, and what emotions are you trying to communicate through them?

The colors I paint with are emotional choices. I use buoyant lively color choices to convey positivity. My finished paintings are places of pleasure, primarily achieved through the color.

Beth Barry | Pop Stand | 2024

What challenges do you face when trying to express the “feeling” of nature in your paintings rather than focusing on its literal representation?

There are no challenges. The feeling is conveyed through light, movement and color.

You’ve exhibited in various locations, including international venues. How does the place or context of an exhibition influence the way you present your work?

The venues I show in certainly influence what I decide to exhibit. If I am showing in a coastal area, I will show work that is reminiscent of seascapes. That said, I mainly decide what to show based on the cohesion between the paintings, in addition to what the curator is asking for.

Barry Beth | Off Center | 2024

As a psychotherapist, do you find that your understanding of human emotions deepens your ability to capture them in your artwork?

Not exactly, but both as a psychotherapist and as a painter, I understand the value of conversation and connection. With a patient, the space created between us facilitates connection. With a canvas, the mark-making facilitates conversation with an audience.