My work expresses personal observations and perceptions about nature and human relationships. My reactions to nature and concerns about our environment translate into my artwork. Questions I have about human interactions and how our actions affect one another and nature motivate me as a visual artist.
Writing about my ideas is the beginning step. I make a word list associated with my initial question, reaction, or observation. This stream of conscious word exploration encourages me to record my perceptions and to expand my ideas into visual images, and I think it invites others to find their own meaning in the work.
I often combine drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, hand-made or found objects and text to create images that I hope connect and communicate with other people. Images range from minimal lines on quiet, contrasting backgrounds to multi-layered mixed media compositions. My focus includes painting, drawing, printmaking: lithography, intaglio, monotypes and mixed media archival digital prints.
In 2012, I became a member of THE ARTIST PRINTMAKER/ PHOTOGRAPHER RESEARCH COLLECTION (AP/RC) Art Division of The Museum of Art at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, where my work and research materials are archived. www.artistprintmakerresearchcollection.org
My work has exhibited nationally and internationally in solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions and is included in permanent and private collections in the United States, Australia, and Malaysia. After earning an MFA in studio art from West Texas A&M University in 2006, I opened my studio and gallery Barbara Payne Ward-Bois D' Arc Press in Amarillo, Texas. I also taught drawing, elements of 2-d design and English at WTAMU.
In 2015, I moved to Willow Park, Texas, where I now have my studio Barbara Payne Williams Studio. Since 2015, I sign my artwork as Barbara Payne Williams. Prior to 2015, I signed my work as Barbara Payne, Barbara Payne Ward or Barbara P. Ward. www.barbarapaynewilliams.com