Barbara Peterson Crislip was a war-baby born in California, but raised in Minnesota. She is the daughter of a doctor and nurse and the oldest of eight high-achievers.
In high school, she tested very high in Artistic and Mechanical aptitude, but instead elected to study science. No time for electives . . . her path led her to becoming a Clinical Laboratory Scientist.
Now retired, Barbara enjoys spending time with her daughter and her grandchildren.
Barbara feels that she has had a most fortunate life . . . I’ve been fortunate to have lived what has seemed to me to be quite an interesting life, some ups and downs of course, a few regrets, some wishes not yet fulfilled, and many spectacular moments, but all in all, no major complaints.
Barbara is mostly self-taught, but for the last several years she has taken workshops and classes from Rick Surowicz, Angela Grainger, and Mary Marquiss.
Artist's Statement:
As
a relatively new and
learning watercolor artist, retirement has afforded me
the time and means to explore a decades-long desire to create beauty.
Although I am strongly left brained, I always felt a spark of creativity
deep inside, patiently
waiting for the right time to bloom. I’ve been encouraged by those who
have reminded me that it is never too late to start a new adventure.
I have been fortunate to be able to live and travel to some
magnificent areas of the world, filled with nature’s brilliance. I have found
that, as valuable as photographs have been, there is something more expressive
in capturing the inherent essence of the subject with flowing colors, hinting
at the beauty within. I am partial to macroscopic floral depictions, but
constantly try to not be drawn into too much detail. I believe the observer has
a major part to play in the full appreciation of color and form.
