Barbara Gould Watts

Contact the artist:
Bgwatts123@cs.com

A native of New York, she received a BFA from Pratt Institute, has attended the Cooper Union School of Arts, National Academy of Design, the Art Students League, and has studied privately with watercolorists Burton Silverman, Wayne Thiebaud, Irvin Greenberg, Edgar Whitney, and John Pike. She now lives in central New Jersey, and has a studio surrounded by flowers and horses in Hunterdon County. She has received numerous awards in juried exhibitions in the tri-state area, including American Watercolor Society Gold Medal of Honor, National Arts Club, Phillips Mill Annual, New Jersey and Garden State Watercolor Societies, and the Coryell Gallery in Lambertville. She has had several solo exhibits, has taught watercolor classes, and her extensive travel has been reflected in the subjects painted.

Artist Statement:
The medium of watercolor is dominant in my work. I choose a subject (landscape, portrait, or still life) because of its color, shape, or emotional attraction–a start-off point for my strong interest in design and structure. I prefer painting directly on my paper from life because the energy I feel while looking at what is in front of me can be seen in the spontaneous, free form brushstrokes. I see a color I like, I see a shape I like, and immediately record it. When I travel, I record what I see in a sketchbook and also take photographs from all angles. From these I design paintings in my studio. Although the subject itself is recognizable, I strive to engage the observer through color, the application of paint, and its abstract quality.

“Trying to balance abstraction and realism, she seeks abstract possibilities in recognizable images. Drawn to operatic staging, she tries to instill a plane of mystery through contrasts of lighting and color.”
– Peggy Lewis, ABC Gallery.
“Her watercolors evoke vibrancy in her use of color, and the abstract forms provide an interesting treatment of flowers and other subjects.”
– New Hope Gazette.