Bob Barker
It was on Xmas morning, when I was 12 years old, that my mum gave me one of the greatest presents I've ever received - an oil painting set. That was the start and I've been painting since then. I was instantly charmed by what could possibly be achieved with a brush, some oil paint and a few tiny squares of hardboard ; I used to color on the reverse side because I presumed it seemed like correct canvas. My mummy was a weaver in a mill not very far from my college and when my day there stopped, I used to stroll to the mill and wait for her to finish work. I loved the hint of the looms and conversed with everyone in the spinning sheds, the burling and fixing room, the winders and tuners, with my granny who was the 'cha ' woman there. Here's where my love of tea comes from in addition to the pictures I now paint. With no formal coaching I've enjoyed painting in numerous alternative styles and with many subjects, developing and polishing my methods of brush and palette knife.
Though I'm Yorkshire born and bred, during my youth I spent a short while in Cornwall.
There I met 2 distinguished artists ( Keith English & Tom Gower ) and spent innumerable hours watching them paint.
Talks with them made me believe I might be a pro artist. Nonetheless as life goes on, wedding to my wonderful other half, mortgage to whoever was the least expensive, and youngsters who I would not be without, meant that painting stayed as a spare time interest. I ran my very own business in video and new media production for over twenty years and this took me round the country and abroad, filming for many clients and running workshops teaching junior school and A-level scholars the art of video making. My daughter-in-law now runs the company and this has released me to reach my lifetime dream about being a working artist. In 2k, I started selling my paintings to local studios and thru them my work went nation-wide. My older bro Colin ever-so-nicely, yet doggedly, forced CD's featuring my pictures on to several fine art publishers. This made a good interest in my work.