Barbara Macfarlane: from Landscapes to Cityscapes

Barbara Macfarlane is a British artist that attended Exeter School of Art in England. After graduating she travelled in India, where she became the co-founder of Khadi Papers, a company that makes handmade paper for artists. She is represented by Rebecca Hossack Gallery and she is a volunteer in the community based Partners in Art scheme at Chichester’s Pallant House Gallery.

Origins and Inspirations

She has a strong bond with nature, in fact she started her career as a landscape painter, drawing with a small set of watercolors “sitting on edges and hill tops in wild and windy places” as she says. In 2012 the artist began to experiment adopting and aerial perspective to create series of cityscapes.

Grassland , Northern Territoryby Barbara Macfarlane — Grassland , Northern Territory

Her interest in this new aerial perspective originates from the study of a map of London made by Edward Weller in the 18th century. From this inspiration the artist creates the series Red London.

Edward Weller's map of central London 1860 — Edward Weller’s map of central London 1860

London, Paris and Manhattan

The artist’s first series are studies about London, Paris and Manhattan. A fitting description of the artist’s works is made by the author Matthew Sturgis: “Manhattan was reduced to a grid of pigmented blocks, disrupted only by the raw diagonal of Broadway scratched across the surface of the paper. London was condensed to a casket of jewelled shards. Paris was defined by the broad sweep of the island-dotted Seine.”

The fact that she is the co-founder of a handmade paper’s company isn’t irrelevant, the type of paper she uses has a leading role in her creations.

Red and Blue London
Ink and oil on Khadi paperby Barbara Macfarlane — Red and Blue London
Ink and oil on Khadi paper

Magenta,Gold,Violet London.
Image size 95 x 135 cm ink and oil on Khadi handmade paperby Barbara Macfarlane — Magenta,Gold,Violet London.
ink and oil on Khadi handmade paper

“You make your own language with the map that you create”
Barbara Macfarlane

Paris Teal, Cobalt, Orange
ink and oil on Khadi paper barbara macfarlane — Paris Teal, Cobalt, Orange
ink and oil on Khadi paper

Tangerine Manhattan
ink and oil on Khadi paper Barbara macfarlana — Tangerine Manhattan
ink and oil on Khadi paper

Venice, Hong Kong and San Francisco

She then continued to experiment with the creation of maps of Venice, Hong Kong and San Francisco. But as the artist says his creative process remained unchanged:

“My method of working has always remained the same. First I draw with ink using a stick. This gives the painting energy as the marks are drawn fast and the type of mark cannot be totally controlled. The ink lines cannot be changed once they are drawn… I use a limited number of colors, sometimes only two or three in each painting. I see my paintings as minimal statements, which represent elements that I want to record. When I’m painting, I’m free.”

Pink Stone Venice by Barbara Macfarlane

Ink and oil on handmade paper — Pink Stone Venice
Ink and oil on handmade paper

Hong Kong Island. Gold, Cadmium Red
Ink and oil on Khadi paper by Barbara Macfarlane — Hong Kong Island. Gold, Cadmium Red
Ink and oil on Khadi paper

San Francisco Orange Pink
ink and oil on Khadi Paper by Barbara Macfarlane — San Francisco Orange Pink
ink and oil on Khadi Paper

References

Featured image Manhattan detail