Barbara Bailey-Porter

Barbara Bailey-Porter is a Northern California-based artist and lifelong oil painter who holds a master’s degree in fine art from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.She focused on landscape, still life, portraits and figures in her earlier career. Barbara gained renown for her plein air landscape painting, depicting areas near her hometown of Santa Cruz, CA and areas of the southwest.

Significant life changes brought about a transformation in Barbara’s artistic direction.She embarked on an exploration of painting techniques that go beyond traditional subject matter; her current body of work is abstract and non-objective. She paints spontaneously, layering shapes of vibrant transparent and opaque colors, using only the memory of thoughts and ideas from past experiences as inspiration. Her skills and knowledge acquired by years of painting in a realistic vein are now employed in an expressive new direction.

In addition to maintaining a full-time working studio, Barbara is actively involved in sharing her knowledge and passion for painting. She served as a painting instructor at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and at Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA.She also teaches through the Santa Cruz Art League and privately through her studio.