I earned a BFA degree from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and an MFA from Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles.
I have been a painter for several years since I was diagnosed with a retinal degenerative disease and became legally blind. I questioned my ability to continue painting and slowly transformed my thinking and techniques to incorporate my physical limitations as an integral part of my work.
My color palette has grown stronger as my sight diminishes. I create original stencils which form icons and symbols as imagery because I can no longer draw freehand. I use text as a “weaving of words,” to create a complex image where viewers are invited to create their own poetry. I am now inspired less by what I see and more by what I hear, remember, and imagine.
Exhibits include: Holter Museum, Helena; The Downtown Art Center Gallery and Gallery 825, Los Angeles; the Luggage Store Gallery and City Hall Gallery, San Francisco; Arts & literature Lab, New Haven; Art Around Gallery, Philadelphia; and the Terrace Gallery, Washington, D.C.
I currently teach in the Department of Visual Art & Design at Columbia College Hollywood, a film school in Tarzana, California.
To see more of Barbara’s work, visit www.barbararomain.com.
