Greg Barton

I am an artist. I PAint with my fingers.

A while back I was wandering through an art show in my hometown of Austin, Texas and spotted an artist wielding what looked like big fat sticks of oil paint. The artist would then use a palette knife to carve into each stick, stealing a chunk of color to smear on the canvas. It didn’t seem very scientific really—no precision to how big a chunk of blue, or green or grey. She’d just pick up each stick, eye the color, and create art.

I’m not quite sure why, but I was struck. That medium became my inspiration — but with a not-so-slight adjustment. My family teases that I finger paint. You see I don’t fiddle with a palette knife or brush. I apply the paint on canvas with my hands. With my stubby fingers. Sure, I may dab with a rag, or scrape and forge with a fingernail, but nothing too perfect, too polished. Okay, maybe I’d go with “advanced-finger painting.”

There are some who say an artist needs a muse. All I can tell you is that I truly enjoy spending time in the summer on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The light. The air. The colors of the sea. I love to take pictures as we wander a beach, a cranberry bog, or look at decades old homes aged by the salt air. Those photos become reference for future paintings.

The subject matter of the Cape may not be completely appreciated however to those in the sweltering heat of a Texas summer. After all, I do spend 49 or so weeks out of the year as a proud Texan. So, I started to explore other subjects. The Texas landscape is big. There is plenty to work with here! The big sky itself is quite a picture! People are attracted to clouds. I love clouds and love to paint them.

People have always said that I should be an artist. They say 'they wish they could draw as well.' They say I have 'God-given talent.' As an award-winning art director and graphic designer, I have been drawing or coloring most of my life, so I am of the mind to accept it. I am an artist. And I hope you enjoy my work.

Head shot: Kirk Tuck, kirktuck.com