"On the Run" by Eric Barth
Sidetracked from Abstract
Landscape painter Eric Barth still likes to “keep one foot” in abstraction
There wasn’t a specific moment that helped Eric Barth realize he wanted to be an artist. In fact, he doesn’t think he had much of a say in the matter.
“I don’t think anyone really wants to be an artist,” says Barth. “It’s not a choice.”
The now 49-year-old Barth studied industrial design at The Ohio State University. There, he took drawing classes and connected with a professor who put him on his current career path.
“He gave me the motivation I needed to be an artist,” Barth says.
He ended up graduating with a bachelor’s degree in painting.
Early in his career, Barth was an abstract painter. He looked up to fellow abstract artists Mark Rothko and Philip Guston. But, as time went on, Barth found himself drawn to American landscape paintings.
"Melting Away" by Eric Barth
Sidetracked from Abstract
He’s used the same medium for the past 20 years. Along with oils and soft pastels, Barth combines chalks with colored pencils and scrapes into paintings to reveal the work’s layers.
“Abstract turned to landscape,” Barth says. “I still try to keep one foot in the abstract world.”
Look through Barth’s portfolio, and one will find plenty of winter landscapes. But Barth confesses he hates the season he finds himself painting the most.
“I love winter landscapes, but I hate winter,” Barth says. “If I could live somewhere where it is 90 degrees every day, I would.”
A winter landscape, Barth says, introduces welcome challenges.
“There’s minimal color – a lot of it is black and white,” Barth says. “I love that challenge … of getting that cold weather to come through (a painting).”
"The Pull of Memory" by Eric Barth
Sidetracked from Abstract
So how does Barth make his landscape paintings stand out from all the others?
“I don’t know if I do,” Barth says. “But part of it is the medium I use. It is one a lot of painters use, but I use my fingers – blending stumps, using my hands, walking that line between abstract all at the same time. The landscape is still there, just in an abstract world.”
The largest piece Barth’s ever completed, The Clouded Sun, is 42” by 49”. It also took him the longest to finish – about four years, he thinks.
“It took a lot of physical energy to keep up with the consistency (of a larger scale work),” Barth says.
There’s no telling what will help Barth get in the right headspace for creating. Usually, music does the trick. Bob Dylan and Superchunk records often make up his personal soundtrack. Lately, he’s also taken a liking to Nick Cave and Cheap Trick.
“You can spend hours in the studio and nothing will happen,” Barth says. “Usually, there’s music or a Cleveland Indians game playing. There’s also a drum set in the studio. I wish I knew how to make it so that the setting is right all the time. There’s no solution to having the right atmosphere. Sometimes, it’s just a frame of mind.”
Photo courtesy of Eric Barth
Sidetracked from Abstract
Barth, a self-described “mid-career artist,” says he doesn’t know where his profession will take him next. Younger artists, he says, don’t have much to lose. Those with established careers are always looking for ways to stay relevant.
It’s not something he’s too concerned with, though.
“If you keep doing whatever you’re doing, (your work) will develop itself,” he says, adding he can’t even venture a guess on what the future has in store. “All I know is that I will stick to making paintings.”
Locally, Barth is represented by Keny Galleries, and his work is often on display there.
Hannah Bealer is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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