Barbara Kelley was born to a couple who moved to the United States territory of Alaska in the mid-1940's, built a log cabin by hand and began a family. The firstborn slept in the top drawer of the dresser ~ a rather unique bassinet. It started with that small cabin, with one light, and for the first year, no indoor water. When the water eventually came to the kitchen it was the winter that the ground and waterline froze. Her dad raised the wooden floor in a closet and dug a well for indoor water. From 1946 through the mid-60’s the family grew and eventually were an even dozen. The pioneer spirit is an integral part of her creative process.
Based on a conceptual suite, she usually works on several pieces simultaneously. They create a familial dialogue, each exchanging information, playing off the other, and dancing in harmony. Barbara’s works, which include Encaustic, Oil, and Mixed-Media Paintings, Monoprints, Monotypes, Drypoint Engravings, and Linocuts, incorporate (and recycle) found objects. Abstracted evocative landscapes have been a recurring theme in Barbara’s prints and paintings. What emerges is the quiet observance of nature and mental pictures of distant journeys in past times. They are a visual autobiography.
Barbara Kelley’s works are in collections in Australia, Canada, and Europe and throughout the United States and are exhibited in galleries, museums, and corporate gallery spaces.