Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers
Jo Barry was born in Kent where she studied art at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design. After teaching for a few years at Byam Shaw School of Art, she gave up teaching in 1981 to concentrate full time on her own work. Jo’s talents led her to etching as her principal means of artistic expression, although she also is proficient and talented at watercolors and pencil drawings.
Jo enjoys a considerable reputation in the art world and now ranks as one of the finest living etchers. Her skill led her to election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter Printmakers.
Jo’s studio is at her home in the New Forest, Ringwood, where she lives with her husband and son as well as five cocker spaniels, sheep, chickens, ducks, and countless doves. Her environment provides Jo with a great deal of the inspiration for her work, which depicts nature and her beloved English countryside.
Jo’s work is on display in many galleries throughout the UK and at carmen’s gallery on Solomons Island, Maryland in the US, where she will had a major exhibition in November, 2006.
In Jo’s words prior to her November visit……
“This will be my third visit to Carmen’s for a show. But it will be the first time without my family and with the Tiki Bar closed. This time will be very different!
I hope to be talking a bit about my work and how I do it. Etchers all work differently. We struggle to get the medium to do the things we want to produce and most of us are self taught to a certain extent. Whenever a group of etchers gather together you will always hear them asking, “How did you do this?” or “How did you get that effect?” Fortunately, etchers are also mostly generous and nice people so you won’t often hear someone claiming trade secrets.
I have been etching for twenty eight years now and painting for longer than that. I still love it, still find it exciting, have no plans to retire. Where we live now, in the south west corner of the New Forest, is a blissful spot and I am surrounded by thousands of acres of my favourite countryside. Our house has a little land including an orchard, a stream, a field and a paddock with more trees than I can count. The white doves that appear in some of the images have been lured here and are now breeding in the dove-cote and (to my husband’s disgust) in the stables. There are now so many of them and they are moulting and there is a fine layer of white feathers over everything. But they are very beautiful and lovely to have around.
We also have ducks and chickens. We used to have a horse but now we have sheep instead and of course we have dogs. We are down to five at the moment, but they keep me fit and get me out onto the Forest every day. The New Forest is a magical place, very ancient, with large areas of bog, a lot of open heathland and some wooded areas. It is a constant inspiration as it never seems the same two days running, the weather or the light is always changing and it is as beautiful if not more so, in the winter than it is in the summer.
I produce between 10 and 12 etchings per year and these I send out to a number of galleries throughout the UK and of course, to Carmen. I am quite slow in producing watercolours which is why it is so long since I was last in Maryland. I am a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition which is always a good boost for my mailing list. Being an artist is a great way to meet people.”
Below are some examples of Jo Barry's original aquatint etching and watercolors. Enjoy!
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| "Now Spring Restores the Balmy" | "Golden Woods" - etching | "Heaven is all around us" - etching |
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| "I remember lazy days" - etching | "Shadows of Summer" - etching | "Mood Indigo" - etching |
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| "Quiet Hours" - etching | "Paint the Meadows with Delight" - etching | "Reflections of a Winter Light" - etching |
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| "Set Aside" - etching | "Pattern of Blues" - etching | "Snow on Snow" - etching |
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| "The Edge of the Forest" - etching | "That Flowers would Bloom" - etching | "The June Garden" - etching |
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| "The Kindling of the Light" - etching | "The Picket Fence" - etching | "Thoughts of Greener Pastures" - etching |
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| "Through Cold Woods" - etching | "Turning Point" - etching | "Untrodden Paths" - etching |
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| "White Doves of Morning" - etching | "Water Meadows" - etching | "With Roses Overgrown" - etching |
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| "Blue Flowers" - original watercolor (sold) | "Native Ponies" - original watercolor | "Poor Grazing" - original watercolor |
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These are just 5 examples of Jo Barry's delicate watercolors. Please visit carmen's gallery in Solomons to see her other paintings. |
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| "Daisies" - original watercolor | New Jo Barry original watercolor | |