About Me

I am a meandering soul. I feel as though I've lived several lifetimes within this one. My current incarnation is Artist. 

I returned to school to study art, later in life, completing nine semesters of drawing and painting classes at the local community college. My goal was to "learn to see".  I was eager to paint everything. These works culminated in a 2019 solo exhibit at the Ludington Area Center for the Arts, called "Short Stories from the Heart: Spaces, Places, Memories and Dreams".

These works offer glimpses of everyday life with an intimacy I call emotion of the ordinary.  The beauty of old buildings, views of the open road, glimpses of nature, tender human moments and excursions into the absurd all fascinate me. 

Subsequently, I became less interested in painting things, as images emerged from within. These conjurings seek expression. I often don't know what I am about to paint until it begins taking form. The process of intuitive mark making requires me to be fully present to the journey. My most recent past career, twenty years as a therapist, provided me with a great deal of raw emotional material to draw from. 

I mostly work in acrylic paints and inks. I like to experiment with texture. Cohesiveness is not a priority for me. I am the cohesion.

Some of my works have two paintings underneath them, so they are a real bargain. I usually have photographs of the underneath works. I lean more towards a impressionist/expressionist style, but I do not limit myself. 

In the summer I engage with a local Plein Aire group. I enjoy the challenge of completing a work in situ. No apologies. No excuses. 

I enjoy curating shows as well. This taps into another past chapter of corporate customer presentations . It began with my first solo show, mentioned above, in August 2019. I curated "Ruth Bloom's Weed Haven Whimsey" at LACA in March 2022. It was a solo show for nonogenarian poet and artist, Ruth Bloom Dimmitt. It integrated her poetry with her art work, a performance piece and QR code links to her reciting her works. It included self publishing a book of her poetry, by the same name,  I curated and co-juried "Celebrating the Sacred Feminine", March 2023 at LACA. This is an International Call for Art featuring works from 48 artists in 23 states plus Canada. 

When I am not painting, you'll find me tending my 80 acre nature space, or hosting drum circles and other gatherings. 

This website is a sampling of the many excursions I've taken. I welcome you to explore and see if anything resonates with you.  Most of these are available as prints, and the originals may also be available. Contact me if you are interested in more information. 

Barbara Forgue