Watching, 13×13, watercolor by Barbara Zuehlke
On First Friday, March 3rd, and throughout the month of March, The Artists’ Gallery will feature “Shore Inspirations” by Barbara Zuehlke. Barbara moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland forty years ago with her husband and two small sons. They came to live on the water and enjoy a more peaceful rural life. For Barbara, the pleasure of being on the water and looking out on the water every day, with the various birds and creatures, never ceases to hold fascination. Painting the waterscapes and flora and fauna of the Shore has been a constant joy to her and over the years, Barbara has become an award-winning Eastern Shore artist. Using a variety of mediums from serigraph to oil with a focus on watercolor, she continues to enjoy working with wet pigment on wet paper, creating a softness and flow that is exciting when combined with the sharp, clean edges of dry paper. According to Barbara, a good drawing is the basis for good painting and the observer needs to feel the medium with “the flow and transparency of watercolor or the rich, gooeyness of oil.”
A native of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Barbara attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, earning a BFA in painting and graphics. Her commercial experience began with the J.L. Hudson Company in Detroit, Michigan, where she designed large scale animated and still display promotions. Later on, she worked in display coordination management for John Wannamaker in Philadelphia and freelanced in wrapping paper and logo design. Over the years, Barbara has exhibited her paintings in a variety of Maryland juried shows including The Academy Art Museum in Easton, Maryland, winning the Sam Hemming Award for watercolor; Maryland Hall; Quiet Waters Park; the Oxford Community Center Fine Arts Festival for fifteen years; the Chestertown Art League Juried Show, winning many awards including Best in Show twice; and the Local Color Show-Plein Air Easton, winning a Judge’s award of excellence. She has had shows at The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s and the Dorchester Art Center in Cambridge and was affiliated with the Creatrix Art Gallery in Easton. She is an active member of The Working Artists Forum, a signature member of Baltimore Watercolor Society, and a partner in the Artists’ Gallery in Chestertown. She presently teaches watercolor classes at Dorchester Art Center and operates an art studio and quality frame shop out of her Eastern Shore home.
On First Friday, March 3rd, the public is invited to visit The Artists’ Gallery for Barbara Zuehlke’s opening reception from 5-8 p.m. for refreshments and to meet the artist. The Artists’ Gallery is located at 239 High Street in Chestertown and is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sundays from 12:30-4:30 p.m. For more information, please call the gallery at 410-778-2425 or visit www.theartistsgalleryctown.com
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