About the Juror:

Carol Barnes is an elected member of the National Watercolor Society, the American Watercolor Society, and many other prestigious art associations throughout the United States. She has received over 40 awards in national juried shows for her abstract acrylic paintings, including the National Academy of Design.

She is a frequent juror on the national and state level and was recently named Acrylic Teacher of the Year by American Artist Magazine.

Her work can seen in such publications as "Watercolor the Creative Experience" by Nechis, "The Art of Collage", by Brommer, and "Watermedia, Process and Possibilities", by Quiller. Her paintings reside in the IBM Corporate Collection and many others.

She holds a degree in Art Education from Penn State and has been teaching watermedia workshops for the past 20 years. As an instructor, Carole challenges her students to capture the essence of their subjects. Her goal is to stretch each student's ideas in new directions through new ways of painting, seeing and creating — resulting in works that are beautiful, as well as emotionally and intellectually compelling.

Her works may be viewed at artartbobart.com

Juror's Statement

I am honored to be the judge for the 2001 Texas and Neighbors Show. The entries were diverse, creative and wonderful, which made my choices difficult. Space is always limited in a juried show. This means many deserving pieces have to be eliminated. I am very please with the final selections hope you too will find it exciting.

As a juror I look for the hand, the eye, and the heart of the artist. The most important of these is the artist's unique personal vision and feeling. Strong design and well-done techniques are also important but "well-done" is not enough in a show of this caliber. I want to see a landscape so strongly through the artist's eyes that next time I see that place I see it freshly. I want to find a mood in a painting that evokes a smile, or have a body response to the sadness in another piece. I want a figure, or a flower, to have an attitude or personality. I love to see the energetic marks of an artist's expressive style. I hope a piece of art might change me a bit or allow an ordinary thing to become an extraordinary thing. I want the artists feelings to "reach out and touch someone". Art is capable of all of these things. To strive for less is to cut art and the painting itself short.

This show is an exciting varied collection. Each piece was carefully chosen for a reason. I hop you will be challenged to thing and to feel as you view the show, but most of all I hope you will enjoy it! Irving should be very proud to host such a fine show. The Irving Art Association's Texas and Neighbors Show is fortunate to have such an elegant space for exhibiting.

Carole D. Barnes  A.W.S., N.W.S.
Boulder, Colorado