Vanessa Barrett lives in Oakland, where she paints and attends college full-time. She has three Associate’s degrees in accounting, welding, and liberal arts, three welding certifications, and is currently studying mechanical engineering. Her art career has been as varied as her educational career: she started selling her paintings while in high school, experimenting in several media along the way, from the standard (oil, acrylic, pastel, charcoal, ink) to the more unusual (cardboard, wood, newspaper, wheatpaste, glass). She has done corporate design for local tech start-ups, illustrated books, and created commissioned pieces ranging from family portraits to abstracts to wall murals.

Her subject matter has varied, as well: she has painted reproductions of human musculature straight from anatomy books, whimsical scenes from her dreams, creatures inspired by science fantasy novels and computer games, and even traditional still-lifes and plein air landscapes.

However, Vanessa’s favorite medium is still good old acrylic paint, and her favorite subjects are simply people, whether close friends she sees daily or strangers on the street.

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Artist Statement

It fascinates me to watch a painting develop on my canvas, from a flat white surface to a real live “something” with color, shadows, texture, and depth. The end product should be as pleasing as the process of making it—otherwise, the viewer is left out of the fun.

My favorite subjects are people “at rest,” waiting and watching. Beneath each tranquil façade lies unmistakable emotion, sometimes ambiguous or capricious, sometimes powerful and profound. My goal is that this obscured motivation will spark viewers’ curiosity, inspiring them to speculate and create stories about the people in each painting: who they are, what they are thinking, what happened in the moments before they were captured on canvas, and what will happen after.

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Website: www.VanessaArt.com
Email: Vanessa@VanessaArt.com

Mediums:
acrylic, oil, pastel, charcoal, collage

Fine Art Education:
Academy of Art University, San Francisco
California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland

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ArtWanted.com Gallery:   Fine Art
Past Clients:   Xintex, Carrier Cross Connect, Auriga, One-to-One Business Solutions, Small Town USA