On a crisp and sunlit New England fall day, the shores of Mattapoisett harbor twinkle in the sunlight. Easels and paint supplies are unloaded and dispersed among the greenery. The town landing was chosen for its prime location, offering the artist a variety of inspiring views to choose from: the marsh leading northward toward the entrance to the Mattapoisett River, the distant Elizabeth Islands along the horizon line, and the scenic coastal buildings of downtown. A few clouds punctuate the blue skies with a cool breeze off the water.
Kim Barry, an artist and local educator, transforms Mattapoisett harbor into one huge open-air classroom on this particular autumn day. As a painter, Barry draws inspiration from the landscapes of the New England coast. With images from locations such as Cuttyhunk, Essex, and Gloucester in her portfolio, Barry has traveled all over the New England area to paint, offering lessons about open-air painting (en plein air) to amateur artists.
En plein air painting is closely associated with the Impressionists, a group of artists including Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Cezanne, and Van Gogh, who popularized the technique in the late 19th century. Barry enthusiastically embraces the unpredictable aspects of painting outdoors.
“It’s so exciting. And I think that it’s one of my biggest passions, just being out on a beautiful day or a misty day or sometimes it turns into being a rainy day,” she says. “But you’re kind of ingesting the energy of that natural spot and putting it through your system, and then it comes out into a painting.”
Expressive brushstrokes, often deliberately left unblended, create a vibrant and dynamic effect on the canvas. Reflecting on her approach, Barry notes:
“[There’s] not a lot of blending with my work; it’s more layering with wet on wet, letting the colors remain vibrant and expressive with the brush marks. Keeping the colors and the brush marks with a lot of vitality energizes the painting and brings that sense to the viewer, so the viewer gets excited by the experience of just the brush strokes.”
The students steady their canvases against the wind, following along as Barry demonstrates her approach to beginning a piece. Gathering others around her, she turns what might be a solitary effort into a communal artistic endeavor. New England, known for its ever-changing weather, poses a challenge that Barry has embraced year-round.
Weather changes become integral to the process. For Barry, it’s not solely about the end result; it’s the process of experiencing and interpreting surroundings through one’s unique lens.
“So you kind of have to shift. It’s almost like grabbing that piece of the morning or afternoon and encapsulating it into your painting.”
Describing her vision, Barry says: “The way I see the world, the way I see nature is I sort of push color. I see a lot of color in everything, and I get excited by that color and kind of, you know, push it a little bit further.”
Back inside her studio at Hatch Street, which she shares with her artist husband, shells and other remnants of the landscape coexist with painted canvases of fruits and abstracted organic forms.
Barry’s painting experience began with the encouragement of her mother about 16 years ago. She has since earned an MFA in painting from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She continues to own and operate Clay Trout Pottery from her Mattapoisett studio. The two disciplines have equal importance to her art; however, when speaking about her painting, her passion for the subject is effusive. Words like “vigorous” and “exciting” are used while describing her experience of living and working in the South Coast area.
“I love nature. I love going outside for walks. I love gardening, sailing. So just the whole vibe of the South Coast ocean environment and the countryside is what really excites me,” she says. “So I guess it’s in a way kind of a celebration of nature, a celebration of life.”
David Walega is a photojournalist from the South Coast whose work has appeared in publications around the world. Email him at dwalega@newbedfordlight.org.
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