Barbara Weightman Takes Inspiration from Nature

By Lydia Kremer

other Nature has always

been a remarkably powerful
force but she has also been
an inspirational muse to artists for
centuries.
Barbara Weightman is among the
legion of artists who have been inspired
by Nature and has tried to capture its
beauty in her paintings.
She was born and raised in Montreal
where she earned a Bachelor of Arts
(BAJ with a Child Psychology major
from Sir George Williams University,
Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She also
earned her Teaching Certificate from
McGill University Teachers College in
Montreal; as well as a Fine Arts Specialist
Certificate; and took courses from the
Council of Drama Educators. She spent
32 years as an educator in Canada.
After spending most of her life in
Canada, she came to the United States
- where she worked in Delaware and
Pennsylvania to continue her career in
education.
Before Barbara began painting,
her professional life as a teacher and
administrator was focused on inspiring
creativity among her students. During
her career as a dedicated educator, she
worked to ignite the imaginations of
youngsters. She taught creative drama,
helping her students develop their
creative skills, all the while developing
her own. By the time she began painting
17 years ago, her skills and talent were
firmly established.
For many artists, mastery of their
chosen medium is a life-long endeavor.
For Barbara that medium was watercolor
botanical painting, specializing on the
delicate intricacies of botanical painting,
an exacting medium. Botanical painting
requires a feather-weight delicacy of
brush strokes that she has mastered
in her work for which she has received
several awards and accolades.
Among the notable awards she has
received for her botanical paintings,
Barbara received a third place ribbon
for her "Orchid" painting from the
prestigious National Capital Orchid
Society Show in Washington D.C. in 2000.

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An award-winning orchid watercolor by Weightman

Her love of flowers and gardens

became her passion while living in
England for two years where she studied
flower arranging and china painting.
Barbara's botanical work has also
been exhibited at the Chester County
Art Association, for twelve years at
the Philadelphia Flower Show, the
Morris Arboretum of the University of
Pennsylvania, at The Chanticleer Gardens,
and various galleries in the Tri-State area.

September-October 2015 Palms to Pines Magazine

She is a member of the Philadelphia

Society of Botanical Artists and the
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.
Barbara and her husband, Clive,
a retired senior partner in a global
professional services firm, relocated to
the California desert three years ago and
are now residents of Indian Wells.
Despite her success in the field of
botanical paintings, when she relocated
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to the desert in 2012 she turned her talents
to the creative pursuit of oil painting. The
desert beauty offered her new inspiration
in the light and hues of the extraordinary
landscape.
In three short years, Barbara
Weightman is learning to master this
medium as well. As a member of the
Idyllwild Arts Alliance, she participated in
the inaugural Art Uncorked event which
took place in July. Barbara's "Mountain
Stream" oil painting received third place
in the Representational category.

"Winning a third place ribbon at

Idyllwild's 'Art Uncorked' art show was
very special, and totally unexpected. I'm
thrilled to have had the privilege to be
exhibited with such a talented group of
artists," Barbara says.
Shanna Robb, President of the
Art Alliance of Idyllwild commented,
"Barbara's artwork conveys her enthusiasm
and passion about her surroundings. You
can see it in every stroke of paint and in her
final creation."
"My Mountain Stream painting was
inspired by many beautiful walks in the
woods. The varieties and intensities of
color and light playing on the shapes

fascinated me. Painting on a red canvas

with a palette knife demonstrates my
feelings," Barbara adds.
What her collectors say about her work:
"I want to see her paintings everyday
and share them with my clients," says
a physician who has two of Barbara's
paintings in her office.
"I love the different feelings each of
Barbara's images invokes."
Please visit Barbara Weightman's
website to see more of her exquisite
paintings, and to find out about her various
art events this coming 2015/2016 season.
Email: bweightman@msn.com or
online www.barbara-painter.com

September-October 201 5 Palms to Pines Magazine

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