jj barrows

I fully believe in being fully alive, and I create things so as not to be dead. As an experienced middle child I've gotten good at pretending like I have it all together, but through art I am learning to value the truth, which is that I don't have it all together... and that's ok. It has taken me years to allow myself to be myself instead of who the world wants me to be, and so while I'm a little late to the game, I'm showing up for life and letting my art out. I believe in the power of the spoken and written word and that sometimes there are no words... which is why I paint. I love colors and patterns and textures, layering story upon story in a painting, and using the abstract to express something very real. I write messages, blessings and prayers on each canvas before I paint over it so that each person that has one or even looks at one may see, feel, experience some sort of a blessing, even if it's just a smile on a bad day. Deeper meaning is hidden within each painting even if all the viewer sees is color on canvas, in the same way that each of us are made up of so much more than just what is seen on the surface. I use color and words to add a little more good and a little more hope to this world.