Jody Barbaree

Jody Barbaree was born in El Dorado, Arkansas and graduated from Parkers Chapel High School in 2010. He then moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas and attended college at the U of A in pursuit of a Journalism degree. After admitting to himself that writing was a second-tier interest in comparison to his admiration for art, he left college to take time to figure out exactly how he wanted to channel his interests. His passion for painting and the arts, coupled with his love for history, led him back to college in 2019 at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, in pursuit of a history degree with a minor in art history. After graduating in 2021, Jody began spending more time painting while also making plans to one day become an art teacher. In doing so, he looks forward to engaging the youth in the importance of art and creative expression.

The natural curvature and organic lines that define nature, appeal to me deeply.  Be it the wavy yet structured lines of a snake plant, the fenestrated hearts that make up a monstera, or the not-so-perfect spherical shapes of many fruits…I am drawn in.  Through my evolution as a painter, the subjects I choose have gone through many changes.  But organic lines have always defined them, and I have come to realize those found in nature give me the most joy.   In my work you will find a variety of colors, moments of spontaneity, and other features that will no doubt define them as abstract.  However, there is always a grounded feature; something recognizable; something to hold on to; and that something is nature.  

Just like the leaves of a plant, I unfurl, grow, and develop, as an artist and as a person.