Barbara Boekelman’s large-scale paintings brim with variety and intricacy. the works are expressive and unified by palette and process. Reworking is central. She draws, obscures, wipes away, redraws and paints over. It’s through this process that curious forms and colour relationships emerge. The life of each painting begins with rich and varied narrative achieved by description of figures, objects and landscapes sourced from memory and photographs. Over time these elements are buried and colour, form and line take precedence. The paintings accumulate atmosphere and emotional tone as they develop and although the initial stories and ideas do not always remain visible, they are never lost entirely. While, at first glance, the works may appear abstract, their core and impulse are based in reality.
