One thing that reoccurs in Bob Barker's paintings is the cobbled and stone flagged pavements, which are very prominent symbols from his own childhood, growing up in Yorkshire. Although a new viewer may look at his work and see dark scenes of children playing, with the polluted skies and blackened stone, Barker sees colour. A lot of his inspiration comes from memories that are very dear to his heart.
Some of these fond memories included when his mother worked in a mill and Barker would wait for her to finish work and loved to talk to people spinning sheds and indulged in the smell of the looms. Barker was very fond of his mother whom gave him his most treasured present when he was twelve years old. One Christmas morning, he received an oil painting set, this was the start of his artistic career and he has not stopped painting ever since.
Barker has never had any formal art training and yet he is so good. He did, on the other hand, spend some time in Cornwall where he met two artists - Tom Gower and Keith English - whom he would watch for hours. Here was the moment in Barker's life whereby he truly felt he could become a professional artist himself.
Unfortunately real life got in the way of his dreams at first. He had a wife, kids and a mortgage to pay, which meant that his aspiration to become an artist had to take a back seat for a while. In order to have the security that he needed to raise a family, he set up a video and media production business which he ran for over twenty years. It was not a bad job and gave Barker the opportunity to go abroad and around the country filming for his clients. He would also put on workshops for A-level students and teach them the art of video making. Currently, his daughter-in-law runs the business which means that Barker finally has the time to make his hobby become his life.
Some of these fond memories included when his mother worked in a mill and Barker would wait for her to finish work and loved to talk to people spinning sheds and indulged in the smell of the looms. Barker was very fond of his mother whom gave him his most treasured present when he was twelve years old. One Christmas morning, he received an oil painting set, this was the start of his artistic career and he has not stopped painting ever since.
Barker has never had any formal art training and yet he is so good. He did, on the other hand, spend some time in Cornwall where he met two artists - Tom Gower and Keith English - whom he would watch for hours. Here was the moment in Barker's life whereby he truly felt he could become a professional artist himself.
Unfortunately real life got in the way of his dreams at first. He had a wife, kids and a mortgage to pay, which meant that his aspiration to become an artist had to take a back seat for a while. In order to have the security that he needed to raise a family, he set up a video and media production business which he ran for over twenty years. It was not a bad job and gave Barker the opportunity to go abroad and around the country filming for his clients. He would also put on workshops for A-level students and teach them the art of video making. Currently, his daughter-in-law runs the business which means that Barker finally has the time to make his hobby become his life.
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