She rejects the literal for a more memory-based perspective with striking colours cleverly contrasted against a tonal base.
Rosanne Barr graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee in 2003 with First Class Honours. She paints modern semi-abstracted studies of Scotland, particularly Orkney where her parents reside. Rosanne uses heightened colours, simplified shapes, and blending lines to create her distinctive abstract style. Rather than literal interpretations, she develops memory and mood-based perspectives, cleverly contrasting striking colours against tonal bases to capture the essence of Scottish landscapes.
Inspiration and Process
Rosanne's work is deeply inspired by her childhood experiences growing up in the North West of Scotland and Orkney. She aims to explore and capture the mood, emotion, and colours of these places filtered through the sands of lapsed time. Though her paintings represent imaginary landscapes, they are firmly rooted in her direct experience of the Atlantic seaboard. The dramatic sunrises, sunsets, and storms of these regions provide the vibrant palette that has become characteristic of her work.
Exhibitions and Recognition
Since her graduation, Rosanne has built an impressive exhibition record across the UK. Her first major solo show at The Green Gallery in 2008 was a sell-out, receiving critical acclaim for her bold brushed landscapes. In 2009, she was shortlisted for the Barclays TSB Jolomo Award, and her work has been selected for the Annual Exhibitions of the Royal Glasgow Institute of The Fine Arts and Paisley Art Institute. Rosanne was selected as the Resident International Artist at the Great Gulf Arts Festival in Florida in 2012, and in 2017 she participated in an artist residency in Sardinia, painting 'plein air' with leading European artists. Now based in Milngavie, she works full-time from her garden studio near Allander Water, creating works that appear in private collections worldwide.