Barbara J. Osterman

I first met Barbara when she conducted a workshop for watercolorists in Winter Harbor Maine during the early 1980´s. It is fair to say that she changed my outlook and direction in painting. Barb once told her class "if it´s already beautiful, the subject doesn´t need to be painted". In a world of pretty pictures, she opined that "Art" doesn´t have to be beautiful, only truthful. I still return to Winter Harbor Maine annually to find the "incredible light" that illuminated the landscape there. Her spirit and presence during my Maine stays remains as one of the great encounters in my philosophy of painting. As Barb noted, no one ever dies. We merely return to our basic particles. May I add that our "immortality" is also present in the works of Art that we leave behind and in the lives we have touched. She leaves behind a rich legacy of truth, vision and insight as witnessed in her prolific career.