Barbara Kieffer Rowe
Black Hills Artist
Flash of Fall

Medley

Medley

The Black Hills is more than a place. Fossils, geologic outcrops, pungent pines and sweeping vistas fuse together into a presence that becomes a part of who you are. It's no wonder there's an artistic force that springs from that presence and lends itself to multi-media expression.  

Flash of Fall

Flash of Fall

Batik | 20” x 29.5” | $1400

A feeling within builds as the fall sunlight on birches captures the day’s warmth and quietly enters the cool of sunset. As leaves flicker in yellow and orange they touch a lavender sky that is host to vibrant green. Life is rooted in the dark and unknown earth.

Batik was the chosen medium for this artwork. The nature of batik results in fractured lines and unexpected spontaneous colors capturing the moment of reveal.

Serenity, Moca Sica Twilight

Serenity, Moca Sica Twilight

Mixed media | 10” X 6.5” | $125 | SOLD

The Badlands beckon and soul-marked time transpires as the moon rises to caress rugged forms. Buttes and spires formed by depositional processes about 75-million years. Erosion of sediments by wind and water began about 500,000 -years ago. The forms we see today will continue to change as geologic processes continue to infinity. Layering of acrylics and ink builds a life-long moonlit memory.

The Reach to Fall

The Reach to Fall

Batik with mixed media | 21” x 36” | $1400

The bond of spring and green foliage continues to fill our consciousness through summer. Fall colors emerge as green chlorophyll pigments in leaves reabsorb, visually gifting warmth to foliage. The dance of vibrant colors flourish during the magic of sunrise and sunset.

The medium of batik enhances color transparency and brilliancy. Paint-filled fractures and crackling of wax on canvas extends branches toward the sky while shadowed tree roots extend strongholds into the earth.

Flight to Extinction

Flight to Extinction

Acrylic | 11” x 22” | $350

Vibrant orange and blackened veins of monarch wings glow against blue skies. Painted butterflies move softly in shining flight and enter a rambled abyss of extinction.

Monarch migratory patterns withstand harsh conditions from breeding grounds of North America to hibernation in Mexico. The monarch’s food supply diminishes as plants are suppressed from toxic herbicide application. Movement within this painting relays a fragile mantra “save the monarch.”

Seasonal Pass of Color

Seasonal Pass of Color

Batik | 19" x 33" | SOLD

Often our emotions are entangled with the change of seasons, our feelings twisting in the wind, dampened in the rain, and rising with the sun. In this piece, batik — a wax-dying technique — captures the vibrant color continuum of life between spring and fall. The tree trunk emerges on the canvas through minimal pencil strokes. Burst of hues from the acrylic paint were painted on the canvas then covered with wax. After the canvas was completely waxed, it was crinkled allowing pigment to enter fractures created in the wax. Ironing the canvas allowed vivid colors and shapes to appear that were once conceal with wax.