The “where” in Zac Barnes’ paintings is usually easy to spot. Barnes, a native Kansan, draws on his home state for inspiration. The “when” can be far more ambiguous, by design. Barnes produces both timeless, impressionistic landscapes (painted in the open air) and studio work that blends influences and images from different periods. The latter works, such as Macho Flower Garden encroach on the borders of what’s been termed Surregionalism, while still remaining true to their prairie roots. 

Barnes takes different approaches to creating the two lines. His landscapes are intended to capture a moment, with light and color at the forefront, and the process becomes both meditative and creative for him. But when he’s working in the studio, he writes, “The landscape becomes secondary, drawn from memory, a setting and backdrop for human interaction. Narratives in a loose sense, I reference folk art, surrealism and contemporary compositional practices to create ambiguity in both period and environment. Natural and manmade elements are placed in concert, creating a space of pleasant sharing.”

The emotional quality of the work builds with the composition. The elements are arranged and rearranged many times in the course of the painting. Working from nonspecific to specific, colors and shapes eventually settle into threads that connect and integrate. Figures and objects interact within their environment with a certain disregard for physical laws. It is the movement and emotional space created that is important. That approach produces works that combine offbeat humor (check out the farmer in a seed cap and prom dress, holding a string bass, for instance) and a deep sense of the familiar for anyone who has grown up in — or even spent extensive time in — this part of the world.

And while Barnes might refer to himself as an “artist’s artist,” there’s plenty here that will resonate with viewers from all walks of life. Even if it’s hard to pin down the “when” in Barnes’ work, there’s no mistaking why it works. It works because Barnes is intimately acquainted with his inspirational sources … so much so that whether he manipulates them or presents them as they were in a given moment, both the actual and the artificial ring true.

”Born and raised in Kansas, I feel a deep connection to the prairie landscape and to the people of this land. These are the base and anchor of my work, and set the emotional tone for any narrative that plays itself out in the paintings. My strongest influences are my immediate environment, life experience, and the way my mind interprets this information. I live alternatively within remote and more cosmopolitan settings, working both in the studio and in the landscape. In this way I am able to explore a wide range of physical and emotional experience.”

”I find fulfillment in the rhythm of my days out in the open, loading and unloading the truck with equipment paints and dog, setting up, and working with the elements. There is physical as well as mental work in the process, so that it becomes a meditation and a practice. I create all of my landscape work on site, with no preparatory drawing or reworking in the studio. I attempt to capture the fleeting moment in paint texture and color, in mood and measure. The scene changes with each passing moment, demanding a concentration of attention and quickness of hand. I paint with brush and pallet knife, often limiting the palette, using earth tones to accentuate moments of color.”

”In the studio, the landscape becomes secondary, drawn from memory, a setting and backdrop for human interaction. Narratives in a loose sense, I reference folk art, surrealism and contemporary compositional practices to create ambiguity in both period and environment. Natural and manmade elements are placed in concert, creating a space of pleasant sharing.”

”The emotional quality of the work builds with the composition. The elements are arranged and rearranged many times in the course of the painting. Working from nonspecific to specific, colors and shapes eventually settle into threads that connect and integrate. Figures and objects interact within their environment with a certain disregard for physical laws. It is the movement and emotional space created that is important.”