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Artist inspired by cancer battle

Barbara Price: her interpretation of St Non’s Chapel
Barbara Price: her interpretation of St Non’s Chapel
Barbara Price: her interpretation of St Non’s Chapel

A TREFIN artist who has been inspired to create more than 100 paintings by her battle with cancer is the latest to exhibit in the Tower and Café at Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre in St Davids. Barbara Price began producing a visual diary of her experience when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2012. Her exhibition, ‘My Journey Through Cancer and Beyond’ includes a selection of these images, as well as more recent work inspired by the North Pembrokeshire landscape.

Having now recovered, Barbara hopes the visual diary will show how painting can help deal with such struggles, and encourage women to have mammograms in order to identify any potential problems early and make a positive outcome more likely. Oriel y Parc Interim Manager Emma Bowen said: “This exhibition demonstrates how Barbara takes inspiration from every aspect of her life, from the people she meets, to the local scenery and her life experiences. “Her work also shows how art can inspire and support people during difficult times in their lives.”

Originally from Poole in Dorset, Barbara studied Textiles at Farnham College of Art. The influence of this medium can be seen throughout her work through the use of colour and tonal values. In her ‘Kaleidoscope’ series, Barbara divides the images up and uses a mix of different shades and tones of the same colour, capturing the light of Pembrokeshire, where she has now lived for 22 years.

Barbara said: “Living here in north Pembrokeshire gives me an endless supply of inspiration with its wildness and intensity of light and colour. “Although having breast cancer is life-changing, my painting has become my way of overcoming the stresses of waiting for results and tests and I appreciate the simple things in life much more now.” Barbara has exhibited widely and her work is in private collections worldwide including the Arton Gallery in Kyoto Japan. She also paints portraits of local people and takes great pleasure in teaching art to adults, something she has done locally for nearly 20 years Barbara’s exhibition will be on display at Oriel y Parc until February 28, 2015.

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