Project Description
JEFF BARRINGER
Success breeds success. Painter, film maker, foodie, distiller, businessman (the list goes on), Jeff Barringer is a fine example. When he is able to take a little time off from the crazy-popular Bruinwood Estate Distillery, a business he started with partner Danise Lofstrom, he might use the time to immerse himself in his other creative practice: painting.
“I’ve learned to be able to work in short bursts,” Barringer says. “My preference, however, is getting lost in the process, and when I have the luxury of doing that, I can spend an entire day in the studio. I don’t think about all my other stressors when I paint.”
Barringer’s paintings are lively, unusual, and more purely abstract than many artists’. Colour is used sparingly and often gives the impression of being uncovered rather than applied. While this sounds meditative, methodical, and inspired, he maintains a sense of humour about his process.
“I will think about what I want and then as I fail to achieve it, it opens up new pathways and techniques.”
Working in a way similar to that of sculptors, uncovering an image rather than imposing it on the canvas, can make the work especially impactful and lead to results that surprise the artist. “I let the colours in my work reveal themselves. I often only work with black and white to start and then colour creeps in, often in washes and glazes that further tint or shade the original paints. Or I’ll simply paint over an older painting that didn’t work. Those latent colours will sometimes conspire with each other as they dry to create some pretty neat effects and hues. Some paintings have many unseen layers. The simpler the finished work, the more complicated the journey.”