Summary

Wonderful exhibit by Barbara Cronise at Friendship Village

Get out your raincoat – you are going to get drenched in those giant waves!  Barbara Cronise has long been fascinated with seascapes.  Luckily for her, she lived in California, spending most of her life near the coast.  So not far from home, she could visit the water regularly and think about the rhythm and beauty of the always-crashing waves.  Barbara is also a skilled pastel artist.  She started painting the big waves, all sorts of big waves in gorgeous pastels, and occasionally in other media.  The result is a fascinating collection of her work in this vein.  She recently put together a one-woman show, which is on display for the month of October at Friendship Village.  This residential community features one of its artists each month – the area is spacious and well-lit, and really shows off Barbara’s work.

Barbara has a strong academic background in art, having received her B.A. in Fine Arts at Michigan State University, and pursued a Masters in art history there.  She has worked in various media, including stained glass, and became intrigued by pastel mostly after retirement.

She took classes in California as well, focusing on landscapes.  When she moved to Arizona in 2015, she continued her work in pastels.  She has exhibited widely and won awards for her work.  When you visit her current wave-motif display, you can certainly see why!