“I like working from nature … it’s [kind of] a big part of the content that I’m working with — and how the impressionists used that has been a really big inspiration for me,” Naomi Bard said.

Bard is a junior art education major at Shippensburg University, and she currently has her artwork featured in the Brindle Gallery of Huber Art Center at SU. Her collection, which is open until May 1, is titled “Reflections.”

The gallery is made of nine pieces of artwork. They include “Threads of Thought,” “Portrait Study with Skull,” “Hand Study,” “Joy in Pots” and five others that are untitled, three of which that were made with charcoal, graphite or marker, and two that were made with watercolor. 

“It’s a look back on everything that I’ve done and some of the pieces that have been the most influential and pivotal in my art career,” Bard said. “Doing some of these artworks and seeing what I’ve accomplished has really boosted my confidence and choosing to do this.” 

From a young age, Bard realized that she had an artistic side, as she was always drawing and creating. Additionally, she loved to work with children, so she decided to enter a career path that would allow her to do both. 

“I wanted to combine the two and become an art teacher to share the love that I have with other people,” she said. 

Her favorite piece in the “Reflections” collection is called “Hand Study.” The artwork was originally a class assignment, and now it is being shown in the Brindle Gallery. It is a graphite-pencil piece in which there are three drawn hands, each of them enacting a different pose or motion.

“Hands are probably one of the most difficult pieces of the body to draw, so I took a lot of time doing this one,” Bard said. “I’m really proud of the way it turned out … Actually being able to accomplish this drawing was really self-fulfilling.” 

When explaining her favorite elements of artwork, Bard said she primarily enjoyed creating art with a traditional graphite pencil. She also said that she enjoys realistic-style work; however, she is currently working with more abstract forms of artwork. 

“I would love to do more abstract work now … I really try to just push myself to let loose, and it doesn’t have to be perfect, and I can accept that,” Bard said. 

In addition to finding new areas of enjoyment within art, Bard explained her fascination with watercolor. This was the element used within her painting “Joy in Pots,” which she cherishes due to her love of plants. The painting features the plants in cool-color combinations, such as blues and greens, and the background encapsulates a warm-toned atmosphere with variations of red, orange and pink. 

“My watercolor class was very eye-opening and game-changing to me because I realized I really like working with colors; I love the depth that you can create with them and all of the different techniques,” Bard said. 

After discussing inspiration behind her personal work, Bard said that one of her favorite painters is Vincent van Gogh, and her favorite time-periods of artwork are the impressionism and post-impressionism era. Her favorite painting by van Gogh is titled “Sower at Sunset,” which was completed in 1888. She also admires his paintings “Olive Trees” and “Green Wheat Fields, Auvers.” 

“This exhibition serves as a reflection, looking at where I started, to how far I’ve come,” Bard said. 

Share