Whether it’s detailing the human form or expressing the rhythm of a galloping racehorse, Jeaneen Barnhart sets out to capture the tension in movement in her drawings.
“My desire is to show the energy, the strength, the power of physical movement,” she says. “My intent is to reveal the energy and emulate the figure through loose interpretation of uninhibited line and depth. I don’t want to illustrate or create a portrait — I only want what is necessary.”
A self-employed artist since 1993, Barnhart has had her art selected for Brown-Forman advertisements, the 2009 Kentucky Derby Festival poster and even on the set of HBO’s “Entourage,” where her piece “Sexy Cool Ladies” hangs on the wall of Vinny’s bachelor pad. Barnhart, however, seems to take it all in stride. “Give me the moment of desire, the right paper surface, good mark-making tools, and I will pursue the truest happiness I know — drawing,” she says.
Gallery M, opening this month at the Mellwood Art Center, will showcase Barnhart’s work. See more at www.artsocool.com.
This article appears in September 1, 2009.