Barry Olofsson

Artistic Influences & Inspiration

 

I try to maintain an awareness of the beauty that I find throughout the day. I often find that beauty in reflections of light on simple subjects and scenes that inspire me.

 

My creative process starts with photos I take capturing the essence of those subjects and scenes. I use those photos to create references for oil paintings that capture qualities that inspired me.

 

I have been creating art for over 30 years starting with portraits of family members in charcoal, pastel, watercolor, and oil in the 1990's. I retired from a corporate job in New Jersey and moved to Cape Cod in 2002. I broadened my focus to include both photography and painting of local village and maritime themes along with commissions for paintings of people, places and pets. I became an active member of the local art community by joining and participating in a number of art associations, galleries, auctions, and festivals. As a result, I won a number of awards and sold a great many paintings and prints of my work. My painting style was focused on photographic realism until I felt the calling to give back to the community. I spent the years between 2016 and 2025 as a volunteer in local charitable organizations and minimized my work in the arts. In late 2024 I felt the calling to restart my art career with a focus on a looser style evoking the features of my subjects rather than making copies of photos in oil. I felt a new sense of renewal, freedom and joy with my new representational realistic style.

 

Ultimately, I hope to share the spark of inspiration and the joy of discovery I experience in creating each painting. My work is an invitation to pause, remember, and feel the world anew.