I strive for a mood, a likeness, and an interesting composition in a more classic style with painterly strokes.

Barbara welles Rasmussen

 

brunette girl in green sundress holding dog

Portraits

Portraits are the most challenging, but also the most rewarding, part of my work. I’m drawn to the richness of flesh tones with combinations of complimentary colors, and the unique personality that emerges when someone sits in front of me. Creating roundness, three-dimensional form, is important to me. I also love including details of their world, whether it be a pet, favorite space, or a meaningful background, because it all tells their story.

Pets

I’ve painted hundreds of animals over the years — dogs, cats, and horses, mostly. Each one is unique and personal. I used to visit homes, photograph the pets myself with Fuji color film, and work from those carefully chosen shots. Today I paint from snapshots sent to me, usually on an iPhone. While it’s a different process, my years of experience help me spot distortions and stay true to each animal’s spirit.

Drawings

I used to always begin with a drawing, especially when painting portraits of people and animals. It helped me establish proportion, composition, and a connection to the subject. I’ve always loved the look and feel of graphite: the play of light and shadow, the full range of values, and the challenge of creating depth and roundness with just pencils. These are not simply preparation but an art form in itself.

 

About Barbara

The Artist

Barbara is a portrait and landscape painter whose work reflects a lifelong love for animals, nature, and the art of storytelling through brushstrokes. A Midwestern native with roots that trace back to renowned 19th-century portrait artist Albert Gallatin Hoyt, she found her way to Columbia in the early ’90s via Kentucky’s thoroughbred racing world.

Since then, she’s called the South home—raising her son, earning a master’s in Art Education at USC, and growing her art practice one commission at a time. Her paintings span portraits of beloved pets, people, and pastoral landscapes, often blending realism with painterly charm and inspired by artists like John Singer Sargent and Alfred Munnings.

Barbara works out of her cozy home studio with skylights, French doors, and an iPad always nearby. While her techniques have evolved over the years from photos taped to easels to digital references—her passion for light, color, and composition remains unchanged.