Pink Coat in Rain, Bridge St

Mike Barr Artist

Mike’s motto in painting is “It’s not what you see – but what you feel. “His rainy cityscapes and expansive beachscapes are designed so viewers can enter, not merely look. He believes that paintings are meant to catch the essence of time and place.

BIO
South Australian based artist Mike Barr has a motto which pervades the intent of his work and that is – ‘it’s not what you see but what you feel’. An instantaneous connection with the mood of a painting is what he aims for, and such connections have been made with collectors worldwide.

His impressionistic style has been influenced by French and Australian impressionist painters and has been strongly influenced by the painting philosophies of several living Australian artists and has found that paintings that don’t tell all the story find ready engagement with viewers who complete the narrative. Mike has won more than 80 awards in Australia and Internationally – with 20 best in shows including the coveted Victor Harbor Art Show Corporate $12,500 Award in 2016.

His rainy paintings of Melbourne have been recognised in Maree Coote’s award-winning book “The art of being Melbourne” in which the history of Melbourne as played out through its artists. He stands together with Streeton, Roberts, Smart, Beckett and more in their depictions of Melbourne. He is currently a columnist in the UK magazine The Artist and has written for The Australian Artist Magazine and US magazines The Acrylic Artist and best-selling art magazine PleinAir Magazine. In 2021, Mike was invited by the South Australian Art Gallery to demonstrate during the Clarice Beckett exhibition, one of his favourite artists. Often found painting plein air around the Fleurieu Peninsula with his artist wife Tina, Mike is also a Fellow of the Royal South Australia Society of Arts.

Mike has had exhibitions in the US, UK, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth.