I think being an artist is something that was born in me.  My great grandfather was a wood carver in Bavaria.  When I think of him, I remember the beautiful bas-relief woodcarvings a friend had bought in Germany.  In this country, he was a builder as were his sons.  My father’s sister was a seamstress. She made and designed dresses for me and my sister as well as many of her clients.  This generation it is me. My two daughters both paint, one in oils and the other in all media.  Now I have a great grand daughter doing just what I was doing at the age of ten. She is drawing constantly.  She wants to be a clothes designer. For ten years, her drawing skills are great.

My fourth grade teacher discovered my ability. She gave me the job of decorating the top twelve inches of the blackboards.  I loved her. From her I learned manual skills such as lettering, sign making and drawing.  But she also taught the history of art, my favorite subject.  The other art teacher was Lucy Diecks, one of Louisville’s best-known painters.  From her I learned oil painting.  During study periods, I went to the oil studio and painted, squeezing a little more art into my school day. I did not go to college. My father was a practical man and sent me to business school.  My college was later in life when I took on my own classes in what I wanted to know such as more accounting and history of art classes.

I had a few years inactivity as an artist. I was busy raising two daughters. I helped and encouraged them. But my younger daughter pulled me back into painting, so I joined the Pallette Club, a local all media organization.  I did art fairs, which I dearly loved. I took watercolor workshops and at one of these workshops, it was suggested that we form a watercolor society. And so the Kentucky Watercolor society was born.  I was the first recording secretary followed by Aqueous Chair, President, Treasurer, and have over the years held many other offices.

I have also taught. I was asked to teach a watercolor class at Louisville Visual Association (at the water tower). I taught those classes over twenty years, ending with the closing of Artopia and LVAA’s classes. I loved teaching and still have a few student-friends who paint with me.

I entered competitions, winning my share of awards. I loved art fairs, such a great way to get to know other artists.  In my old pop-top VW Camper, I have gone as far as Atlanta and Destin, Florida. It has been a great life.

Aline Barker