When Dr. Barbara Wagner decided to take a three-month sabbatical from her busy job as an emergency room physician, she began to paint. Her sabbatical is now in its sixth year and counting. As a doctor, Barbara worked to bring a positive change to people in crisis. Now she shares that same reverence for the sanctity of life through her art.

Drawn to watercolor paints for their transparency, spontaneity and technical challenge, Barbara creates works of tranquil beauty. She was selected as a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon in 2002, and has exhibited her work in many Northwest galleries. Her original artwork and giclee prints appear in private collections throughout the United States and Europe.

Barbara and her husband live on a small llama farm in West Linn, Oregon. Her art studio is nestled above their barn, looking out over the many animals and gardens that inspire her art.

Barbara feels that her watercolors are a natural continuation of her personal mission of healing:

“I believe art has its own powerful healing force. I started in the art of medicine, and have progressed to the medicine of art. Through careful and sensitive observation of the world around me, I explore the intricate delicacy and miracle of life, and translate that into the language of watercolors. I can discover what’s right with this world, and not what’s wrong! Many times my paintings are allegorical, while others try to capture nature’s quiet rhythm and simple grace. Life is fragile, and should be appreciated and celebrated. My watercolors invite the observer to participate in that celebration.”
Contact Barbara Wagner
All images and text copyright 2004, Barbara Wagner.
Please do not reproduce artwork without written permission of the artist.