The painting shown right is a recent one (Jan 2026): I enjoyed exploring our beautiful area around Winchcombe in Gloucestershire during sunny, frosty weather recently. Here’s one of my favourite subjects: the bridge in Castle Street, looking up towards the town centre buildings. I liked the contrast of the warm Cotswold stone in morning light against the cold blues of the sky and frost, and I wanted the sharp angles of the buildings to reflect the sharp cold of the weather.
Colour! Cotswolds!
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Find me on Instagram: #barbarabluecotswolds
Gallery Information @Sixteen Online
E-mail me: barbara.i.curry@googlemail.com
Above (top) is a 20” square painting I finished in May 2025, responding to a very early morning outing, with the low sun catching dandelion heads and giving them little haloes. I love sharing happy moments like this. I get up early, so you don’t have to!
Below it, (closest) is a large painting (36” square) celebrating the bleached post-harvest colours of stubble and wild flowers in the Sudeley valley close to Winchcombe. This painting was favoured with the most heart-shaped stickers for “favourite painting” in my last show at Sixteen Gallery in Cheltenham! Still available……
Right: another new painting shown for the first time last summer. A summer walk with a friend, among waving and ripening barley, was such a delight that I had to record it in oils. It’s 24” square. I really enjoyed creating the textures of the waving, golden crop.
My paintings have been described as “vibrant, affectionate and joyful”. I live in the Cotswolds and I paint from the heart: my love of colour and the moods of changing seasons inspire me. I am proud to have trained at the Norfolk Painting School, where I achieved a Diploma in 2021. I paint in oils because I love their feel and versatility. I enjoy mark-making using tools in addition to brushes, and I also experiment with collage and abstraction.
News 2025-6
A description of my painting process was shown on PaintersOnline in November ‘23. I’m a prizewinner at Broadway Festival of Arts (2022) and have been a Finalist at Bath Open.
I was chosen by the Editor of Leisure Painter magazine for “Painting of the Month”, which was featured, together with an article, in the December edition ‘23.
In 2025, I had a surprise call from the e-magazine, Art Focus, who wanted to award me their annual trophy for “Excellence in Landscape Painting” and to feature my work in a two-page article.
My Open Studio event with Cheltenham Open Studios in June 2025, was a great success, with over 100 visitors during the week, lots of interest and some pleasing sales.
Look for me on Sixteen Gallery Online: I’m featured on their site. I presented my third solo show there, from July 31st - Aug 6th last year with over 200 visitors that week. I’m currently represented in their Collective Exhibition (Jan 26) and I’ll be there with another solo show in 2026, from July 30th to August 5th. Sixteen is on Montpellier Street. Cheltenham, Glos, a beautiful shopping and cafe area with other galleries close by. Come and say hello!
