OXFORD – Above Nate Gross’ guitar studio at 4 North Canal Street in Oxford, Caitlin Barrett sits in her own studio and paints. The walls of the small space are lined with her work, and in the middle rests a large, blank canvas practically begging for the young artist’s attention.
Unfortunately, it will have to wait because Barrett is busy trying to focus on two other projects right now: a series of murals she’s painting on commission for Roma’s Pizzeria owner Mike Barone and ironing out the details for the youth art lessons she’ll be giving this summer.
“I stretched it right before I started the mural project,” Barrett explained, referring to the canvas taking up prime real estate in her tiny atelier. She’s making good progress though, having already finished two of the four murals she has planned for Roma’s.
“It’s my first big mural project, but I’m really enjoying it,” Barrett said. She will certainly seek out similar commission work in the future, she added, even though, by her own admission, the sweeping landscapes she’s painting to fit the Italian restaurant’s theme are something of a departure from her usual subject matter.
“I mostly do abstract work,” she explained, much of which is inspired by how emotions manifest themselves physically in the human body. While she works primarily in oils, Barrett said she occasionally paints with acrylics as well. When she does, she uses Golden Artist paints almost exclusively.
It’s not just the quality of Golden Artist Colors products which Barrett likes; she feels a strong connection with the company which brought her to Chenango County in the first place.
Shortly after she graduated from Alfred University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts, Barrett did an internship with the Columbus-based acrylic paint manufacturer. While there, she worked in their research and development lab.
“It was a wonderful place to work,” she said.
During her internship, Barrett, who is originally from Long Island, settled in Oxford, the hometown of her boyfriend whom she’d met in college.
