Patricia Rhoden Bartels

Painting en plein air and in her studio, Patricia’s oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings celebrate the exceptional beauty of nature inspired by living deep in the woods and rugged hills of Brown County, Indiana.

“I can walk out my front door and find something beautiful and amazing to paint after taking only a few footsteps,” says the award-winning artist and former Brown County public-school art teacher.

Patricia describes how she first fell in love with “making art” at the tender age of 8, after being chosen to attend gifted classes at the Toledo Museum of Art. Today, 51 years later, she says painting is her “obsession and passion.”

“A painting must stand alone, not merely as a representation of an object from the real world, but independent of recognizable imagery,” the artist says. “I aspire for my paintings to function on a level of abstraction, never conveying a literal representation.”

Patricia began seriously painting in college while earning her Masters of Fine Arts degree in painting and sculpture from Bowling Green State University in 1976. Since then, she’s traveled to India, Egypt, Australia, Japan, Russia, Europe and Africa.

“I have explored unique ways to see the world and express my experiences and feelings,” Patricia says. “I am forever inspired by my own personal drive to get it right and express my personal message.”

With a passion for color and light, Patricia says her goal is to create and experience, capturing a moment in time for the observer.

“My paintings are about LIGHT and COLOR,” she says. “Being more non-objective, less concerned about the subject, forces me to think about the important elements of art more, it causes me to think differently and challenges me.”