232 Main St., Ames, IA
Email: [email protected]
[email protected]
Iowa State Phone: (515) 294-1046
Sitting at a small desk in her temporary Main Street studio, Barbara Walton, politely apologizes for the smoky odor drifting through the air.
On March 31, 2015 a fire broke out in the ceiling on the first floor of her studio’s building. Thankfully none of her paintings were ruined, but the adjustment of being in a new building has caused her to slow down on the work that brings joy to her life.
Art has always been a part of Walton’s life. Growing up in an artistic household as the youngest and only girl of five children, Walton quickly grew to like art.
She continued to practice painting throughout her young adult life. It wasn’t until after having kids, however, that she decided to turn her hobby into a career.
With two kids in high school, Walton went back to school to get her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Iowa State University. After graduating in 1991, she continued her education and received a Master of Arts from Iowa State and a Master of Fine Arts from Drake University.
In 2002, Walton became interested in encaustic painting after attending a workshop in Santa Fe, N.M. Encaustic painting is a form of art that uses liquid beeswax. When the pigmented wax is in its molten state, it can be transferred onto a surface with a brush.
Walton currently spends her days creating encaustic and oil paintings in her studio. She is also a drawing and painting professor at Iowa State.
You can check out her work by contacting her directly at [email protected] or by visiting her studio during the Ames Area Studio Tour on Oct. 10 (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) and 11 (noon-4 p.m.). Walton will be in her studio showing off her work and doing encaustic painting demonstrations.
For more information about the Ames Area Studio Tour please visit http://www.amesart.org/ames-area-studio-tour.html.