Becky Barker Story

Becky Barker Story: "

From The Bugle Aug.27,2010     Becky Barker enjoys painting people, cherished pets and indigenous rocks   by Sara Schick el sschickel @thebuglenews.com “Art is everywhere,” said Becky Barker of rural Chatsworth. Barker is a portrait artist whose work graces the walls of homes throughout the United States. Her lifelong interest in art developed into serious study and ultimately her own business. “After my first child was born and he got older, I started taking home-study classes,” she said. She and her husband Rusty have been married 38 years and have four children, three of whom are living, and four grandchildren. The couple resides on her husband’s family farm, less than two miles from the home she lived in as a child. Barker began her Rainbow Trail Studio about 10 years ago and balances her art along with her position as a paraprofessional for the Prairie Central School District. Jean Ertel of Gibson City commissioned Barker to paint seven portraits over the years. “I had my parents done. She made [a portrait] of my husband’s parents for a Christmas gift,” Ertel explained. “She just does a really good job. She never knows what I’m going to throw at her,” laughed Ertel. Rather than arranging for special sittings with her subjects, Barker receives pictures of the person she is going to paint. This system works well as many of her clients are not from the area and may even be from other states. She has completed work for people in California, Indiana, Florida, Colorado and Mexico. In addition to portraits of people, Barker creates special projects of beloved animals. Often times, she is asked to paint pets that have passed away. While some of her paintings remain true to the photographs they come from, Barker is sometimes asked to combine several subjects from different photos into one portrait. “I love doing the skin tones, hair color and eyes,” Barker admitted. She was commissioned to paint a portrait of a mother with her two children. The son passed away and the mother wanted a portrait of the family together. Barker was supplied with various photographs of the family members. She managed to adjust the size, lighting, and clothing so the newly created portrait looked as if the family members were posed especially for the project. The process is labor intensive and it typically takes her around 25 hours to complete a portrait of one person. She added, “Along with portraits, I also do rocks.” The Rock-A-Baby creations are intricate paintings of animal on rocks. “We live on a farm. A lot of the rocks are indigenous to the area which means they came out of the fields,” Barker explained. In addition to painting, Barker enjoys cooking, sewing and reading. She also has an interest in Egyptology. “I’m retiring in a couple years, so [travel] is on my list,” she said. Egypt and Paris top the list of places she plans to go.

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