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Community Corner

'As Autumn Leaves II' @ Springfield Library

Gorgeous Representational Renderings of Nature and More By Michal Barkai

Livingston-based artist Michal Barkai believes that when one door closes, another opens. 

Before she created works like the  "As Autumn Leaves II" currently on display at the Springfield Library she was an IT professional working extensively on Y2K issues. With very little awareness of her innate creativity, she was content with work and family life until the recession of 2001 hit the banking industry and she was downsized out of her job.

Although that was disconcerting, Barkai is no stranger to movement and change. She was born in Israel and has personal and professional roots both there and New York and New Jersey. 

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After shock of her layoff wore off, Barkai found herself at loose ends. She decided to use her free time  to develop a dormant creative side. Oil painting called to her and she took up brushes—snapping her own photographs for reference.  She soon noticed that the photos themselves were beautiful works of art and added that capability to an artistic repertoire that included pastels as well as oils.

Her tech skill set, developed during successful first career—organization, attention to detail, analytical observation and coordination—serves her well as an artist and each composition is perfectly observed, balanced and rendered.

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She is especially interested in nature, noting on her Web site "My influences come from different parts of my life, complementing each other: a natural sense for design, an early childhood by the sea and sun drenched fields of Israel, a move to the east coast of the USA, rich in waterscapes and seasonal changes, a long IT career that sharpened my analytical skills and attention to detail, followed by a need and opportunity allowing me to awaken my visual self. "

Barkai suggests that we all "take the time to look." Her work explores the beauty in the everyday world from a simple pear to an interpretation of an image from the movie ‘Dirty Dancing’ to cityscapes and forest views.

Barkai is a board member of the Millburn-Short Hills Art Center, the Pastel Society of New Jersey, the Livingston Arts Association, and the Arts Council of Livingston. She is also a member of Studio Montclair, the NJ society of Plein Air Artists, and the Livingston Camera Club, and is an associate member of the Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.

All the prints and paintings in the "As Autumn Leaves II" exhibit are for sale along with a selection of smaller prints and greeting cards. 

"As Autumn Leaves II", the artistic expressions of Michal Barkai runs through Nov. 12 at the Palmer Museum, which is located in the Springfield Library.  Exhibit hours are: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00 AM to 8:30 PM, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday 10:00 AM to 4:30 PM, and Sunday 1:00 to 4:40 PM. Springfield Free Public Library, 66 Mountain Avenue, Springfield 973-376-4930.

 

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