b. 1947
David Bareford began his study of art in high school in Warren, New Jersey under the instruction of Lawrence Von Beidel. By graduation in his senior year, David had won two awards in a local art show. He continued his education at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois where he studied for two years.
While at Wheaton he primarily studied metal sculpture with instructor Donald Seiden of the Chicago Art Institute. In 1970 Bareford graduated with a BA in Fine Art from the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana. Upon graduating, David began his career as a watercolorist. He concentrated on painting outside, studying the ever changing effects of natural light on subjects.
David Bareford’s work was soon included in the American Watercolor Society’s Traveling Exhibition, where he quickly gained national recognition. He received numerous awards for his watercolor paintings as he continued to exhibit his work in such acclaimed juried shows as the American Watercolor Society and the National Academy of Design Annual Exhibition held in New York City.
After several years of successful study in the medium of watercolor, Bareford turned his attention to oil painting. He continued to work outside, capturing and conveying the movement of natural light. Bareford commented in an interview in 1972, “I paint paintings, not pictures. The primary concern of a picture is representation, to show just what something looked like - but the primary concern of a painting is expression, to show the action and vitality that is present in the atmosphere of the place. Even though the painting may not look exactly like the scene itself, it may convey better what it was really like. I want my paintings to be new every time someone looks at them, and to be interesting whether they are viewed near or at a distance.”