(Pomegranate Holiday by Barbara Hudler Cella)

Never in her life has Barbara Hudler Cella felt more in tune with her surroundings, creativity and search for meaning as she does now living in Bend. Originally from Minnesota, she spent her professional marketing career in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now a professional artist in Bend, Barbara has, at last, married her love for the Cascades with her passion for painting.

Barbara is an international award-winning artist, known best for her landscape paintings. During the warmer months, you’ll often find her in the Central Cascades with her easel, or off swimming to her hearts content. “I find that I can’t get enough of the magnificent vistas just minutes from my doorstep. The Central Cascades are so close and accessible, I try to get up there every chance I get.”

A knee replacement and the subsequent pandemic stilted Barbara’s adventures and painting for several months. Then, in July, she took an online painting class with a Portland artist and she found she thrived with virtual learning. “I’d taken lecture classes online years ago and got so bored. But with Zoom art classes, it’s fabulous. You get to see the instructor in their own studio, and always have a front row seat for demonstrations. It’s easy to ask questions on the spot, and critiques are written which makes reviewing them so much easier.”

Barbara has used this unusual time to study with art instructors she normally would not have access to. “I’m convinced that this is a special window in time when all these fabulous artists are stuck. In most cases, they can’t do in-person workshops. That gives me access to them much more affordably and in my own home. I’ve found the most esoteric instructors, and I’m producing work that I never dreamed of. Most recently, I studied collage and painting Matisse- style, and now am engrossed in a still life course that is really unusual. In January, I’m most excited about a class that focuses on art experimentation with bizarre art materials! What I’ll do is a total question, mark and I can’t wait!!

“Who ever thought a pandemic could provide such a rich opportunity for personal growth and access to expertise? I never dreamed this would be possible. I’m not happy about the pandemic and the carnage it has left in public health and our economy. I miss getting together with friends, family and fellow artists. But given that, I’ll make the most of this once-in-a- lifetime creative opportunity as much as I can.”

You can see Barbara’s work at The Alexander during the months of December and January, or at barbaracella.com