Dreams and the dark side of the human soul are just some of the themes covered by Pat Barsanti's artwork currently on display at the Dirt Cowboy Cafe on Main Street.
The abstract paintings, done in watercolors, deal mostly with aspects of ourselves, escapism and choices that we need to make.
Barsanti's love of nature comes through in the collection. Animals are the predominant figures with the human figure drawn either symbolically or abstractly, if at all. The paintings are highly symbolic and subject to many different interpretations, which the artist said pleases her.
The roots of the paintings come from Barsanti's dreams, imagination, belief system, and "the way [she] thinks about [her] life." Her great-grandmother has also been a primary inspiration, she said.
Barsanti claims that she is usually in a meditative state when working. She "just does it," she said. "Inner things need abstraction," Barsanti said, "There is no excitement in drawing something realistically."
Barsanti's paintings deal mostly with the human connection and/or disconnection with nature. Symbols in the paintings include those of passion, nourishment, nature and knowledge. They say something about the fears that all people encounter: the unknown, change and ourselves. Other paintings deal with the human condition and healing.
Many of the paintings deal with decisions people need to make and what makes one choose one thing over another. Many see a strong Southwestern or Native American theme in Barsanti's work, but she insists that it is not intentional.
Barsanti has worked with animals before and looks often toward nature to feel inner peace. The paintings reflect the feeling that people tend to gravitate more towards the intellectual rather than the spiritual.
Barsanti has been painting for 10 years and actively showing her work for about four or five years.
Barsanti, who also works at Panda House Restaurant, has a gallery in Aften, Mass. and is a member of the Boston Printmakers. She participates in travelling shows as well as having displays at the Museum of Fine Arts School of Tufts University, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
She said she enjoys the balance of doing a little bit of everything and also teaches art and sculpture to children.
Barsanti said she would like to have her work displayed in galleries on the East Coast, such as those in New York and perhaps in Japan as well.
Although the paintings on display at the Dirt Cowboy are about the dark side of the human soul, Barsanti has also done lighter, more whimsical work, and hopes to illustrate children's books.
Barsanti seems pleased by the reaction that her work has rendered at the cafe. "Even if they hate it, as long as it stimulates them, I'm happy," Barsanti said. "That's what it's all about." She says that the great response has been a source of inspiration.
The Dirt Cowboy Cafe features a different artist every month. Co-owner Thomas Guerra said that he has been very pleased with Barsanti's work and adds that the paintings "fit in very nicely with the cafe."
Guerra looks for vibrant, corlorful artwork and thought Barsanti's work fit the bill perfectly.
The cafe charges 25 percent commission, half that of a gallery, with 5 percent going to the World Wildlife Federation to stop the poaching of tigers.
