LIFETIME OF LOVE, ART
Local couple creates pastel paintings depicting business storefronts in their community
GREENFIELD, N.Y. >> Lucky local businesses are being treated to their building’s likenesses by a husband and wife team of local artists.
Michael and Randy Barlin, owners of Painting With Dust, have created a series of pastel paintings depicting the storefronts of local businesses in their community.
“When we see a storefront that appeals to us, we paint it,” said Michael. “If we give one of our paintings to a business owner, all we ask is for something in return — not money.”
So far, businesses receiving paintings of their stores have been happy to use this barter system. A restaurant they painted treated the Barlins to a nice meal. The Candy Shop in Saratoga gave the couple a gift certificate, which they look forward to spending on their 3 grandchildren.
“We’re going to bring them in there and tell them to get whatever they want,” Michael said with a smile.
The Barlins have been artists for most of their lives. Over the years and
through various jobs, creating art has always been a part of their worlds, from their start in New York City to their retired lives in Saratoga county.
Michael, born in Charlottsville S.C. and raised in New York City, started down his path as an artist in sixth grade when he did a painting of a tree in a snowstorm using whitewash. The school principal hung the painting in his office and it stayed there for 20 years. Michael went to school for art at Pratt Institute in New York City.
Randy, born in Brooklyn, has been painting since she was a young teen. She took lessons at the Brooklyn Museum, and later had private lessons in oil painting. Her parents, wanting to support their daughter’s interests, set up an easel for her in their living room. She later attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
“One of my first jobs after college was working for a rabbi. I would paint ketubahs (Jewish marriage contracts) for him,” she recalled.
After meeting through a friend and getting married, they continued to work as artists, now as a team. They formed The Golden Touch and began selling shirts with bears painted on them. The shirts were very popular at city flea markets.
“The ballerina bears wearing pinks and cowboy bears with their hats and lassos were the most popular designs,” Randy remembered.
They made and sold their creations while holding down full-time jobs, Michael as a union plumber and Randy working in a library. Eventually, though, they decided it was time to move on.
“Brooklyn felt stifling, and I wanted the kids to go to better schools,” Randy said.
“Every summer vacation, we would come to upstate New York and take the kids camping,” Michael added. “We knew this was a good place.”
Randy’s cousin helped the family find a place to live in Greenfield. The Barlins put a lot of work into fixing the place up, including planting trees and flowers in the large yard.
“It was a nice place for the kids to be able to run and play,” Randy said.
With a new home and a new start, the Barlins hoped they would be able to continue selling their art the way they had done in New York City.
“Unfortunately, when we got here the recession was under way,” Michael recalled. “We tried selling at a Ballston Spa flea market, and our stuff just didn’t sell. It was tough.”
The couple found work to keep them going, Randy once again in the local libraries and Michael first as a plumber, and then as a security guard. They also both worked at The Good Shepherd for a while. Through it all, they never stopped making art.
Now, the Barlins are retired, and enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
“We take walks, we’ve joined the Y, we play cards,” Randy said. “We’re looking forward to spending lots of time with our grandkids.”
“We watch a lot of movies, too. I consider myself to be a movie critic now,” Michael added with a laugh.
And of course, they’re still making art. They founded Painting With Dust and continue to follow their passions.
“We do mostly pastels now, some photography, and I do ripitographs (fine pencil art) as well,” said Michael. “I like the pastels because they’ll last forever.”
The Barlins have done art shows at the cafe in the Saratoga Library and at The Studio on Wilton Road. They look forward to opportunities to do more.
“It’s great seeing our work on display,” Michael said.
Randy recalled a time from just before the couple moved out of New York City, when they were visiting her mother in the hospital.
“I looked up, and there was one of the paintings I had done when I worked for the rabbi. It was amazing to see my work there,” she said.
With time on their hands now that they are retired, painting is something they can enjoy at the pace that works best for each of them. They paint everything from local storefronts to Caribbean seascapes to works of nature.
Michael will complete a painting in about 3 weeks, 2 if he works on it “full time.” He recently underwent laser eye surgery, and since recovering now makes a point of painting every day, holding up his end of a spiritual agreement he made before the surgery.
Randy takes a little more time, completing a painting she works at on and off in about 2 months.
“I’m such a perfectionist, so I go slower,” she admitted.
The couple’s love of painting has been a cornerstone of their lives, always there through the good times and the bad.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs in our lives, but we’ve always had art to keep us going,” said Randy. “It’s the best clean outlet.”
“It’s the best medicine,” Michael added. “When I do my artwork, I feel great. When someone says they like it, I feel 10 feet tall.”