Walter Bartman is Founder and Director of the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery, in Glen Echo, Maryland. He teaches landscape, still life and figure painting classes and workshops, at the Yellow Barn and abroad. His career spans four decades. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Art History from American University and he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Belgium and Holland.

He says of his paintings: “…Most of my work  is about my experience with Nature. About the sense of place. My studio life has been outdoors for many years. I find that Nature provides an endless amount of visual sensations for the artist. You never run out of ideas because never are two days alike. What is the distinguishing characteristic about working outdoors is that the subjects are bathed in color. Once you have painted outdoors, it is hard to return indoors to work in the studio.

I came to understand the power color has in inspiring us in our everyday lives. I know when I see inspiring color, I want to paint it. I have a need to express the feeling I get when I see it. I have often told my students that I feel color, I don’t see it. I internalize it and I believe color is my fuel. My energy comes from color. My attempt in painting is to preserve it on canvas. The paintings that follow express my passion for color. “It is the dessert for my eyes.”