Barbara Gerdeman

Artist Statement

ARTIST BIO:

Barbara Gerdeman is an accomplished artist and arts advocate with an AS Degree in Advertising Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Her creative journey began in the art department of a small paper and packaging company, but she soon transitioned into freelance work in search of greater artistic fulfillment. Her freelance career was diverse and dynamic, ranging from painting a logo on an airplane and names on the backs of boats to creating murals and bespoke handmade invitations.

After relocating from Fort Lauderdale to Sarasota, Barbara honed her skills in decorative painting while working with a local mural and faux finish company. This experience inspired her to launch her own successful business specializing in murals and faux finishes. Barbara’s passion for art education led her to Art Center Sarasota, where she served in various roles, including Volunteer Coordinator, Summer Art Camp Instructor, and Youth Education Coordinator.

In 2021, Barbara co-founded Creative Liberties Artist Studios and Galleries. It began as a service-based initiative to support fellow artists and grew into a thriving creative hub. Today, Creative Liberties operates three locations across Sarasota’s Limelight and Rosemary Districts, providing studio space, gallery representation, and community programming under the guiding philosophy: “artists helping artists.”

Barbara's current body of artwork includes a variety of mixed media and photographic creations. Many of her recent mixed media pieces incorporate a musical element, allowing viewers to interact with the artwork through a push button that plays 30 seconds of the song that inspired the piece. Her photography primarily features images captured during her travels or while simply observing the world around her.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

My name is Barbara Gerdeman and I create art using mixed media, acrylic paint and photography. For years I painted many realistic style murals – lots of beach scenes – so my mixed media and acrylic work now tends to be more graphic, simple shapes with vibrant colors and black outlines. The Pop Art Movement is my favorite era of art and I feel like my style of work falls somewhere in that category. I enjoy using shadows and highlights to give my subject matter a 3D feeling creating a sense of perspective and depth. I also enjoy using elements of collage and/or texture to add visual interest. My current series of work is based on lyrics from the songs that have been my life soundtrack at one point or another. Although I have no musical talent to speak of, music has always played a huge role in my life.

I also enjoy photography and my two primary photo themes are images I capture while traveling that show glimpses of cities, landscapes, other cultures, and people with a little bit of a street photography theme mixed in or taking abstracted macro shots of everyday items, things found in nature or patterns – naturally occurring or otherwise.