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- Written by Julie Steffen, Director of Dynamic Living Julie Steffen, Director of Dynamic Living
Bob Barker spent much of his professional career as a graphic designer in and around New York City.
“I had always wanted to be a painter but never gave myself permission,” he says.
It was only after his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, followed by the passing of his longtime partner, that he took up oil painting about three or four years ago.
He rented office space, bought some color paints, and “let the paint speak for itself.”
For Barker, it is almost a spiritual experience.
“What comes out of me, I say, ‘I didn’t do that. I just helped it be created.’”
Barker relocated to central Pennsylvania about a year ago and is a resident of Country Meadows of Hershey, where he can receive care for his Parkinson’s. There, Barker was inspired to transform a large walk-in closet into an art studio.
Although painting in his apartment has meant changing mediums from oil painting to acrylic because of the odor of oil paint, there is an advantage to being able to bring a piece out day or night to reevaluate his work.
“Because many times I don’t like what I did, and then I stop,” he says. “And then a voice says to me, ‘Go back and put another layer of paint on.’ And that’s where the magic happens. That’s where I see things that I hadn’t seen before.”
Barker had never considered an exhibit of his artwork, but when the idea was suggested to him, he quickly embraced it.
His work was on special display at Country Meadows of Hershey through the month of September and as part of a commemoration of National Active Aging Week.
Staff members who helped organize the show hoped to use Barker as their “poster child” to show residents it’s never too late to try something new — and that they should be confident in pursuing their talents and passions.
“I’m glad to be the representative,” he says, “because you learn about old people by being one.”
He adds, “One good thing about this stage in life is that I can pretty much do what I want. And there’s a great freedom in that, but this is a phase in life that you kind of wish never happened, but it did. But I look out my window here, and it’s a really good experience, a good place to be.”
Now, Barker would like to try painting large-scale pieces, such as 40-foot by 60-foot canvases, and exhibit in a gallery.
“I can’t predict where my art is going to go next. So, I hope it goes someplace that pleases me. I’m a passenger on the train.”
He also dreams of transforming a shed (currently destined to be a woodworking shop) on the community’s property into an art studio.
“It’s a beautiful space,” he says.
Barker encourages the old and young alike to follow their passions.
“There may be something you haven’t tried. Try it and fail. It’s OK. It’s no fun to fail, but there’s no telling what might pop up in your world if you give it a try. I always tell people, ‘It’s not what you think it’s going to be. It’ll be something else. And be open to the something else.’
“That's my story and I’m sticking with it.”