Observant

Bartow is a Native American who has fought the nightmares of Viet Nam with the help of his artwork, which remains his therapy.  When I returned from Viet Nam, I, like so many others, was a bit twisted.  I was a house filled with irrational fears, beliefs, and symbols.  Wind-blown paper would send me running; crows became many things; I never remembered dreams and detested the wind; I wore bells on my wrist so I could hear my parts when they moved; I slept in my clothes so I'd be ready to go nowhere at all.  And I once recall answering when asked my name and where I was from, Nobody. Nowhere.  I must have been a wonderful companion.

"When working, I usually begin with a subject in mind…I work methodically and intuitively.  I enjoy using bright colors and earth tones mainly because color was so hard for me to come by.  Also, I live in an area noted for its annual rain and fog.  I find color healing.
 
Around here – the coastal Pacific Northwest – red tail hawks are so thick that I will look up and there'll be one just looking right down at me.  They're auspicious.  They're eavesdroppers.  I think they're quite special.  They are cautionary; warn of impending danger.  If I'm about to run across the road and I see one, I start looking around.  They remind me to be vigilant."