walt bartman painting the moment
By Paula Pennell
G
allery 322 in downtown Frederick, Maryland, is just waking up as Walt Bartman moves paintings from room to room, prepping for one of the city’s popular street events and the crowds he hopes will soon fill the gallery. The hardwood floors, white-painted walls and rustic red brick are a relaxed and unpretentious backdrop to a feast of color and motion. Bartman’s trademark cows — painted from his Jefferson, Maryland, home of 30 years — graze in Summer Storm
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a quiet side room. The grand old Point of Rocks train station anchors the back wall of the main gallery, and to its right is a bold vintage automobile with a Cuban flair. Each scene is very different, yet recognizable as his work in a gallery representing various artists. Bartman had returned the day before from teaching a workshop in Lake Como, Italy. “I just got my hair cut,” he says, smiling. Life is busy for the painter, whose name and work are included among