Barbara Schelling

Barbara Schelling is a life-long graphic designer and lives in Bigfork, Montana. Six years ago, she sat on her porch and watched a Rufous hummingbird who was extremely territorial and just plain mean to all other birds and critters. This bird was dubbed Eric the Red because of his ferocious personality. She decided to paint him as Erik the Red, the viking and this started a new illustration tangent that was delightfully unexpected. In all the paintings, she wants to capture the details and anatomy of local birds and animals but add in a quirky personality through a fantastical embellishment and brief story. Barbara is also a member of the Nakoda (Assiniboine) tribe based in Fort Belknap, MT and is continuously learning about cultural, personal and historical aspects of being indigenous. She has found throughout all of this, beauty, light, and humor are in the details.

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