Image Consulting With Belle Allure

Ever since she was a child, Barbara has had her own unique sense of style. Living in remote areas in British Columbia, shopping was done through the Sears catalogue. At 3, Barbara was splitting up the packages of socks that came in the mail - sorting out the pink, white and blue for herself, and giving her sister the brown and black. Today, although one could say she was pretty in pink, that is not Barbara's style. She epitomizes elegance with tone on tone blacks, browns, smooth creams - anything that provides a simple background for the accessories that make her appear to have stepped off the pages of a magazine.

Barbara is a self confessed clothes horse; because she loves to add to or change her style with a scarf or awesome jewelry, she frequents consignment stores and thrift shops where she picks up the most astonishing bargains that are the envy of all. Dramatic, romantic with a slight conservative bent, she surprises the viewer with flashes of sparkles or special pieces of jade, crystal or semi-precious stones. Barbara really is her own painting.

Working with clients, she first assesses their needs through conversation and determines their most pressing demand; clothing for the office, entertaining or vacation. Then, she searches out versatile outfits - anything that can easily flow from day to evening wear , or casual to casually elegant with a few minor additions of accessories. Her passion is to help others look and feel their best using a few simple concepts to enhance their strong points.

As one is regularly delighted by Barbara's physical appearance, her paintings present the same sense of pleasure and wonder. Her painting style is mystical, and she creates astonishing pictures with mixed media - water colours, acrylics and inks. Her canvasses draw the viewer in to remember the past or dream of far off places. With brilliant use of light and shadow, Barbara can portray ethereal, other worldly locales, or bring one to the edge of the abyss overlooking nature at its most basic level. Every painting enchants, whether viewing a beautiful aspen forest or a torrent of water raging down from a waterfall into a rocky canyon.

Strength, beauty, endurance; words that describe Barbara - and those qualities translate wonderfully to her canvas. Barbara provides food for the soul.