Kay Barber Dalton began taking adult oil classes at age 12 from Paul Matranga at the nationally recognized Gulf Coast Art Center in Belleair, Florida. She continued her studies there an at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center until entering Southern Methodist University where she earned her BFA in Studio Art, gaining influence of guest critic, Jerry Bywaters and instructors DeForrest Judd, Roger Winter, Larry Scholder and Stephen Wilder.

A Florida native, Kay’s work almost always has references to water. Since her early career, she has participated in juried shows and has been the recipient of several awards. Her work hangs in both public and private collections throughout the world.

Kay was previously represented by the LuminArte Gallery in the Dallas Design District. She now has work available at William&Wesley Co. and B Street Art Consultants. Kay enjoys working with designers and clients to create custom pieces. She works in her Dallas studio using a variety of mediums including oil, acrylic, pastels, charcoal, oil sticks, varnishes, glazes, organic matter, finishing and surface techniques. Her pieces explore the basic issues of color, form, depth, and revelations in life.

J.W.W. Turner, Frank Reaugh, Olin Travis, John Kingerly, Ann Cushing Gantz and David McManaway are her main influences. Kay’s long and extensive background in almost every artistic discipline works together with her life experiences that push her to explore many issues in a balanced but abstract presentation. She will reinvent recurring themes creating horizons that ask the question of where we are going or build squares on top of squares that represent compartments of our memories and overlapping experiences that reflect where we’ve been.

Predominately working in oils, Kay lays down her combinations of paint and media which she then scrapes away only to add another layer. Each layer creates the complexity and originality that reflect her challenging themes of questioning reality and myth.