SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Petit Branch Library is giving readers another way to escape reality besides a good book. This month, the library is bringing attention to art on the canvas.
Liverpool artist Barbara Krause is currently showing her collection of paintings on Petit Branch’s bookshelves. One painting delves into a snowy forest, while another shows women dancing in the sand.
Krause started painting in 2016 because she can’t garden during the winter. The paintbrush allows her to enjoy nature all year round. Krause wants anyone who sees her work to envision themselves in her painted environments.
“You know, it’s all the emotions,” Krause says. “When you look at a work of art, what I see when I look at it can be completely different from what you see. That’s the beauty of art.”
Simcha Glassman works as a librarian at Petit Branch. When she looks over at Krause’s displays, she feels that sense of serenity Krause intends for. Glassman says the art gives patrons another way to relax at the library.
“People know that libraries aren’t just for like books,” she says. “They’re there to help people wherever they’re at and introduce them to different things.”
Krause plans to donate the gallery’s proceeds to “In My Father’s Kitchen,” a local organization that helps Syracuse’s homeless population. “Kindness of Nature” is on display until the end of August.
