Category Archives: Bolivia
Travel photo of the month*
*favorite travel photos that have not yet appeared in this blog
In Oruro with Rodrigo Paz, the President of Bolivia
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Q: What’s on the easel today?
26” x 20” pastel painting in progress
A: I’ve just started a new “Bolivianos” pastel painting based on a photo captured at MUSEF La Paz during my February trip to Bolivia.
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Q: How do you think your recent trip to Bolivia will affect your work?
Reference photo from my trip to Bolivia
A: I have been back in the United States for one month and I know from past trips that there is always a long gestation period as I reflect on colorful new experiences, new sights, sounds, etc. My three and a half-weeks in Bolivia were non-stop, intense, and just full of so many high points. Bolivia is a fascinating country with profound cultural riches, and exceptionally warm and welcoming people. I experienced new friendships and events that were way beyond anything I could have imagined. In short, there’s a lot to process!
In the immediate aftermath, back in the studio I am deliberately selecting more vibrant colors and bumping up the contrast and drama in the painting on my easel (“Gatecrasher”) as I attempt to reflect some of what I saw and experienced in Oruro during Carnaval. I have begun to plan a pastel painting based on the mask pictured above, which I photographed in La Paz. We shall see what new work is created over the coming months and years. For now, it’s exciting to be reenergized and to have new subject matter with which to work. And, at this early date, I can barely conceive what our new Bolivia documentary will be like!
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Q: What’s on the easel today?
Work in progress
A: I continue working on “Gatecrasher,” soft pastel on sandpaper, 58” x 38.” In February I was privileged to visit this mask on exhibit at MUSEF La Paz in Bolivia. It was my second visit to the museum; the first was in 2017. Even more so this time, I was bowled over with how spectacular this particular mask is in person. Plus, I had forgotten its huge size. So I am absolutely determined to bump up my game and even more inspired to make this painting as strong and powerful as I possibly can!
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Travel photo of the month*
*favorite travel photos that have not yet appeared in this blog
Sucre, Bolivia
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Pearls from artists* # 683
*an ongoing series of quotations – mostly from artists, to artists – that offers wisdom, inspiration, and advice for the sometimes lonely road we are on.
Clichéd subject matter can be a symptom of shallow understanding. Experiencing our subject matter firsthand helps us absorb complexities and discover surprising insights, leading to enriched outcomes. Envision a painting of a tree copied from a found internet photograph. Then, imagine the possibilities of a work executed by a person who loves to climb, sit under, caress, plant, and nurture trees, one who has observed their qualities through downpours, windstorms, and the Fall twilight filtered through leaf layers. They don’t just see, but feel these living, breathing giants straining to grow toward the sun, cooperatively respecting their neighbor’s space high in their crowns, and communicating with their community underground. Inspiration is not just gleaned through the eyes but through our entire bodies, intellect, and feelings.
Kate Kretz in Art From Your Core: A Holistic Guide to Visual Voice
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Travel photo of the month*
On the road above Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, May 2017
*favorite travel photos that have not yet appeared in this blog
Lately my thoughts are turning to Bolivia as we continue to plan a research trip to see the Oruro Carnival in February and to make a second documentary!
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Q: Do you have any big projects coming up?
A: I certainly do! I have been a painter for forty years, and for most of that time, my work has been shaped by foreign travel. At seventy-two, I find myself thinking about legacy — what I want to leave behind. Documenting my creative process on film has become an essential part of this objective.
In the “Bolivianos” series, I have been creating pastel-on-sandpaper paintings that transform the vivid masks of the Bolivian Carnival into universal archetypes. I first encountered these masks at a museum in La Paz in 2017.
Circumstances have aligned perfectly for an exciting next step: another trip to Bolivia and a new documentary. Our upcoming film will be a follow-up to the award-winning “Barbara Rachko: True Grit” (released in 2023), marking a deeper exploration of my thirty-five-year engagement with folk art from Mexico, Central America, and South America.
(See https://youtu.be/JJWLy84kXI0?si=v7JHIq9ViYGgs76U)
In February 2026, I will return to Bolivia with a two-person film crew to experience Carnival firsthand — to immerse myself in its rhythm, history, and meaning. Recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, this festival offers an extraordinary window into Bolivia’s cultural soul.
Our film will chronicle my journey as essential research — a vital continuation of my creative inquiry over these past decades. With this trip and film, I hope to create my next body of pastel-on-sandpaper paintings, rich with color, spirit, and the enduring vitality of Oruro’s Carnival.
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Travel photo of the month*
A market somewhere in Bolivia
*favorite travel photos that have not yet appeared in this blog
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Travel photo of the month*
Lake Titicaca from Isla de La Luna, Bolivia
*favorite travel photos that have not yet appeared on this blog
What I love about this photo, besides the fact that you can see for miles in clear, gorgeous light at 12,000’, is that cactus and snow-covered Andean peaks are visible in the same image.
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barbararachkoscoloreddust.com 