From Fashion To Fine Art

The Compelling Works Of Barbara Tyler Ahlfield

- Viviana Puello

The name Barbara Tyler Ahlfield has been long associated with the runways of America. She has had a successful run in the global fashion scene working as the lead fashion illustrator for over eight major U.S. department stores among them Hutzlers, Dillard's, Foley's, Lord & Taylor, John Wanamaker, Lazarus and Nordstrom; a journey that has proven to be rewarding and very stimulating for the artist.

The head-turner boldly left her lucrative career in Fashion Illustration to follow a very successful career in fine arts, developing a body of work that fuses classical portraiture with fashion illustration. Additionally, she also explores animal portraiture. Ahlfield studied at Ohio State University, Columbus College of Art and Design, and the Schuler School of Fine Arts.

The lushness of color, line, form, and texture found in Ahlfield's compositions result in sensuous and extraordinarily compelling works of art. She skillfully blends classic artistic figure painting styles with fashion illustration and modern elements executing each painting with a great sense of femininity and elegance. Her masterful use of luminous, vivid colors gives each of her pieces a strong sense of contrast and dynamism.