Introduction | Art making as a homeschooler | Spring 2026 Goals | Winter Gallery

Hello! My name is Phoenix Barra and this will be the first edition of my blog. I don’t know if blogging is a relevant medium anymore (and when it was I was oblivious to it) but I’m excited by the prospect of having years of blog posts to look back on when I’m further down the road.

A bit about myself: as of writing this I am 16 and turning 17 soon, I work in watercolor and look forward to a future hopefully filled with oil paint, I’m based in New York, and I’m very interested in the work of the great impressionists.

Art making as a homeschooler

Since January 2025 I have been a proud homeschooler. I think it comes with a lot of freedoms and opportunities that would be inaccessible if I didn’t homeschool. For instance, I’m able to take workshops and classes, travel during weekdays, and take classes anywhere I want. But it also comes with its obvious downsides, like that most of the time I’m stuck at home. As someone who finds my creative inspiration from outdoor observation and travel, homeschooling can be by greatest foe. And so, for my second winter painting and my first winter where my love for landscape painting has been developed, I found I painted less than ever before. As Spring rolls around I’m excited to get outdoors and paint with some green on my palette.

Spring 2026 Goals

• Work plein air every week (if weather permits. I’m looking at you mid summer heat…)

• Try new media (oil, pastel, gouache)

• Visit the MET every month (so far I’ve gone every month since January)

• Make a painting larger than 18x24

• Experiment!

Winter 2025-26’ Gallery