What is a Handpainted Wood Barn Quilt?

Barn Quilts are Folk Art pieces made using a single quilt block design that is painted onto a piece of wood.

There is no fabric involved. Traditionally, they were painted directly on a barn or building, and occasionally they were painted on plywood then affixed to the building of choice or hung from a post in the yard.

In their beginnings, they were an expression of heritage, a marker to direct travelers. For many early farmers, Barn Quilts were talisman that protected the people and animals living on the farm and brought blessings and good luck to all. Many of the traditional quilt blocks that inspired early painters were favorite patterns among quilters, passed along from woman to woman with frequent name or design changes that personalized the piece and resulted in blocks with multiple names and slight variations in composition.

Regardless, the simple shapes and vibrant solid colors make the blocks easy to see from afar. Today, these works serve as a form of public art for everyone to enjoy with Barn Quilt Trails popping up throughout the US and Canada.

The Barn Quilts that I make are painted on plywood that is reclaimed from a burn pile or the land fill. My husband helps me cut the wood to the desired dimensions then I sand it to a workable surface before adding two coats of primer. All the drafting and painting is done by hand, with each Barn Quilt being produced one at a time. Once the primer is dry, I add two coats of base color: the background color of the finished Barn Quilt. The next step is drafting the block design onto the wood so I can add the colors. Each color requires a minimum of two coats of paint to get the affect I am after. Once the block is fully painted, I go back and clean up all the lines before adding the trim.

With the painting complete and the trim in place, I seal the entire piece front and back with three coats of polyurethane to protect the quilt from weather, mold and mildew. My decision to use water or oil base urethane to seal the Barn Quilt is an individual decision determined at the time of painting to achieve the affect I want. Water-based urethane gives a clear bright finish while oil-based urethane has a yellowing affect that gives the finished piece a lovely old world patina.

These pieces take several weeks to complete and are fully weather proof for indoor or outdoor use unless otherwise noted. I enjoy the slow art aspect of these pieces and appreciate the simple bold lines of each induvial block.

The familiar shapes and bright colors bring a vibrancy to the work that is captivating and dazzling to behold.

My project buddy Porter with a folding Barn Quilt TV table