The poet Mary Oliver writes, “I look; morning to night I am never done with looking.”

In another of her poems, she writes, “Sometimes I spend all day trying to count the leaves on a tree.” She climbs up the tree in this poem and writes the number of leaves she counts in a book, and when she is done, or gives up trying to count them all, she is “half-crazy at the wonder of it – the abundance of the leaves, the quietness of the branches.”

This wonder at the meticulous detail in nature strikes me in Barbara Clemens Barber’s art. Her exhibit of realist landscapes, “Unsullied” is featured this month in St. Anthony on the Desert’s March online exhibit.

In her painting “Chicago Peace,” for instance, the artist looks up close at a single rose, observing its twisting and turning, its veins and tears. This power of observation brings us visually into a moment of concentration, brings us into a closer relationship with the intricacies of what makes a rose a rose.

Similarly, in “Fishing in the Surf in Lavallett,” Barber exquisitely forms with her paintbrush the magnificently chaotic squiggly circles of white surf coming up the beach, mesmerizing the viewer with their visual complexity.

Barber’s powers of close observation continue in “Rockport Fishing Shack with Harbor Buoy and Nets.” The compositional color and shape of the buoys intrigue us in this picture, just s the attention to detail in the grey nets amaze us.

In “Storm over the Superstitions,” Barber’s storm clouds astound, rushing powerfully toward us as they engulf us in their tumult.

The intense observation to reality and detail in these paintings forces the viewer to contemplate the mysteries of nature. This observation binds us to these forms, making us look closer at what we neglected to see all along, guiding us to be more fully engaged with life on earth, not merely passing by, making us, perhaps, like Mary Oliver, a little crazy over “the wonder of it.”

This “noticing” began when Barber was a child in Long Island, N.Y. Behind her house were woods and a creek.

“The beauty of this inspired me,” she says.

Now living in Arizona, she is equally inspired by the landscape here.

Barber’s work has been featured in American Art Collector magazine. She is a member of International Guild of Realism. She has been in several juried shows throughout the United States. Her works are shown locally at Emerson Art Gallery and 9th Gallery. She also has items for sale on zazzle.com.

Access the online exhibit at st-anthony.net. Click on “adults,” then “social connections” then “arts council.”