Five minutes from the Floyd traffic light, then up Canning Factory Road and around the corner on Epperly Mill Road, you will see two purple buildings on the right.  This is where you will find artist Sydney Wellman, and her Purple Barn Studios.
Sydney grew up an only child at her family home in rural Peoria, Illinois.  Many of her young days were spent watching the family’s neighbor, Fred, riding his beautiful white stallion out of the stables.  Sydney often visited that farm where she’d spend time with the horses; feeding them carrots while Fred’s wife, Elsie, waved from the farmhouse’s kitchen door.  It was exactly the kind of simple, pastoral scene that many imagine for life in 1957. The neighbor’s enormous barn fascinated the five-year old Sydney.  She loved everything about it.  She loved how massive it was and she loved the aroma of the hay.  Most of all, however, she loved the horses.  It thrilled her to hear them whinny.  Eventually, Sydney got a stubborn and sassy Shetland Pony that she boarded in that barn. In the summer, Sydney’s mother would take her to Peoria’s Glen Oak Park, where there were pony rides and other children’s activities, including art lessons.  A young art teacher there showed Sydney how to draw a house.  She sat mesmerized while the roof, chimney, and shingles all magically appeared from the end of the ink pen.  Something she knew well in real life was suddenly there on the paper in front of her.  It was magic and it was life-changing. That moment sparked a passion for art that continued throughout Sydney’s education and into her graphic design career.
Her personal artistic pursuits, however, led her down countless diverse paths before eventually becoming her priority.  Sydney lived in numerous homes and numerous cities throughout the years, but no matter where she went or what job paid the bills, her passion for art continued to grow.  Her studio space, however, remained restricted to converted bedrooms and basements.  While living in Pittsburg, Sydney quickly outgrew her small basement studio.  Hopping over pieces drying on the floor, knocking over paint cans, and struggling for storage space convinced her it was time to expand.  Because of her love for nature, Sydney envisioned a stand-alone building in the countryside where she could hear the birds while conceptualizing her art in the calm of nature’s peace.
Moving toward that goal in 2001, the art that had for so long been her hobby finally became Sydney’s profession.  When deciding on a name for her studio, she remembered the barn she had loved so much from her childhood in Peoria.  That barn, along with the purple that played a significant role in Sydney’s personal jewel-tone palette, became the inspiration for Purple Barn Studios.

Sydney created a website for the Studios, but eventually found an off-site building.  Located five miles from her home, it had separate rooms for working and gallery space, as well as upstairs bedrooms for overnight artist retreats.  It wasn’t close to nature, but it was close to perfect.
After a year, however, she got the chance to relocate.  In Raleigh, North Carolina, Sydney was just three hours from her family in Floyd.  The Raleigh house had a large, dedicated studio space for working, teaching, and art display. It was also able to store all the paints, canvases, books, clay, fabrics, and papers Sydney used for all the mediums of her creation.  Though the view included trees and bird feeders, Raleigh was not her destination.  Final stop…Floyd, Virginia.
Though Raleigh was close to Floyd, it became difficult staying in hotels to visit family.  Sydney needed her own space.
Not far from downtown Floyd, she found beautiful Epperly Mill Road rambling through sprawling farmland.  Amid all the beautiful scenery, there was a four-acre, wooded lot; close enough to town for convenience, yet secluded and peaceful.
The cozy, two-story house, named Aubergine was built and painted purple in August of 2016.  Serving as her mountain retreat, Sydney could visit with family and spend time enjoying the Floyd community.

Sydney finally had a purple studio, even though it wasn’t quite a barn. The loft was a small, A-frame space that was only tall enough to stand at the center.  To work in such limited space, Sydney’s art would have to be small.  This limitation, as well as constant trips up and down the stairs, inspired her to create a separate studio structure. In May of 2018, the separate studio building was finished!
The barn-shaped building was big enough to create and display art, and spacious enough to teach workshops.  Located just a few steps away from the main house, a paved path allows visitors to walk from the parking area to the small deck in front where Sydney often sits to ponder, draw, and to watch the mountain winds playing through the trees.
Finally, she can create while listening to birds and watching the butterflies.  In her mountain retreat, all the characters of nature pass through, bringing Sydney’s Muse along with them.

Inside, an ever-changing collection of paintings cover most of the wall space; reminders of past themes and Sydney’s intense palette.
Except for the back wall, which is all windows.  Scattered attractively are the Art Journals, Figurative Sculptures, and Two-Dimensional Art that Sydney produces in addition to her paintings.
Sydney’s working areas are confined to a few 4×2 tables, allowing workshop students to enjoy their own workspace in a relaxed atmosphere.

From that first drawing as a five-year-old to her current paintings and everything in-between: it all shaped Sydney into the artist she is today: an old hippie with paint-coated hands and purple hair.  That first pen-and-ink house lesson was the seed that would ultimately grow into Purple Barn Studios.  Of course, little Sydney had no way of knowing then that her beloved studio would be at home, among family and friends in the Floyd County countryside.

Sydney welcomes visitors and students for Open Studios, Events, and Workshops.  Purple Barn Studios will also be part of the Floyd Artisan Trail on June 7 – 9.
Visit www.purplebarnstudios.com to view Sydney’s portfolio, to check out her schedule of showings, and to see information about workshops.
You can also visit Purple Barn Studios on Facebook, where you can contact Sydney about private studio visits.