Berit Barlaup: The artist and the mountain

By Eva-Kristin U. Pedersen | Photos: Berit Barlaup

Norwegian artist Berit Barlaup has made a niche for herself, painting mountains. Scan Magazine explores how she decided to change paths and focus on the two things she loves most – painting and mountains.

“In the beginning, I was hesitant – I didn’t know if I could call myself an artist.”
Educated as a graphic designer Berit Barlaup didn’t immediately embark on an artistic career. But in 2013, after several years working as a graphic designer, she decided to focus on what she loves the most. “I love mountains and I spend a lot of time hiking. Painting what I see on those trips is a natural choice and something I enjoy,” Barlaup says.

Berit Barlaup: The artist and the mountain

Barlaup not only paints mountains but also birds, f lowers, trees, animals and people. The puffin bird is particularly popular.

As soon as she started painting, she realised that she had hit a nerve. In her home region of Møre og Romsdal – a mountainous area where hiking and skiing are part of everyday life – Barlaup’s strikingly pure style had immediate appeal. “People here spend a lot of time outdoors. Many of my clients are perhaps not as interested in art as they are in mountains,” Barlaup explains, smiling.

Barlaup works with over 20 retailers all over Norway. This is a small selection of the goods available.

Snow-covered trails and mountain peaks

Her motifs, though always related to the mountains or to nature, vary – they can be images of the trail she needs to follow to reach the peak, the view from the peak itself, or images of snow-covered downhill slopes that she blazes through on the way back.

Berit has 40 different motifs on dark chocolate bars. Here is a small selection. Retailers can also request custom motifs, which she paints to order.

Often, she takes photos of motifs she would like to use, before returning to her atelier. “I’d love to bring the canvas with me and paint outdoors, but my backpack is filled with gear and safety equipment that I actually need for hiking,” she explains.

Barlaup also likes to include people in her paintings, “painting them in.” It gives the painting an additional dimension, she explains. “With people in it, the painting tells a story,” she says, adding that it also makes it easier for the buyer to relate to their own hiking trip.

Skageflå is an abandoned mountain farm with a beautiful view over the Geirangerfjord.

Perfect gifts

As she realised how many people were interested in her art, Barlaup started accepting orders from clients, and she often paints motifs that the recipient is particularly attached to. Partly for that reason, her paintings have become a popular gift, especially for anniversaries or important birthdays. “It’s a great thing to give people that have everything,” she smiles.

The feedback she receives is often overwhelming. “People often text or send me e-mails to thank me. It’s very rewarding; it’s made me realise that my paintings mean more to people than mere decorations. They feel strongly about them,” she says.

The pier in the mountains.

Because she is an eager mountaineer herself, Barlaup understands their reaction. “Some hiking trips leave lasting memories. Reaching that summit is hard, you get tired, and you leave some of yourself out there. People enjoy having paintings that remind them of their achievements and their connection to that mountain,” she says.

Another group of customers who show an increasing interest in Barlaup’s work are cabin owners. Barlaup’s motifs are a perfect fit for logged cabins, and she is often contacted by people who want a painting of their cabin, of a particular peak near the cabin, or the surrounding areas.

Renndølssetra in Innerdalen.

While she has so far focused on motifs — and customers — from her home region of Møre og Romsdal, the popularity of her art among cabin owners looks set to open opportunities to depict mountain landscapes from other parts of Norway as well.

A recent agreement with a distributor supplying gift stores could make this possible, and she hopes to build on this partnership in the time ahead.

Mountain jewelry.

An entrepreneurial approach

Barlaup’s background as a graphic designer has helped her develop an entrepreneurial approach to her art. She runs a combined gallery and gift shop in her home town, Molde, along with an online shop.

Each year she produces a calendar, making prints in three different sizes of each of the 12 motifs which are sold as limited editions. Replicas of her paintings are also used on kitchen towels, washcloth, tote bags, thermos bottles, bathroom towels, t-shirts, trays, placemats, mugs and plates – and more recently on chocolate wrapping paper.

“The chocolate decoration has boomed recently,” she says and laughs, before adding in a more serious tone; “the fact that I can use my art for different purposes and in different ways makes it easier to live of it.”

And although she often spend evenings and weekends painting, she doesn’t regret choosing art as a career. “It doesn’t feel like a sacrifice because it’s what I love to do,” she says.