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When she lived in New Mexico, Greenbelt resident Barbara Stevens paintings blended Native American and Spanish designs into the landscapes. When she moved to Maryland, her paintings took on a greener aspect. Now, after visiting Amsterdam, she's learned to incorporate Buddha, too.

From 2006 to 2008, Stevens sailed back and forth to Amsterdam with her husband, Ray. The couple stayed for six month periods living for free in a canal in the northern part of the country.

"It made life incredibly pleasant and inexpensive," Stevens said.

Though she wasn't able to paint while living on the boat in Amsterdam, she continued taking pictures to inspire her upon her return to Greenbelt. Those pictures were the inspiration for nine paintings, which will be on display at the New Deal Café exhibit "An Amsterdam Series" from Jan. 5 to March 1. There will be a reception for the public from 7 to 9 p.m. on Jan. 10 with free food and wine.

Stevens began painting while in college at the University of California at Berkley, where she ultimately got a master's degree in art in the early 1960s.

She also teaches the grid method for painting, in which pictures are separated into square sections and "allows you to draw on the right side of the brain," Stevens said.

"When you cover up all the other squares but one, each square becomes a separate thing," Stevens said. "It allows it to become abstract because it's a fragment."

Stevens takes each square and paints her own interpretation, which may result in a tiled sky or faces in the trees. To "enhance" her painting, Stevens also uses collages "to block areas out that were not contributing to the painting," she said.

Always on the lookout for new things to paint, Stevens was flipping through pictures of trees when she came across one that looked a little different to her.

"I just said, ‘Look at that big monster face in the trees, I'm painting that,'" Stevens said.

After that day, the faces came natural to what she calls the "green paintings." Most continue to have hidden figures and features in the greenery, such as a green man in the middle of a 3D hedge maze.

There's also one painting titled "Don Juan Met the Buddha in an Amsterdam Park and All Were One" that features some obvious and not-so-obvious images of Buddha. The piece was inspired by one of her many trips to Amsterdam.

"In maybe one day I saw like 5,000 Buddha in Amsterdam," Stevens said. "It was the day of the Buddha."

Stevens has displayed her work at the New Deal Café as well as at the Montpelier Cultural Art Center in Laurel. She's also taught watercolor painting at the Greenbelt Community Center on-and-off since 1997.

"Over the years, she has produced a distinctive and cohesive body of work that reflects an unorthodox approach to the medium of watercolor," wrote GCC Arts Supervisor Nicole DeWald in an e-mail.

Kristin Stenson, the arts coordinator at the New Deal Café, said she is excited to see Stevens' new work.

"Her older work was very geometric, and focused on shapes and forms and colors," Stenson said. "She brought it all together to create a natural environment."

E-mail Jordan Attebury at jattebury@gazette.net.