Sara Barnes

2009-07-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

I don't live here anymore. Visit my new blog in a new location!

Pictures I took

2009-06-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Laura Davis is moving to LA at the end of the month and taking a job with Yahoo. She currently resides in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, so I went last weekend to visit her. We tried unsuccessfully to go to the Brooklyn Flea Market, which was in Dumbo. Because of the rain, it closed early. But, I really enjoyed walking around the area (and had some delicious sushi). I took a pictures of some architecture I liked.

This is pretty modern, but I enjoyed this building. It reminded me of Legos.

A big fan of the colums on the Brooklyn Bridge.

And, me in Kid Robot in SoHo. I love toys!

Yesterday I briefly traveled to DC to meet a mystery man on a motorcycle (he was buying my Fleet Foxes tickets from me). The traffic was insane, so I decided to park my car and walk for a bit. I parked across the street from these dilapidated houses:

Bits

2009-06-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a recent page from my sketchbook, plus a small cut out I did this week:

I have been interested in drawing houses lately. I am currently trying to draw a tiger. Much harder than I thought.

A better blogger

2009-06-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

I have nothing new to show (yet) but am keeping myself pretty busy these days. To add to the hustle-bustle, I am working on a new blog with Steph. Hopefully it will be launched later this summer! Exciting stuff.

I walk to work. I like architecture and shapes. One of the perks of walking to work is that I get to walk by old architecture nearly everyday. Here is a door that I'm rather fond of:

Love the color and the shape. Quatrefoils FTW.

2009-05-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Something I finally finished up.

I grew tired as I waited for lady luck

2009-05-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

Something I worked on this weekend. A bit more involved than a sketch, but no real plans for what to do with this next.

Writing a small article for The South Wing about a facet of the Baltimore art scene. I met with a couple of guys at the Current Gallery tonight and plan on writing about the gallery/studio. Stay tuned.

Reunited (and it feels so good)

2009-05-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

Slowly having time to work on my own work. Feels good, man. Real good.
Here's something that should have been posted weeks and weeks ago, but I am just finishing it tonight:

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T21:30:00.000-07:00

The front of a card I made for my mom for mother's day. She is currently out of town on a roadtrip with my dad + their golden retrievers.

Speaking of dogs... I love these guys:

It's over and done with

2009-05-08T22:05:00.001-07:00

April has, for the last three years, been the shittiest month of my year. I noticed the trend last year. I won't bore the blogosphere with the details, but April 2009 has since ended and I came out (happy to report) fairly unscathed.

I, unfortunately, have nothing new to post, but I am doing work. I am not being lazy. I will be posting new things hopefully later in the month or so.

Mutiny, I Promise You

2009-04-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a little bit. I don't really have a lot to show, but I will post this:

More collaboration with Steph.

Also, I've started using Twitter and have become a bit obsessed. I downloaded an app on my phone so I can check it when I'm out and about. I like feeling connected. Also, I follow Shaq on Twitter. That guy is crazy and writes like a middle schooler.

2009-03-26T22:06:00.000-07:00

Some progress. It's been a busy week. I had hardly got to work on this at all until tonight. I redid the hippo/water creature all together because I wasn't happy with my previous paper choices. I began fiddling with the background a bit and like where it's going.

Wilson Hsu:

I really like his work. One day I will own some of his prints for my walls. One day I will own prints of all the artists I like!

Going out of town for a long weekend.

2009-03-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

I started on this tonight. It was something I had in my sketchbook.

EDIT:
I found some paper I liked and redid the hippo/water creature. I am not sure which one I prefer.

Behance.net

2009-03-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

I'm usually really lazy about joining networking sites and often lack the motivation to really set one up. After receiving an invitation to join behance.net, I made myself sit down and do it. You can post projects on there, so it's a good way to showcase your work. Also, it's a good way for others to stumble upon your page, since you tag not only your profile, but portfolio as well.

Mine mine MINE.

Also: I went on a lovely date to the BMA last week and caught their exhibit, A Circus Family: Picasso to Léger. Overall, I thought it to be a great exhibit and especially enjoyed looking at the work of Fernand Leger. He was a French painter and doing a little bit of research on him brought up a portfolio of not only simple line drawings, but very considered cubist works.

Colorbloods

2009-03-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

At a creative lull at the moment, so I thought I would take the surprise away from Steph and post a picture of our collaboration in progress. Get ready, Steph! This baby should be in your hands by the end of the week.

It seems I have come full circle and started to read The Something Awful Forums again. Often times I go months without reading them, but I have recently become interested again. Talking to my brother tonight, he also mentioned how he's been reading as well. Must be a twin thing!

2009-03-12T22:40:00.001-07:00

An update of the piece I posted yesterday. I digg the idea of a "rising out of the rubbish" sort of theme, which was my inspiration. I also have really been enjoying drawing on top of cutouts I have created. I am not sure I am going to stick with the black lines, but that's all I can do for tonight.

While in the boonies, I watched a lot of television. Almost an embarrassing amount I'd say, considering what I was surrounded by (trees! I love those things!). I won't go into detail about how much I enjoyed Cops, but I did manage to catch a little bit of I Dream of Jeannie. I used to watch A LOT of Nick at Nite when I was younger, which aired an ample amount of the sitcom. Rewatching the show reminded me of what a great intro it has - great shape design to the Jeannie character and the genie bottle. It reminded me some of Mary Blair. It is no wonder that I am drawn to work like this in my adulthood. I grew up on watching old shows from the 60's and 70's. My childhood nostalgia helps to inspire my art-making.

it was so clear to me that it was almost invisible

2009-03-11T15:21:00.001-07:00

I started working on this while away, it's in the prelim stages for now.

So the saying says..

2009-03-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

I assembled this together yesterday and am going to take it into Illustrator soon.

I leave for vaycay on Friday for ~6 days. I am, however, bringing my laptop complete with a scanner + wacom tablet so I don't fall too far behind on projects. I'll be in the boonies of West Virgina, ya'll!

2009-02-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

I assembled some of these guys today:
To be used in a piece soon.

this tornado loves you!

2009-02-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

Just scanned this baby in. Note the black background, making it easy to trace around the image with the magnetic tracing tool in Photoshop. I'll do something with it this weekend.

I got me (+Ryan) some tickets to see the Avett Brothers in May in Philadelphia. It seems I have stopped spending money on clothes and have replaced it with buying concert tickets.

More progress

2009-02-22T21:25:00.001-08:00

More progress. From what I posted yesterday. I don't really like tedious things, but for some reason I find it very cathartic to make things like these.

As I have mentioned in my blog before, I do a collaboration with Stephanie Leung that involves stamps, paper, paint, among other things. Steph lives in Oakland, on the other side of the country. A collaboration begins with one of us creating a piece of work (so far using collage) and then sends it in the mail to the other. The other person then works on top/with/in response to what the other one did and mails it back. We stop when we feel like the piece is complete. The one went through a lot of stages, but I like it. It's a dialouge between the both of us.

Steph sends the best mail. All of her packaging is so thoughtful and well considered! She recently decorated a Munny that I had and didn't like how it looked. I'll post a picture of what she did. It was great!

Deep Red Bells

2009-02-21T09:59:00.000-08:00

More than one person has now commented on the fact that I need an update, so here it is:

I just started working on this yesterday. There's some process for you! Other than that, I've been doing sketches and stuff for other projects, in addition to trying to find a decent job amidst this horrible, horrible economy.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm sure many blog readers know about my deep love for Neko Case. I love everything about her*- her unconventional song structure, her song lyrics, her blog... hell, even her fiery red hair. She's alternative country with punk rock roots. Anyways... she has a new album coming out March 3rd, which I will get the day it comes out. I've been reading the buzz on the album and it's been very positive, only fueling my enthusiasm of the album. And to top it off, further proof that I have a really swell boyfriend - he bought tickets for us to the April 8th Neko Case show in WDC. I've heard that she gives amazing performances, so I'm in for a treat.

*NYT Magazine article writes, "...along with a growing cadre of intense, often lovesick fans"

digital get down

2009-02-01T22:02:00.001-08:00

I posted this the other day, but drew on top of it this weekend. I'm not sure how well the two elements work together, seeing as are pretty different. I did very much enjoy drawing the patterns on top of the hand-assembled stuff though.

2009-01-30T19:00:00.001-08:00

Not really a fan of Forever 21, but I liked this wallpaper they had.

2009-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

A little thing I've been working on recently.

2009-01-29T13:53:00.001-08:00

Yesterday:
The weather was bad, so I took the shuttle to work.

Today's photo still to come.

2009-01-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

Pictures from Tuesday:

I was riding in an elevator and thought the sign was sorta cool. The graphic of the fire, along with the colors and text looked a bit retro to me. I dug.

The other day, Steph asked me if I had any plants in my bedroom. Yes, I do:

2009-01-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

This was taken when I was walking to work today. It was snowing... sadly, not anymore.

sunday sunday SUNDAY!

2009-01-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

my favorite part of my bedroom

Illustration and Photos

2009-01-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

First, an illo that was added to the childrens section of my site yesterday:

Second, a picture from Friday. It was Sara's birthday on Wednesday, so we went to a drag show at our local gay bar. Too bad I was too far away to get a decent picture, but this queen was awesome. She had a giant pink mohawk and danced around to some Pink songs. My favorite.

EDIT:

Here's a picture for Saturday as well. There is a groccery store that I like to go that's about a 15 min walk from my apartment. I often dislike driving, so this is perfect me. It's a name brand store, but it is very compact because it's downtown. I like that about it. Products are everywhere.

four days behind

2009-01-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

So you might think I have been lacking in my promise of 365 photolog, but alas, I have not been home the past few days (and unable to upload). Faithful viewers, here are four photos from the past four days of my life:

Monday:
Monday night after work I went to DC to meet up with some friends and watch the Presidential Inauguration the next day. After being ~2 hrs late (sorry Laura), I met up with my friends at a place called Pharmacy Bar, in the Adams Morgan area of DC. The bar was just right: a dive, dark, and cheap drinks. Cool decor as well. Also, it was the first time I donned my new MD drivers license to a bouncer.

Tuesday:Tuesday I went to join the hoards of people in seeing Obama become the next president. The whole deal worked out pretty well for me - I comfortably watched the parade from a terrace ~ a block away from Pennsylvania Ave., where I could go inside and get warm and drink free hot chocolate. I also had a really great view and got to see the president and first lady walking down Pennsylvania Ave! My digital camera died before I could get any pictures though, so I was taking pictures with my iphone. No great pictures came of that... but I loved this sign. I love little acts of vandalism like that sometimes.

Wednesday:

Nothing exciting happened on Wednesday. I worked. This is a poster printer that I used yesterday.

Thursday (today):

I have a pretty great view from my apartment (about half a mile from the heart of downtown Baltimore), but I also like this view every once and a while. Ryan technically lives in the city, but his view is much more senic. He lives up in the hills surrounded by old houses and trees. This is what I saw when I looked out the window this morning.

I will upload art-related stuff tonight and post!

so it begins

2009-01-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

Upon reading Stephanie Leung's blog today, she wrote about how she was going to do a 365 photolog. I post a new photo each day. It will be an interesting way to show how I live and work. I thought it would seem like fun, so I'll give it a shot.

I'll be uploading all the photo to a Piscasa web album as well.

Here's the first image. Supplies on my desk:

lately

2009-01-13T13:02:00.000-08:00

I made this recently, it's the moon.

2009-01-11T16:53:00.000-08:00

This is the front of birthday card that I made for my dad. It's so belated! My parents like their golden retrievers, so I included the dogs.

I am officially a Marylander, leaving my KC roots behind- I got a MD drivers license last week, and this week I get MD license plates for my car! But, having to get my car ready for the safety inspection (which included getting all new tires for my car) actually makes me resent having a car in the first place...

new look

2009-01-05T21:21:00.000-08:00

After repeatedly making excuses, I finally revamped my website. It took a lot less time than I thought! I think it's simple, yet effective. I feel much better about this version of my site, so I am going to attempt to delve back into self-promo.

In other news, I started my training for a triathlon. I sort of thought it as a new years resolution and something I've been wanting to do for years. At this point, I think I'd get bored running a long race. I believe my attention span will be just right for this sort of race: half a mile swimming, 15-18 miles biking, and 3.1 miles running. The only thing I really need to work on is swimming, which I had not done in years, most likely since high school. I had my first swimming session on Monday, and it was a killer. It will prove to be more difficult than I thought. Still, I intend to persevere!

I like hands

2008-12-31T09:44:00.000-08:00

Here's another work in progress, but I think mostly finished. I started this a couple of weeks ago and only have a little more work to do on it. This piece is less dark than some of the other work I've posted lately- a bit more like my work from last spring.

I just got the new Dr. Dog album and I love it.

the dark night

2008-12-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

I think I am finished with this piece for now. It took me forever, especially with all the changes I made and other projects I had been working on in the meantime. I broke out some colored pencils for this project, which I actually really enjoyed working with.

For Christmas, I received a gift certificate to a sushi place. I ate there last night since it's in Ryan's neighborhood. While there, I had some delicious edamame and a red bean mochi for desert. Today while shopping at Trader Joe's, I got edamame hummus and some chocolate mochis. Coincidence? Perhaps.

2008-12-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

I am back from Kansas City. It was a nice, relaxing time. I didn't get too much accomplished, but I did do some sketching:

And this will be used in a piece very soon:

I really like to draw lines where you don't have to pick up my pencil.

quick update

2008-12-21T21:56:00.001-08:00

A quick preview of what I'm working on. I am headed to Kansas City for about 5 days for Christmas, and so during that time I'm going to be working on a revamp for my website. Hopefully, I'll make a lot of progress while in KC. I don't have a car nor do I have a lot of friends that I still hang out from there... so it will be a good time to play catchup.

2008-12-11T23:27:00.000-08:00

A sea of hands. I started this and am working on it now. There is not going to be a white background, that is just for simplicity's sake. I have been working on another project (which I don't think I can really post yet) which has been taking up a great deal of time. It's hard to work on personal projects, especially with the holidays.

I'll post more soon!

EDIT:

After a little of finagling on Friday (a day off, in which I get serious about making some art), I made this sweet little thang to go along with the hands:

I will be adding a background at the very least.

Today I booked tickets to Seattle, Washington (!!!). I will be going with the (always) delightful Ryan Honeycutt. I'm so excited! I haven't been to Seattle in atleast 10 years, and since Portland is not a far drive, we'll probably be spending a day or two in Portland as well.

A revamp

2008-11-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

After hating one of the pieces I posted in my last entry, I revamped it a bit. Behold, another work in progress.

I am headed back to Kansas City for Thanksgiving, the first time I have been back there since the spring. I think I'm ready for the flight. I have my Nylon mag to make me appear hip, and my iphone loaded with tv shows that are too embarrassing for me to admit that I actually watch them.

Forever

2008-11-18T21:43:00.000-08:00

It's been forever since I have made any attempt at a post. I've been busy- moving, getting a job, quitting it - all that funny business. Here's a couple things I've worked on/have been working on. One is just in time for Christmas...

The piece above isn't finished by any means, but I just felt like posting it to prove I'm not dead.

2008-10-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

I finished (or think I finished this) today. I have another piece I am working on. I am not sure when I will be able to work on it, as I am moving (!) and need to get my studio straightened out again.

2008-10-07T22:03:00.001-07:00

Two things I have worked on in the past couple of days. Cut outs, but will be digitally manipulated. Figures are sort of wonky, but that's how I roll.

2008-09-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Another illo, this time a story about fire fighters and how you shouldn't be afraid of them.

On a side note, I find it somewhat peculiar that Firefox's spellchecker thinks that contractions are misspellings. Granted, they aren't the most eloquent way of writing, but they aren't by any means wrong!

2008-09-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

I have really wonderful friends and family! I got this little gem in the mail today:

From my good friend on Stephanie Leung, reppin' the west coast. Loves it!!!

2008-09-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

Finished this today:

A story about a boy magician and his ability to cast a spell where rabbits appear. It was really fun to do. Next week I will have another full illustration for everyoonneee to see!

2008-09-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've recently been really interested in landscapes and backgrounds. After looking at some artists that handle these things really well, I have had some fun doing some myself:

The mountains, which were originally made for another project, ended up being used for this piece:

Going to New York next weekend (exciting) and my birthday is the following Tuesday (golden birthday - 23 on the 23rd).

2008-09-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

A sketch of what I'm working on, or about to be working on. I like high top shoes.

2008-08-31T17:16:00.000-07:00

I started working on this over the weekend... very much a week in progress. A departure from the lyric, "I am an animal and cannot explain a life"

Long-time, no post

2008-08-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've made a post. I went to San Francisco/ Oakland, which was awesome and beautiful. I stayed with Stephanie Leung, and we had a grand ole time. Looked at a lot of street art, which was wonderful. The street art in San Francisco seems to be a much more celebrated thing, and the drawings and paintings in the city are more illustrative than just the sterotypical graffiti writing. I loved it. Since Steph and I collaborate on work and we both love vinyl toys, I bought Munnys for us to paint/collage them together, then we each took one home. It was fun!

I've been working on the book I mentioned previously, here's another image from it. I left the spot where the text will be out.

2008-08-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

I started working on a book with an author for a children's book "The Ghost that Liked Burnt Toast". I think it'll be fun. The text lends itself well to the illustrations I would like to do. The sign is where the text goes (but I left it blank)

In other news, I leave Thursday to go to CA. I'm not a big anticipater, but I am very excited to go! I haven't been to Oakland ever, and to San Fran since I was in middle school. It will, of course, be nice to see Steph. We'll do fun things like make art that isn't illustration and go exploring for old buildings and houses. Steph makes me think in ways I normally wouldn't.

us v them

2008-08-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

another posting:

a hand lettered teen piece. what do you talk about with guys, anyways? dogs? music, bikes?

2008-08-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

I am starting a freelance project, so I probably won't be posting any personal pieces for awhile. Here's what I've been working on, going along with the woods series I started earlier this summer.

2008-07-29T22:10:00.000-07:00

I worked on these guys tonight. They were fun to do.

A day late and a dollar short

2008-07-28T20:35:00.001-07:00

Here's what I've been working on lately.
I was sort of going back to the Girl in the Flammable Skirt stories again, and The Ring was a story that involved the ocean, kitchen utensils (including pots and jars)... so that is where this comes from. I had fun painting pieces of paper again and cutting things out!

For my dear friend

2008-07-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I am bad at communicating. I read emails and forget to respond, or don't feel like putting the energy into writing them. I have 3 or 4 emails I should have written already, but the drafts are still in my inbox. Steph wrote me an email earlier in the week asking me what has been inspiring me lately. So, dear friend, here are some images that inspire me with my current project.
The above images are by Grady Mcferrin, I always somehow find myself going back to his work.

And here is ANOTHER house that I am working on. I am planning on finishing a piece this weekend, so it will be in that.

I'll post the finished piece on Sunday....

2008-06-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

I ordered some promotional mailers last night. I had some fun creating the backs of the postcards:
I am currently working with the image below. I love love love old buildings and architecture, so when I went New Jersey I took a ton of pictures. This is from one of those buildings.
I am getting a new tattoo July 9th at noon. Another Mary Blair image, and it will be completed just hours before I have a job interview in DC! Should be interesting. Also: why are the guys that do my tattoos so good looking?

I bought my plane tickets to visit Steph in late August, which I couldn't be more excited about! More tattoos will ensue there as well.

I feel like I am in transition this whole summer.

Finished (for now)

2008-06-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Took me long enough, but here's the start of a series about a girl and her cat and their cooky adventures! I'll probably make this into an over-sized postcard.

Please don't let me down this time. I've come a long way to fall back into line.

2008-06-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

It takes me wayyy too long to work on a given project. I have started 3 projects since I've graduated, and have yet to finish any of them! I am working on this:
I have yet to find a full-time job (hire me!) but I still work at my internship 3 days a week. I stay amazingly busy on my days off. Especially since the basement in my apartment (AKA my room) FLOODED while I was out of town. Luckily, the only things that were ruined were my bed and my FRYE boots. My computer and all my electronics came out unscathed, thank GOD. I did have to move all my things upstairs so I am now living in my living room for 2+ weeks. It's not that bad. The AC is right next to me so I feel a constant blast of cool air.

I leave for Sunday to go to NJ. Helllllooo beach reads!

2008-06-06T06:24:00.000-07:00

I found an interesting article from Viget Labs that's a how-to about saving your images for the web. I've noticed the color shifts that happen when I try and save my files (everything suddenly gets duller!) and I think that this tutorial is going to help.

2008-06-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

a bit of what i am working on-

two things I enjoy: old architecture and birds. Both are going to be integrated into the same piece and are very much in progress.

2008-05-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

A little something I'm working on... just in the starting stages.

I love internet shorthand like OMG, BFF, LOL, all of em. Love em.

under pressure!

2008-05-20T22:49:00.000-07:00

I graduated! May 19th at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Cum Laude. Yay.

Here are some pictures from my commencement show:
Note: I do not have the BEST digital camera and the light sorta came out funny...

And some of my fellow graduates (including yours truly):

I need to catch up on my podcasts.

2008-05-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Gotta love it when you leave your wallet at a bar, get it the next day, and find this slip of paper inside it:

2008-04-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

Steph Leung and I have started collaborating on artwork. We both have similar opinions and views on art, as well as interests. This all started last December when we made things for the MICA Art Market. We worked well together, and decided to have an ongoing project.

Steph lives in Oakland, CA, and I obviously live in Baltimore. We mail each other each piece after the other has worked on it and felt like they were "done " with it. On this particular piece, each of us had it three times. This project is fun because I am just not sure what to expect, so each time I receive her mail, it's a surprise!

Also, a quick sketch:

2008-04-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

lots of things coming up on thursday. here is something that is nearing completion:

2008-04-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

EDIT:

It is over, but I think I am going to be okay.

I made this:

in progress for Marzipan, where a dad gets a giant hole in his stomach and a mother gives birth to HER dead mother.

2008-04-17T21:28:00.001-07:00

a little piece i've been working on.

selfish post

2008-04-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

These posts are mostly just for myself, so I can grab em off the web and print them tomorrow at work.

Both very much works in progress. I am redoing the gun piece from a couple of entries down because I hated it and was not excited about it. The men on the chain are from another story called Marzipan, where a father develops a giant hole in his stomach, but is perfectly fine.

Art things that I need to obtain:

new exacto blades
a NICE exacto knife, one with padding for my fingers on it.
a big ole canister of rubber cement ... the mica store doesnt have it =(

I am sure there are more things on that list, it always seems like i forget atleast one thing.

and I NEED TO WORK ON A WEBSITE!

2008-04-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

A mini sketch for this week. The word is "wings". I like birds.

weekly post

2008-04-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

some works in progress. my weekly post. after spending the last four consecutive weekends (philly, chicago, nj, and west Virgina, respectively) outside of baltimore, it will be nice to be home for a while. hopefully, that will mean i get more work done, and therefore have more posts!

2008-03-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have posted a mini sketch. This week was "sugar", so I payed homage to perhaps the best girl scout cookie (it's NOT thin mint, although those are tasty): the samoa. a girl scout cookie angel.

Oh, by the way, my dad gave me his scanner that he never uses, and it actually WORKS with my new computer. Having all your peripherals work with your computer is such a pleasure. I can't imagine how Windows Vista users must feel.

2008-03-26T15:00:00.001-07:00

Another work in progress. From the story What You Left in the Ditch.

New work

2008-03-25T19:15:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while.

Here's a piece that is in progress right now. I am at a stopping point for now. It is part of my thesis, a quote from a story called What You Left in the Ditch, in which a woman's husband returns from war without lips.

2008-03-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple more pieces from my thesis. This is a quote from the book The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. It is from the story The Rememberer, in which a woman's boyfriend devolves from a human to eventually a salamander.

2008-03-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

Another sketch. This week's word: super. Super ice cream sundae!

if you're into it

2008-02-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here's a piece that I finished last week for thesis. It is a reworking of the "sea of me" piece that I posted a bit earlier. I don't know if I am completely done with it, but for now I'm at a stopping point. I will eventually work this and other illustrations in a hand-made book that I'll be displaying at my commencement show.

I have had more time to work on my thesis. Hopefully I'll be posting a few more pieces by the week's end!

2008-02-20T16:32:00.000-08:00

Here's another mini sketch for thesis. This week's word was "unexpected". Not as fond as this one because I had a hard time coming up with something for it.

I bought the domain saraebarnes.com last week. Hopefully the website will be up and running soon. I have my business cards made, I just need to have those printed. So much to do.

And I am addicted to LOST. Good thing all the episodes are available online. I am still on the first season though, and the craziness hasn't even BEGUN yet!

2008-02-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Another week, another sketch is produced for those mini - thesis sketchbooks. The theme of this one was, "Life of Gary, 2008 - 2107". Gary lives a long time. He goes trick or treating.

Since these are just "sketches" per say, I want to try and get kind of abstract with them.

work in progress

2008-02-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

This is from my thesis, which is about doing a few short stories from the book Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender. I really enjoy the book, and they are extremely vivid and somewhat surreal, which I think will give me great freedom for the second half of my thesis. The first story is about a woman whose boyfriend "devolves" in to a salamander. This piece refers to the line in the story "a sea of me", and is just a work in progress, especially after I talked to my thesis advisor about the direction of the illustration. Probably going to push the water (aka "sea of me) more than anything, and get rid of the dish. But I thought the sea was kinda cool.

2008-02-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

Here is this week's mini illustration for thesis. The word was "snack". I wanted my worm to have a mustache.

I am sure having fun with that cardboard.

I found out that Jose Gonzales is coming to DC on March 5th. Since I have been playing him non-stop, I'm pretty pumped for the show. Let's hope it all works out. He kind of reminds me of Nick Drake.

I am also getting my final payment from the kids book people on Saturday. I think that I will get a tattoo done in celebration of the finished project. (!!!) I always say I want to get another tat, and I never actually do it. I think I'll probably just go and make the appointment on
Saturday so I HAVE to do it.

Oh life and your colourful suprises

2008-01-30T20:48:00.000-08:00

For my last semester of senior thesis (it seems weird to write that), my department decided to buy everyone a small Moleskin (the best sketchbook you can buy, IMO). They had each student choose one word, preferably a noun. We were then instructed to illustrate our word and bring the sketchbook in this coming Thursday. We're going to trade sketchbooks, and someone else will illustrate our words. The next week we will switch again. At the end of the semester, we get our books back and have 15 small sketches, all based around our original word. I chose the word "mechanism". I did a double page spread, but I HATE the other page of my illustration, so here's half of the illustration that I did actually like.

Laurie Rosenwald came and spoke to our class last week (which was a great surprise!), so consequently, I've been looking at her work quite a bit.

For Stephanie Jessica Leung!

2008-01-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

I was walking down an alley the other day and noticed this beautiful graf:

Similar to this one that was around early in the fall:

Too bad the first one isn't better quality. Bad lighting and shaky hands. I was really excited to see another one of these, especially when I liked the first one so much.

2008-01-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

My parents love animals and they especially love their dogs. Golden retrievers are their favorite breed, so for a Christmas gift this year, I did a couple of images of their dogs- the late Hannah and their new puppy, Maddie.

2007-12-25T10:53:00.000-08:00

For my character development class, our final project was to make a three dimensional character to interact in a public space. I struggled pretty hard with this project, but then JME saved my life and gave me the idea to make birds (since I draw them all the time anyway). So, to interact in the environment, I took my creations to the Inner Harbor and brought scraps of bread. I set the birds up and the bread. The result was frightening. The pictures I took do not even represent just HOW many birds were surrounding me. They all were really fighting for those scraps of bread, and thus very aggressive. Pigeons and seagulls are very dirty creatures, so I didn't particularly want to be touched by them.

2007-12-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

The hardest part of making a post on blogger is coming up with a title. I've never been good at naming things.

Anyways, here are some more images from the book I am working on. Winter break has given me the opportunity to reflect on my final thesis crit and take some of that advice and work it into the last few images of the book.

I finished all but 1 image, and I intend to finish that before I leave for LA on the 30th... which I couldn't be more happy about. Got tickets to see Justice to ring in the new years. Hopefully 2008 will be a little better than 2007!

Trees break the sidewalk, and the sidewalk skins my knees

2007-12-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

A couple more images from the book project. These images are about saying hello to a friend, and saying you're welcome when you get a present. And about dancing dogs.

Let's go to a birthday party, shall we?

2007-12-13T15:31:00.000-08:00

Here's some more images that I've worked on this semester, all from the children's book.

These two pages are about saying "excuse me" and "bless you" when someone burps or sneezes.

You're always worth the wait, I guess

2007-12-04T22:54:00.000-08:00

Finals are upon me, sleep deprived nights are ahead. I have a lot of work to put up, but I'll save that for when I have more time. I got a new computer (!!!) last weekend, so I'm in the process of transferring over everything to it.

Stephanie Leung and I collaborated on some small works for the M|I|C/A Art Market. We both love those cutouts! This picture was taken with my phone, so it doesn't really do our collaborative efforts justice. They were fun to make!

I don't like milk

2007-11-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

Here's the second page of my thesis and children's book I'm working on. This page is about saying please.

The format of the book has changed a lot, which is okay with me. Now the images are on a separate page from the text, which is better because I was a little worried about how I was going to make the text fit on the actual images. The book will need to be finished in about a month and a half, and I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'll have to lock myself in a room with my computer come Christmas break.

The more I think about graduation, the more freaked out I get. I almost wish I had an extra year. Almost.

The key to staying on top of things is...

2007-10-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

... to treat everything like it's your first project.

Here is something that I am working on for my character development class. I've started to use the wacom tablet to scan in papers and then "cut them out" per say, on the computer.

Bad quality image and the characters need some work, but I am pleased that I have perfected my technique a little more.

I bought a Scary Girl toy a few weeks ago. I have the box sitting next to my computer. Nathan Jurevicius is a talented man!

working smarter, not harder

2007-10-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

I am always looking to work smarter not harder, but there is something that I love about cutting out every.little.shape. that I don't get from working digitally. It's cathartic. I'm trying to figure out how I can MARRY (art school term) the two.

i need a wacom tablet.

Dirtywhirl

2007-10-17T19:37:00.001-07:00

first of many.

Let's push things forward!

2007-08-05T17:53:00.001-07:00

Quasi- finished girl with hand puppets.

This is one of the pieces I had started back in June and never finished.

I intend to do more, but this is at a pretty good stopping point for now.

I got an email from Matthew and Boi, the people I'm illustrating the kid's book for. I should be receiving the contract hopefully within the next week. Yeeyuh! I think it's kind of funny that I want to get into children's book illustration, considering how awkward I am around children.

You gotta thank the one who gave you all the light in your eyes

2007-06-14T00:43:00.000-07:00

This is the front of a fathers day card I made for my daddy. He's awesome. I hope he likes it.

A bad scan though!

a new hope

2007-05-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Blogger is definitly the place to be nowadays.
Livejournal? Out. Myspace blogs? Pase. Hopefully this blog will soon be filled with my wonderful artwork! har harr.

I just bought this little guy the other day. He was kind of expensive, but he makes me really happy. My boyfriend. I thought that I outgrew the desire to have toys long ago. Guess not!