shawn barber

artistic ego

2009-06-11T02:39:00.000-07:00

artistic ego

I think that the single most detrimental barrier in becoming a better artist is the brick wall facade of ego.
Most artists are raised in an environment surrounded by accolades- at an early age, being praised for their artistic talents.
Positive reinforcement from your peers, especially at a young age, can lead to the misconstrued belief in ones own genius.
Years of being 'the best in class' and winning chunks of brass trophies may definitely stroke the 'masters' subconscious.
It's a high hurdle to jump, but it's possible with the leap of critical faith. Sincerity, honesty, self criticism and a big ole piece of humble pie are a perfect starting point. Understand first that you're actually not that good at what you do and you'll never be as near as good as the greats- and you're ready for the life long journey as a student of your chosen craft.
If you step outside of your comfort zone and challenge yourself to acknowledge your weaknesses, are completely critical of your shortcomings, and sincerely internalize your habits (good and bad), you will be amazed by the progression waiting ahead of you. Critically analyze how close your work reveals it's influence, however narrow or broad, and consistently add new influences into the mix. Fear of change or, even worse, external judgement from fans of your art, will destroy any hopes of real progress. Authenticity comes from fearlessness. Take the leap.

The 'THREE'S'

2009-05-11T20:03:00.001-07:00

The 'THREE'S'

Light, Midtone, Dark

Foreground, Middleground, Background

Tight/Detail, Midrange/Structure, Loose/Abtraction

Focal point, Main subject, Overall impact

Small, Medium, Large

Image, Message, Context

Fine rendered detail, Modelled form, Suggestive space

BALANCE THAT SHIT !!!

solo show in tampa at redletter1, march 21st

2009-02-23T00:02:00.000-08:00

solo show in tampa at redletter1, march 21st...
also doing a demo at the gallery on sunday, march 22nd- $100 per person...

FECAL FACE INTERVIEW

2009-02-12T03:16:00.000-08:00

John Trippe over at Fecal Face Dot Com just posted an interview / Q&A on his site-
with photos of my new studio and a little video, as well..
check it:
Fecal Face Interview

anathema show

2009-01-19T01:14:00.000-08:00

here are my paintings from last month's anathema show with vincent castiglia at last rites gallery in nyc...
good times...

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wall street journal painting out on tuesday

2009-01-19T01:03:00.000-08:00

I just finished a portrait of president elect barack obama for the wall street journal's inaugural; issue, ,out this tuesday, january 20th...
I will post the painting later on tuesday...
---------------------------------
also working on painting a custom gas tank for harley davidson- a two day show at the robert berman gallery in santa monica, ca next month- artists involved in this show are:
shawn barber
rob clayton
christian clayton
bob dob
shepard fairey
frank kozik
tara mcpherson
alex pardee
david trulli
mark dean veca
oliver vernon
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working on a painting of angus young (acdc) for the first ever curated art show for the grammy awards this year-
it will be up for a month somewhere in downtown los angeles in february 2009
artists involved include:
shawn barber
travis louie
ron english
kris lewis
shepard fairey
jeremy lipking
sas christian
lori earley
henry lewis
colin christian
van arno
gary baseman
chris pugliese
heidi taillefer
ian johnson
joshua petker
matthew bone
david stoupakis
greg gossel
paul chatem
mike maxwell
helen garber
----------------------------------

last rites show in december...

2008-11-19T02:24:00.000-08:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New York, NY (December 13th, 2008) - Last Rites Gallery is pleased to present Anathema: a two person show of new paintings by Shawn Barber and Vincent Castiglia.

San Fransisco based artist Shawn Barber graduated with a BFA from the Ringling School of Art & Design in 1999. Since, his work has been featured in galleries around the planet and can be found in celebrity collections including those of Robin Williams, Christian Slater, Kat Von D and more. Though he is best known for his fine art, he is also an acclaimed illustrator, professor of art, and tattooist. Shawn has been profiled by publications including Art News, Juxtapoz Magazine, and SF Weekly; in addition to having two published books of his art. Last Rites will be hosting a signing of his newest book, Forever and Ever during the exhibition's opening reception. Famous for his insightful portraits of tattooed artists, Shawn's paintings are classically rendered, intimate glimpses into America's creative underground. In this exhibit he will unveil his first collection of erotic work.

Vincent Castiglia lives and works in New York City. The award-winning painter, who literally puts his life into his art, has mastered the use of his own blood as a medium. His works on paper have been showcased at museums and galleries throughout the US and Europe. His latest solo show opened in November 2008 at the HR Giger Museum in Switzerland, for which he was the first American artist to receive an invitation to exhibit. His artwork has been featured in numerous art and tattoo publications both in the US and internationally. Painstakingly rendered, Castiglia's paintings are monochromatic tableaux examining life, death and spirituality.

Last Rites Gallery is New York's only gallery of dark art. Having opened in April 2008, the gallery has received accolades from publications such as Juxtapoz, Inked Magazine, Hi Fructose and the Channel 11 Morning News. Last Rites was founded by legendary painter and tattooist Paul Booth, an artist who has devoted his life to the evolution of his craft. Paul has been featured on networks such as CNN, MSNBC, DISCOVERY, A&E, TLC, and MTV. In 2002, Rolling Stone Magazine dubbed Paul "The new king of rock tattoos." There is currently a two-year waiting list for his work. All shows at Last Rites are curated by gallery director Genevive Zacconi. As well as being a seasoned curator, Genevive is an artist known for her meticulously detailed, classical oil paintings, which have been displayed in galleries around the world. Genevive has been profiled by MSNBC, FHM, Juxtapoz, and the NY Press.

Anathema opens on Saturday, December 13th, 7-11pm at Last Rites Gallery, 511 W. 33rd Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues (3 blocks from Penn Station), 3rd floor, New York, NY 10001. Show runs December 13th through January 22nd, 2008. More info at www.lastritesgallery.com.

###
CONTACT:
Genevive Zacconi
1-215-868-9407
genevive@lastritesgallery.com
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playing to the zombies

2008-11-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

fuck mass media-

if you believe ANYTHING you read in the news or see on television, you are an uneducated idiot.
life is too short.
don't let the weak prey on the weak.
have an informed opinion on 'real' reality.
go about your business and do the best you can do every day and fuck everything else.
all weak, shallow, insecure assholes want to tell you what to think and believe...
and your life sucks so bad that you believe this bullshit

DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE ON TV
IT'S ALL A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT

album cover art

2008-10-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

an amazing hip hop artist, blu- asked to use some of my work for his new album with mainframe-johnson & jonson.
the music is outstanding...

here's a look at how they used my art-

and a link to their myspace page....
myspace-johnson&jonson

recent works

2008-10-08T01:56:00.000-07:00

here are a couple of new pieces...

and some of the works from my recent solo show at billy shire fine arts in culver city, ca...

vimby video

2008-10-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

tons of new news-
haven't had even a second to deal with posting...
here's a recent video from vimby.com

VIMBY - Shawn Barber

and here's a recent studio visit from fecal face...

fecal face!

and a link to my recent show at billy shire fine arts in culver city, ca

BSFA

Book Signing in San Francisco, this Saturday

2008-04-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

The Shooting Gallery & 9mm Books Presents:
a book signing with Shawn Barber and his new book "Forever & Ever"
published by 9mm Books

Saturday evening - April 26, 2008
from 6pm - 8pm

at The Shooting Gallery
839 Larkin St
SF CA 94109
415-931-8035
www.9mmbooks.com

"Forever & Ever" is a hardbound book containing over 250 full color/high glossy art filled pages of Shawn Barber's amazing Tattooed Portraits. This book also includes hundreds of color photos of todays contemporary & historical artists in the tattoo world. Shawn will be on hand at the Shooting Gallery for 2 hours signing his book. This event is open to the public & free of charge.

Forever and Ever is here!!!

2008-03-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

My new book, 'Forever and Ever', is finally here!!!
A 256 page overview of the past 3 years.
Here are a few select page spreads from the book-
you can pick it up from my publisher- 9mmbooks.

9mmbooks.com
.

on the road, but not for long...

2008-01-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

January is almost over and I'm just about settled in.
I've been on the road since late december- a week in new york, a week in japan, a week in seattle, a week in los angeles and tomorrow- I head out to jacksonville for 6 days...
After that, I'm back at home and back to the grind. I have to produce all new pieces for my solo show at Billy Shire Fine Arts in Culver City- I have a good start, and have a lot of reference and inspiration, just have to crank it out...
Did a really fun tattoo yesterday- posted two tattoos on my myspace page- and really looking forward to working more days at Everlasting... If anyone has tried to contact me regarding tattoo's or whatever, be patient and be persistent- I'm trying to shift my life schedule but can't do it overnight...

Seattle was awesome! The ConceptArt.Org workshop was the best one yet!!! Painted and partied for 4 days, met some new people and enjoyed the sweet sounds of NOX' Kaossilator... He's doing it!!! Playing the soundtrack of your life... I even got a cool haircut from Hussar, to boot.

My week in Los angeles was out of control- photographed and got tattooed by Baby Ray, photographed Dan Dringenberg, Charlie Roberts, Greg James, Mike deVries and a few others...
Also met Guy Aitchison and Michelle Wortman- great people- and painted with them at Alex Grey's benefit along with Alex's wife, Chet Zar and Corey Miller- Corey threw down and killed it that night...

La Ink aired on tuesday and it looked pretty good- not too over the top, just straight forward and to the point. Kim did such a great job... Sorry to anyone that had to sit through the first 45 minutes of the show- the bathtub scene was awkward.

Kat's convention 'Musink' is coming up next month-
* February 22, 23, 24
Kat Von D's MusInk Tattoo Convention-
I will be Tattooing there with Henry Lewis at the Everlasting Tattoo Booth-
email or call me if you want to set up an appointment to get tattooed at this convention...

I am also doing a painting seminar on friday from 5pm-8pm- sign up on their site before it get's filled up-
there is a 65 person capacity- we should also have a video camera that projects the painting process during the seminar...
included in the seminar is my Foundation Painting DVD with Massive Black and a Booklet with misc. painting information, as well...
It's $150 for 3 hours- hope to see you there...
Seminars
Musink.org>
MusInk.Org

End of 2007

2007-12-21T08:29:00.000-08:00

A new year ahead, here's a recap of the past six months- much has happened and hopefully, I will be posting more frequently after the new year...

July 2007-
San Diego Comic Con- a week in san diego, met a lot of great people, signed on with Acumen Entertainment to produce affordable prints and posters of my art-
artists that they feature include Ron English, Van Arno and Anthony Ausgang...

Acumen Entertainment

August 2007-
Solo Show at Invisible NYC, 25 brand new paintings of some of New York's Finest Tattoo Artists- great show, great turnout, a learning experience for sure-

'Seen's Hands', oil on panel, 16"x 16"

'Paul Booth's Hands', oil on panel, 16"x 16"

'Mike Rubendall's Hands', oil on panel, 16"x 16"

'Steve Boltz' Hands', watercolor and gouache on toned paper, 12"x 10"

'Portrait of the Artist, Stanley Moskowitz', oil on panel, 24"x 24"

sdbarber.com
Invisible NYC

Massive Black Foundation Painting DVD
Officially released my first instructional DVD- Foundation Painting- an overview to beginning painting in oils...

Massive Black
DVD Reviews
DVD Reviews

September 2007-
Montreal Tattoo Convention- WOW, what an amazing city with a European feel and very genuine people. 3 Days of live painting and overall good times. Spent some time with the very bad ass artist Kim Saigh- painted a study of Kim at the convention and she asked me to tattoo her there, as well. Very intimidating and humbling experience, for sure. Met so many great people- watching Tin Tin tattoo was eye opening- I've never seen anyone attack the process- just go for it with complete confidence, vigor and power- Tin Tin exudes who he is as a person completely through his art and how he carries himself in general, an amazing artist!!! Stayed with Yves Laroche the whole trip and he took care of business!
Gracious host and a great person- he showed me how awesome Montreal really is-
we are doing a two person show with Turf One in 2009- I love Montreal so much- it looks like I will live there for a month before the opening to finish works and collaborate with Turf One making some new pieces for the opening, and hopefully tattooing the whole time I'm there...
Speaking of Turf One did a studio visit and was blown away by his work, definitely incentive to raising the bar with my art...

Tattooing Kim....

Tin Tin Tattooing Turf One

Kim Saigh
Yves Laroche Gallery
Turf One
Tin Tin

October 2007-
* San Jose Tattoo Convention
Henry and I drove down to San Jose for the annual Tattoo Convention there-
It has to be the show with the best artists per capita from around the world showing off what they do to the west coast-
I started a painting of the Legendary Bill Salmon at the convention- and finished it up for my show in Miami in December...

State of Grace Tattoo Convention

* Officially started tattooing one day a week...

Everlasting Tattoo

* Kim Saigh came up for a studio visit and painting demo. Kim also did a guest spot at Everlasting and we did our best to show her how we work and play in San Francisco... I photographed Kim's foot, and we both did a painting of Kim's foot-
she fucking rocked it- totally blew me away with how fast she grasped oil painting...
Kim, Henry Lewis and me painted together a few days, Partied hard and even had an eventful drunk tattoo night with Phil Holt, Yutaro Sakai, Henry and our crew in SF...

November 2007-
* LA INK baby!
Drove down to Los Angeles to get Tattooed by Miss Kim Saigh on LA Ink and the Grand Opening of Canvas Los Angeles!! Kim and I had been talking for a while about showing off how much of a bad ass she is on the show- something that most people wouldn't know unless they looked at her art online or seen it in person. She 'owed me' for the tattoo in Montreal- and I definitely got the better deal overall... Kim rocked a skull and roses on my leg- and painted a sick painting of the tattoo for the show at Canvas Los Angeles... I hooked her up with my painting of her foot and the study I did of her in Montreal-
and presented the large scale painting of her on the show, as well... which is now in her collection...
The episode with me and Kim should air sometime in Feb/March 2008

Works in progress...

Kim Tattooing me...

'Portrait of the Artist, Kim Saigh', oil on linen, 60"x44"
Kim Saigh

High Voltage Tattoo

The opening at Canvas Los Angeles was awesome- a ton of the artists represented drove and flew in for the opening- an amazing retail and gallery space dedication to clothing and art made exclusively by artists in the tattoo community on fairfax ave in Los Angeles- next time you're in LA- definitely check it out...

Canvas Los Angeles

Nikko Hurtado came up for a studio visit and painting demo- Nikko is one of the premiere color portrait tattoo artists in the world- we photographed him, and both did a portrait of Nikko, he did a great job for his second oil painting...

Nikko's Myspace

December 2007-
* Miami Art Basel
My second year at art basel- this time with the Shooting Gallery at the Red Dot Fair-
I made 8 new pieces for this show, and we sold 7 so far!!!
Also made a new piece for the FAME Collective, a group show curated by Josh Liner at an amazing space in South Beach...
Saw quite a few friends- Tons of great artists and galleries from around the world were there for a week to enjoy what's being made today in contemporary art- an extremely broad range of works- most of it really not that good. It seems like the track for most 'fine artists' that make it into the 'establishment' get their shiny MFA's in Philosophy of Bullshit- it pays to talk the talk but don't dare to get your own hands dirty or concern yourself with aesthetics or a sincere interest in craft or artistic progression. It's actually very numbing to weed through the mediocrity to find the few jewels that are out there...

Miami BLOWS- probably one of THE most pretentious cities in America- the people and clubs are definitely not my scene- VIP "parties", a cheesy florida vibe and plastic galore- the ONLY reason to be in Miami is for the week of Art Basel....

'Portrait of the Artist, Genevive Zacconi', oil on canvas, 60"x 38"

'Portrait of the Artist, Cristy Road', oil on canvas, 44"x 32"

'Portrait of the Artist, Bill Salmon', oil on panel, 22"x 38"

'Portrait of the Artist, Shige', oil on panel, 30"x 24"

My painting for the F.A.M.E. Collective show...

'Feast or Famine, oil on panel, 36" x 42"

sdbarber.com
The Shooting Gallery
Red DOt Fair

* This is my last semester teaching at CCA-
It's been 8 years teaching at art school: starting as a TA at Ringling, coordinating their Precollege program for a few years and teaching full time there, then moving on to San Francisco to teach at the Academy of Art and then CCA...
I'm taking a break from teaching to focus full-time on tattooing and painting!
Although, I will be spending a little time this coming year helping out at the ConceptArt.org's Atelier...
ConceptArt.org Atelier

* Going to Japan!!!

* Finished up my second book for the Tattooed Portraits Series-
Forever and Ever- a 256 page overview of the past 3 years...

UPCOMING EVENTS
* January 2008-
Seattle Conceptart.org 2008 Workshop!!!
ConceptArt.org

* Late January / Early February- the release of Forever and Ever

9mm Books
Amazon.com

* February 22, 23, 24
Kat Von D's MusInk Tattoo Convention-
I will be Tattooing there with Henry Lewis at the Everlasting Tattoo Booth-
email or call me if you want to set up an appointment to get tattooed at this convention

MusInk.Org

* July 2008
SOLO SHOW at BILLY SHIRE FINE ARTS in Culver City, CA-
the next few months is dedicated solely to producing works for this show-
The LA Experience ....

Billy Shire Fine Arts

the new york experience

2007-07-25T16:24:00.000-07:00

SHAWN BARBER
THE NEW YORK EXPERIENCE

Invisible NYC is proud to host, The New York Experience, an exhibit of new paintings by Shawn Barber and the next installment in his Tattoo Portraits series.

Originally from central New York, currently Mr. Barber is a painter living and working in San Francisco. For the past seven years, he has also been a college professor, currently teaching for the Illustration Department at CCA in San Francisco.

Mr. Barber's paintings have been exhibited in diverse solo and group venues including: The Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA; The Lineage Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; Strychnin Gallery, Berlin, Germany; South Florida Art Center, Miami, FL; and Arcadia Fine arts, NY, NY. His work is also included in the collections of Robin Williams, Mat Hoffman, Van Morrison, Christian Slater and “Rolling Stone” magazine's founder Jan Wenner among others.

Mr. Barber’s Tattooed Portraits was published by 9mm Books in March of 2006. A new book, “Forever and Ever”, is a complete catalog and overview of his entire Tattooed Portraits Series, and will be released in November 2007. Additionally, Shawn is in the midst of a tattoo apprenticeship with Mike Davis of Everlasting Tattoo in San Francisco,
CA.

The Tattooed Portraits series is an analysis, documentation and celebration of artists with tattoos, tattoo artists, tattooed art, and tattooist's materials. The artists portrayed in the series are pioneers in contemporary art history.

For his exhibit at Invisible NYC, The New York Experience, Mr. Barber focuses on painting twenty-three of New York City's most accomplished tattoo artists, specifically focusing on their primary tools of the trade - their hands.

Mr. Barber’s gestural, loose approach to the application of the paint and the rendering of the subject gives a unique, contemporary vibrancy and movement to his portraits. He combines multiple perspectives of the visually electric tattooed arms and hands, alluding to the fact that a tattooist’s hands – and hands in general - are not static
subjects. His approach to painting is much the same as the approach to tattooing in that movement is integral to the final product as well as to how the work is first conceived. Although his paintings present a fresh take on the tradition of portraiture, they also reference that fact that tattoos are bold, moving works of art.

Invisible NYC is truly proud to host an exhibit addressing the impact and importance of tattooing on contemporary art and culture.

The exhibit will run from August 10th – September 8th, Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 8:00 PM.
The opening reception will be on Friday August 10th, from 7:00-10:00 PM.

INVISIBLE NYC
148 orchard st
new york, new york
www.invisiblenyc.com
INVISIBLE NYC

machine buidling and san diego...

2007-07-23T19:08:00.000-07:00

Henry and I are at Aaron Cain's house again today, our second day trip getting schooled in tattoo machine building from the master..
all 3 of us are making our own, one of a kind machines from raw damascus steel, start to finish in 2 days- I will post some pics, hopefully, when I get the chance...

driving down to san diego tomorrow with Justin for the san diego comic con- we will be down from tuesday night until next monday... we have a booth with Acumen Entertainment- I just signed a 3 year print deal with them to print posters and limited edition prints... Acumen Entertainment Group (AEG) is a diversified printer, publisher, and distributor of entertainment related pop culture properties. AEG licenses and promotes some the of the worlds most recognizable brands in the entertainment and arts industries. Their properties include: Cirque Du Soleil, MGM Studios, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox; and artists Ron English, Van Arno, Anthony Ausgang and me...

Join us at Booth 115 at Comic-Con in San Diego, CA on July 26th thru 29th for the "Outlaws of Art", featuring Ron English, Van Arno, Anthony Ausgang, Shawn Barber and others
For more information, contact us via email at info@acumenentertaiment.com

we are also selling the Tattooed Portraits book at the convention (there are only a couple of hundred left) and I will be selling my new instructional DVD with Massive Black- Foundation Painting...
Additionally, I will be painting live at our booth- a portrait of old time tattooer, Tennesse Dave...

talked to my friend, wayne martin belger today-he just updated his website- amazing, unique, powerful and emotional art-
if you don't know his work, you will be blown away...

Wayne Martin Belger

stop by if you're at the convention and say hello...

Aaron Cain

Acumen Entertaiment Group

dvd purchasing info

dvd info

www.massiveblack.com

quick update-

2007-07-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

it's been a while-
the past few months have been productive...
to back track-
* visited nyc for a week in may- painted live at the 10th annual nyc tattoo convention. met so many great people and made some new friends... saw the trailer for Art Fusion at the national arts club, stayed with the krak family and bert introduced me to quite a few nyc tattoo artists... Photographed 18 tatto artists to paint for my upcoming show at invisible in august, including- paul booth, bert krak, seen, civ, mike rubendall, chris o'donnell, shinji, kiku, troy denning, regino gonzales, scott campbell, tim kern, jk5, steve boltz, brad fink, eli quinters, bryan randolph and nikki balls...
-----------------------
* went back to nyc in june for a week with 10 CCA students/recent graduates...
- I got into town a day early to stay with my friend jesse- his band, Smoke Wagon, played that night- great to see live- jesse threw down- and the singer/guitarist kevin omen killed it!!!!!, and was blown away by the closing act- Brant Bjork- heavy, melodic, vibrating power- I picked up every cd they had...
- the next day, met up with the students- we stayed at a really great hotel/the gershwin- in two rooms, bunk bed/hostel style... the quiet room and the 'crazy room'.
this trip turned out to be more than any of the students expected, including myself.
- in less than a week we visited: the Met, the MOMA, the Dahesh museum, the Illustration House (where walt reed gave us a guided, informative tour), the society of illustrators and life drawing in the bar...
- We did a grand tour of DC comics, thanks to sweety- and the students got to drop off portfolios at Vertigo;
- the owner of the Alternative Pick, Maria, gave us two hours of her time- a great pep talk and kick off for what it takes to make it as a freelance artist;
- Dan Dos Santos drove down with his wife and baby for lunch and a three hour presentation/portfolio review tag team style at Tor Books with Irene Gallo- this was probably the highlight in terms of what it takes to be a professional commercial artist- really appreciative and I know it's going to really sink in for the students...
- 48 original JC Leyendecker's at the Illustration Gallery;
- an hour and a half at Tara McPherson's studio in williamsburg- anothe r ass kicking example of what is possible if you stick to the grind every single day and have your own personal, unique vison- tara fucking rocks it!!!;
- a great talk by Scott Campbell at Saved Tattoo in williamsburg- not only is Scott a great artist and tattooist- a smart, humble dude that knows how to deal with business, knows better to NOT be taken advantage of and is willing to push the boundaries of what power and control we can have as artists dealing with the commercial market.
- jk5 gave us a great presentation of where his art comes from and how you can have your own unique vision and not compromise it's intensity...
_ an old student from ringling, Tom Carlson, gave us a guided tour of the New York academy of art, his studio and a feddback on the representational contemporary arts scene in new york...
- checked out arcadia gallery, eleanor ettinger gallery and good old evolution in soho... the fuse gallery and a collabro show, as well...
- a few comic and book stores...
- and ran into mercedes helnwein at the met- who had a solo show that night... we checked it out, really great new works and a 'hidden' new painting...
- painted with the boys at west side ink
- photographed 5 more nyc artists to paint for august- josh lord, patrick conlon, andrea elston, marcos serio and elio espana...
- the students also set up their own portfolio dropp-offs and interviews during the week...
- the students sang to me the last night, with a little gift for august...
- I'm sure there is more that I'm missing but it was an inspiring, productive trip!!!

NYC trip!!!

2007-05-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving for new york city in the morning for a week-
I will be at the 10th Annual NYC Tattoo Convention- in the World Famous Roseland Ballroom...
The convention is from friday through sunday- and there is more info on times, address etc on their website-

NYC Tattoo Convention

I will be at Independent Tattoo's Booth- Live painting the whole 3 days. Todd Noble, Matthew Amey and the guys at Independent in Deleware generously offered to share their booth with me-
I will have books for sale- Tattooed Portraits; and Limited Edition Prints of the Kat Von D painting for sale, as well...
Stop by and say hello- it should be an amazing weekend.

I will also be going around for a week, documenting tattooed artists during the trip- and preparing for my solo show at Invisible NYC this coming august...

Invisible NYC

There is much going on related to the convention this weekend as well-
On weds night is a New York Launch party for Needled.com at Sugar in the city
On thursday- an art show at Saved in Williamsburg, and an art show at Invisible in manhattan- Full Coverage by the NSKolectiv
Paul Booth is screening both the ArtFusion Documentary and the Last Rites DVD during the weekend, as well-
I think it's on saturday-check the last rites booth at the convention for more details...

Six String Masterpiece Art Tribute Auction

2007-05-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

I painted a guitar a couple of weeks ago for a charity event,
Little Kids Rock, Six String Masterpieces, Dimebag Darrell Art Tribute.

here's a link to the live auction-
there are some truly amazing pieces available-
mine was painted in a rush- last minute, while getting ready for my show on may 5th...
but I think it appropriately represents dimebag darrell...

Live Auction

it's also on ebay- same guitar, same auction-
Live Ebay Auction

and a link to the tribute website-
Little Kids Rock

tattooed portraits 2, quick recap

2007-05-10T00:39:00.000-07:00

my solo show at the shooting gallery on saturday was more than I could have expected.
both galleries were packed to the hilt- many friends flew and drove in for this past weekends' event- local friends showed up in groves-
it was pretty cool.
I met a lot of people, signed a few books and even got into a litttle scuffle with a crackhead that was throwing beer and bumping into paintings- what's up with that?- the next day there was even a nice little wad of chewing gum stuck to the wall near one of my pieces... nice!- that's what happens when you show in the tenderloin, I guess. more and more, I want to vent my frustrations on the "community" down there, but it's not going to change a thing- and could land me in jail.

anyways, many friends have posted images and videos from the opening and in my studio the week before-
thanks to:
matt petty, meryl pataky, bonnie burton and joseph daniel fiedler, fecal face, knowngallery.com, imeem.com, juxtapoz, needled.com, and tattoodles.com.
I appreciate the support.

thanks to henry 'muthafuckin' lewis for painting the amazing script text on the walls of my show- so fucking sick dude...

and thanks to all of my friends and family- especially my wife, yukiko; justin giarla and the shooting gallery; andrew jackson for making the best quality prints I've ever seen; robin williams and family for coming out to the opening and showing their support; kat von d and friends for flying into town and getting crazy with us the night before- I hope you get better!;
the artists that made it who I painted for this show: chantal menard, chuck eldridge, michael hussar, julie becker, kevin llewellyn, kat von d, norm, and amandalynn... this show was a celebration of you and your body art...

cheers,
shawn

meryl's imeem photos

meryl's imeem video

joey's blog

matt's video

bonnie's blog

bonnie's photos

miami ink

2007-04-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

it's official-
on tuesday night, april 24th on TLC- I will be on the tv show Miami Ink-
not really sure on how it's going to look- but they are focusing on my painting of kat and the process involved in making the piece...

Tattooed Portraits 2, Solo Show, May 5th 2007

2007-04-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

hi everyone-
I apologize if I haven't replied to your emails the past few months-
my schedule is out of control- 4 solo shows this year, teaching a
class at art school, doing commercial work, learning to tattoo, and
travelling to document artists and promote my book has consumed all of
my time and energy.

I am proud to present my upcoming solo show- 'Tattooed Portraits 2' at
the shooting gallery in san francisco opening on saturday, may 5th
2007 running through june 2nd.
If you can make it to the opening- I hope that you're suprised with
the new works and it's progression- they are definitely a must see in
person- print doesn't do them justice, especially because of scale.
The majority of the figures are life size or larger- standing up to
pieces is the best way to view these works... The show is up for a
month- so if you can't make it to the opening, hopefully you can see
it during it's time in the gallery-
If you're interested in purchasing a piece from the show-
contact the gallery directly to preview the works and purchase
something from the show.
The gallery already has a growing waiting list...

http://www.shootinggallerysf.com
justin giarla, director / owner
839 larkin street, san francisco, ca 94109
415.931.8035
info@shootinggallerysf.com

I am also putting together a second Tattooed Portraits Book- should be
out mid summer through 9mm Books...

Attached is the show card and front page to my website-
feel free to repost everywhere...
If you would like to be put on the mailing list- please respond with
your physical address and I will mail a postcard to you. If you live
out of the area and are interested in promoting the show in your area-
we printed 10,000 postcards and I can send a stack to you if you want
to help promote the works....

Thanks to everyone for their support and encouragement- I'm very happy
to show what I've been working on this past year. I will have ALL of
the new works on my site AFTER may 5th, so please check back to see
what's new...

Hope to see you soon,
shawn barber

quick post

2007-04-01T10:06:00.000-07:00

working away on paintings for my solo show at the shooting gallery in sf on may 5th-
this weekend I'm painting at the san francisco tattoo convention-- today is the last day...
an online interview has just been posted on the Tattoodles.com web site- check it out...

www.tattoodles.com/magazine

reno tattoo convention

2007-03-07T00:24:00.001-08:00

I will be at the reno tattoo convention this weekend with phil holt and norm- at the primal urge/black claw booth. I will be there painting live and selling my recent book 'tattooed portraits'
if you're in the area- come check us out...

shawn barber

sdbarber.com

lady luck tattoo arts

Lady Luck Tattoo Arts Expo 2007

Friday, March 9th: 3PM-11PM
Saturday, March 10th: 12N-11PM
Sunday, March 11th: 12N-6PM