Marie Barr

Inked Souls Show Photos

2009-04-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! My awesome sister was able to go to the Inked Souls opening last night and took some photos of the show for me:

And for those of you who weren't able to make it to the show, here are some pics of the sneakers I customized:

I hope everyone who went to the show had I great time. I wish I could have been there!

This weekend - Inked Souls Show - Arlington, VA

2009-04-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

All you guys that live out by DC and Virginia be sure to check out a great show this weekend... I will have a painting and a custom pair of painted Tagur sneakers at the show!

(click image for a larger version of the flyer)

Inked Souls
April18th - May 9th
2450 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202

Eclectix Gallery show March 13th!!

2009-02-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

One great show at Eclectix has ended, but a new one is on the way! March 13th -April 26th. She show is called "Eat It!" and all of the artwork has some element of food / eating in it. I will have 2 paintings in the show, so if you live in the area be sure to check it out and check out the work of all the other great artists!

Eclectix Gallery show Jan 16th!!

2008-12-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

I will have several pieces in this show. If you are in the area be sure to check it out to see my work and the work of other great artists!

PS Happy new year to you all!

Distinction Gallery Autumn's Delight show

2008-10-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

It's show and tell time! Distinction really is a great gallery. They have so many talented artists showing their work there. These photos are just of the main show that I was in, but there is a lot more to explore within the gallery if you go there, so if you are ever in the area and haven't been, definitely check it out sometime.
We took a lot of photos, so let's get started(and in case you didn't know you can click on any photo to enlarge it, I know these look pretty small here):

I talked with Scott Brooks a lot during the night. He was a cool guy, be sure to check out his work if you aren't familiar with it:

Here's Scott Brooks' wall:

Andy Haynes work was to the right of mine:

This is me with Christopher Blaikie, one of the artists who has a studio at Distinction. He is also the artist who painted the mural on their outside wall.

And here are just some shots of my work itself:

So, that's the show! I have most of the work from the show up on strangepuppets.com gallery now. I had been waiting for the show to put everything up. If there is anything you are interested in, or if you want more details on the work and the show, you can go to Distinction's page for it here. If you are interested in purchasing anything from the show just give them a call over at the gallery!

And now I wish you all a lovely day.

Flyer for the October Distinction show

2008-09-09T00:08:00.001-07:00

Well hello everybody. I hope you all had a lovely summer. I myself had a crazy busy summer and actually just starting next week will things settle down. So you can expect to hear more from me over the fall and winter.
In some exciting news I just received the flyer for the October show at Distinction Gallery and wanted to share!

It should be an interesting show for sure. I hope every single person living within a 50 mile radius from Escondido will be able to make it.
Every single one

I could go blind

2008-01-21T10:18:00.000-08:00

How is everyone doing?
I am going to tell you a small story about a tragedy that occured this weekend.
Anyone who wears contacts will already know this, but I am going to give an overview on contact lens care for those who do not.
Basically there are 2 ways you can clean your contacts. One is a solution that is gentle, you can soak your lenses in it, you can rub them off with it, and you can even put it in your eye. This is the solution I normally use. But I had asked Rog to pick me up my contact lense solution one day and he came back with the other.
The other solution is like a chemistry set. You have this test tube looking thing that you put the solution in. Then you suspend your lenses in some sort of futuristic chamber and drop them into the solution. You're not supposed to take the lenses out for at least 6 hours so the solution can "neutralize".
Well, like the genius I am... my lens was bugging me so I went and rinsed it off with the death solution and put it in my eye. I felt like my eyeball was one fire. I began frantically washing it off with water and saying to Rog (while crying) "I could go blind! I could go blind!" He in the meantime calmly read the package and it said nothing about potentially going blind so he tried to assure me I was ok.
Anyway, my eyeball looked like it was covered in blood by the time it was all done. Luckily I can still see, but my eye hurt for hours after. So now I am having to rock my glasses while my eye recovers:

Now I look like I am smart, even though I am clearly stupid. So anyway, wondering what's in this solution that would cause such pain... well I'm not sure because there is a ton of scary sounding stuff in it, but I think it might be:

Hydrogen peroxide in the eye can't be good?
Ok, well story over. Anyway, here's one of the things I am working on now:

It's called "The Rake". It will probably take forever to do. I hope it works out.

That's all for now. Have a lovely day.

A find, a find, a delicious find

2007-12-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

Hmn long time no talk. Well I wanted to share these awesome statues I found. Recently on vacation, we went to this store that had a bunch of random crap in it, and I found these:

These are perfect. They are a perfect representation of woe. Look at their posture! How they grasp onto things in their hands. The way the hands look. The shapes. Perfect! I had to get them for my studio. They are exactly what I want out of my art. That type of communication.

Other than my amazing find, I’ve just been very busy working away as usual. I bought another easel, so now I have some cool double-easel action goin on. I can work on 2 oil paintings with the easels and a watercolor on my table. That is called multi-tasking my friends.

Halloween prep, oil, and frightening hand gestures

2007-09-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

It’s almost October which means I must begin construction on my costume. Luckily, this year we are settled so I can actually make a costume again, like usual. I just started with the first stage of making the mask last night:

Somewhere someone told me not to put a plastic bag over your head… hmn oh well.

Besides the preparations for Halloween, I am STILL working on the oil painting. I will also begin another watercolor in the meantime because this pace is killing me. So far I think it’s going well though. I am constantly learning throughout the process. Of course I’m sure I don’t paint the way an oil painter normally does, but then I never seem to do anything the way that’s proper. That wouldn’t be any kind of fun for me. I am starting to get a little burnt out on it. But I think it’s just because of the details I have to put into it.

This weekend we went to see Eastern Promises. I have been waiting for this movie to come out. Viggo was awesome in it and the tattoos looked so good. This kills me:

So, there is my weekend. I hope you all had a lovely one.

guacamole couch and some kind of sickness

2007-09-16T21:41:00.000-07:00

The couch has finally arrived!!!!!!!!
Yes, we have been sans couch for about 6 weeks. It’s arrival has been most glorious.
Take a look. It’s the most comfortable couch in the universe perhaps. It’s guacamole colored, which is quite lovely with the rest of our décor.

Oh what a lazy slob.

Other than that- been working on my paintings. The watercolor is going well. The oils…
We’ll. I am having trouble adjusting to them. I’ve heard that watercolors are the most unforgiving of all paints. And that oils are the MOST forgiving. Due to my personality I think I identify better with the watercolors. I enjoy the pressure of no mistakes being tolerated. Get it right the first time, for there is no return! This concept of being able to rework something over and over and over is kind of weirding me out. I need it of course though because I have been making mistakes. But I wonder… If I did not have that leeway would I be more successful off the bat?
Ah how I love my merciless watercolors. But now I must also learn to love oils, which will actually love me back. How romantic.

studio set up and new painting

2007-09-13T18:31:00.001-07:00

So I finally set up my workspace. Check it-

My favorite lamp. I made it :

Krishna :

And blurry Ganesh :

And, since oil is sooooo painfulllllly slow. I am starting a new painting to keep me entertained while layers dry:

That’s all for now. It's time for foods.

It has begun

2007-09-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

I have begun the first of my oil paintings. Here are the pencil and marker working of it so far. I am very excited to get started with the oil.

So I mentioned before about going up in size for my work. You can see, these next few paintings will be about 4 times the size I normally work in… if not a little more. It will be totally weird for me to work at that size, but I’m sure I’ll adjust in no time. I just wonder if it will then be difficult to go back down to smaller sizes again. I’m probably over thinking it and everything will turn out well.
Not sure how many of these large canvases I will do right now. I know I have at least 3 sketches worked out that I am planning for large canvas. At some point though, I’ll need to go back down to working in a smaller format. I also want to try working on different surfaces.

In the meantime I am also going to be working on a secret installation. If everything goes well, it shall indeed kick ass. More on that when it’s close to being done, which will be a while.

And lastly- it’s Halloween time on I-mockery which means insane amounts of candies and treats in the apartment. I have already scoped out some for myself. Please refer to Exhibits A and B below.
May you all have an evening filled with good things.

moved in

2007-08-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

Well we are moved in, still unpacking though. Love the new place. But somehow I have managed to misplace all of my watercolors.
…
I might have left them at the old apartment. We go tomorrow to finalize all of that and get the last small bits of our things out. I have been way over tired and have insomnia, but I’d rather have insomnia than oversleep.
Anyway we cleaned up our apartment with something amazing I was told about. “Magic eraser”. If you haven’t ever used one of these yet – you seriously should. It will clean ANYTHING. It’s magic for reals. Totally weird too. It disintegrates while you use it, and makes cool shapes like white shadow puppets or something. See – I made a toof!

Other than that, not much else. Very eager to get back into art full swing. Just making small steps right now.

Tonight on our way back from making some Halloween purchases on Sunset, I saw these statues and took this photo.
Anyone in LA reading this – don’t forget tomorrow night- the Cannibal Flower 7 Year Anniversary Show. I will be there and so will my art.

Box city!

2007-08-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, so we are moving yet again (next week!). I'm pretty sick of moving, but this move will be really good. Much better for the "Art". Wood floors, light, a little space just for me, so my easels, tables, etc aren't spread out all over the apt. So I'm excited. Because of it's location it's also going to give me almost 4 more hours a day to paint.
I haven't started the large oil canvases yet since I found out we were moving. It's impossible enough to move all of my art supplies and paintings around to have to deal with that. But once we are settled I AM READY TO GO.
On the way over to the new place (bringing some of my paintings) I stopped by Hyaena Gallery, and Bill is always super cool and is going to put up some more of my paintings for me there.
And that's the news! Check out this cool albino bird I saw hanging with some black birds on wires:

If we aren't dead from packing later tonight I think we might swing by Gallery Nucleus to check out the Ninja Show.

And last thing I want to mention is an upcoming group show my work will be in:
Cannibal Flower 07 year anniversary show at Hangar1018
Los Angeles, CA - August 25th
9:30pm to 2am

Lovely days.

2007-07-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well I took some time off from making “the Art”. I like to take occasional breaks like that because I feel my mind working and solving things way in the deep back, so when I return to making “the Art” again things are clear and interesting.
Not that art ever leaves my brain by any means. I must have spent a fortune the past few weeks on art and design magazines. The other day Rog and I went to visit The Getty here in LA, because I had been meaning to go check out the Tim Hawkinson exhibit for awhile now. They actually had some other exhibits I ended up really enjoying – one called “Radiant Darkness” which featured works of night lighting. I really enjoyed that since Caravaggio has always been one of my favorite painters. They didn’t have any of his work in the exhibit unfortunately. Chiaroscuro has always been extremely interesting to me, and perhaps something I’ll address in the future.
They also had an exhibit called Medieval Beasts which featured a ton of illuminated manuscripts. Those are also one of my favorite things. (I saw the the Book of Kells when we were in Ireland.) Words can’t express how awesome that was for me.
On top of all that they also had an exhibit which I was surprised at how much I liked. It may have even been my favorite of the day. They had an exhibit by photographer John Humble. I certainly appreciate the art of photography, but it is generally rare that I am struck by it either intellectually or emotionally. Usually it’s more of an appreciation of craft. His series of “The Urban Landscape” were really amazing and definitely impacted me.

So now my little break is over and it is time to jump back into things. I have a small pile of Post It Note sketches, random sketches on backs of receipts and Google Maps directions that need attending too.

(Using my Mister Wizard face I explain to you "This may look tedious, but I assure you it is quiet fulfilling. No. Really." )

This next phase of my work is moving into uncharted territory. Yarg adventure! I am going to be taking my style into the medium of oils. This may work it may not, but I feel confident it will. I have been reading a ton of “How to paint with oils” books and conducting scientific experiments in my laboratory. I need to put new images for inspiration up on the corkboard, so that may be a small project for the weekend. I think I shall put a photo of Bob Ross up there and his quote beneath "We don't make mistakes, we just have happy little accidents." to keep me going when I am feeling down and defeated. My work, because of this, is going to go up in format size. I’ll need to rent another apartment just to store my paintings eventually.

Of course I won’t be abandoning the watercolor, acrylic etc method completely since I do enjoy it. But this oil painting is a good challenge for me and I think (hope) it will be awesome and sticky like a giant lollipop.

I would like to thank some people for putting up with me and my mad scramble insanity before the Hyaena show: Rog my Professional Framer, Supporter, and Husband extraordinaire. And the other man in my life, Bob’s Big Boy.

In closing (non-art news)
1. We are apartment hunting again because we need hardwood floors and more light.
2. I found The Lorax:

3. My favorite boxer Wladimir Klitchko is fighting tonight.
4. I think this is the longest post I’ve made yet.

Have a lovely weekend.

the grand recap of the Hyaena Solo Exhibit

2007-06-17T23:00:00.001-07:00

Well, I am completely exhausted. The show Saturday night was great fun though. I got to meet lots of cool and interesting people. I loved hearing people's interpretations of my work. It's a great feeling when someone feels like they have connected with something you've done. Here are some photos from the show for those of you who had to miss it:

Welcome to Hyaena Gallery. If anyone in the LA area is reading this and you haven't checked this place out yet, you should!

Here is the first wall. All the works from the "Little Lamb" series were here.

This is the second wall.

And here is the third wall.

No cupcakes.

The front of the gallery has various works by other artists. Those walls are always being updated with new work. The back walls are where the special exhibits take place. There's definitely a lot to look at.

I even had some musicians show up to play. They were awesome.

Here's me and the gallery owner Bill classin up the joint.

Other than the work on the walls I also had books, posters, boxes, and other items.

That's it! Don't you wish you had been there? And if you were one of the people there, thanks again for coming. The show still runs for 2 weeks for anyone who wants to catch it. Just go to the Hyaena Gallery site, or my site for more info.

And now I am going to take a few days to loaf around and rest before I get back to painting.

I'll make an update later on what I am going to be working on next. Very exciting things to come!

art and the OC

2007-06-04T21:44:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post - wanted to link to an interesting article about Banksy (I had vaguely wondered what happened post the LA show) and also I'm sure plenty of you have heard about the Damien Hirst Diamond Skull which I must admit it's quite beautiful looking, but as far as "art" goes it may be equivalent to the Victoria's Secret Fantasy Bra . Oh well, I admit I still dig his sharks.

Last weekend we went to the OC and saw the Untitled Love Project exhibit which was great. Some really great talent participating. Then we adventured around the OC and went to the beaches, even the "Laguna Beach" which I actually quite liked and enjoyed. It's so weird looking out here - still getting used to it.

I will be having a bigger post soon since it is almost TIME FOR THE SHOW! Very exciting. The flyers are in (click to see larger):

Theo Jansen

2007-04-19T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is awesome beyond words:

strandbeest
the movies
article

Saw a post about him on makezine.com

crazy busy

2007-04-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

Wow. So it's been a bit of a while since I posted. I am always very busy, but the past few months have been insane. Working very hard to get ready for my solo show in June, and have a lot of other things I am working on. Here's a pic of a series I am working on for the solo show:

My head looks gigantic in that photo. Anyway it's been interesting. And I have to say as hard as it was to move out here to LA it seems like it was the right thing to do. The art movement here is really strong and I think this is the place to be right now for figurative artists. I've spoken with some very helpful people and feel like I have a clear direction to move in now.

In other news, I am working on a painting for another show which is May 26. It's called The Untitled Love Project and all of the work in it explores the broken heart. It's perfect for me since my work really is focused on emotion.

You can click on that image to see a bigger version.

There's the update. And now I have to get back to work...

it's 12:04 am and I have a new desk

2007-01-25T00:03:00.000-08:00

Was hoping to update the site tonight, but it's past my bedtime.
Instead I will post a photo of my new desk at work. Because it is awesome. Window view right on Sunset Blvd. Observe:

We recently ate at the Bob's Big Boy out here. I've never eaten at one before. I think across the rest of the country they're just burger joints, but this was a full diner. "Bob's Big Boy" might be the best name of a restaurant ever.

Lost Boys is on the TV right now.

Happy New Year

2007-01-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

Well, we got back from a nice long vacation up north to visit San Francisco and the Redwoods. We did the Alcatraz thing in San Fran, which I know is a major touristy thing to do, but I liked it because I love prison stories. Going to see the Redwood Forest was one of the top things I've wanted to do in my life so that was cool.
We got back a few days ago and it would appear that it is now Fall in LA. So. That's weird. I went out to the pool and took some pictures. I also picked up a few of the leaves and they are now sitting on the coffee table.

Have to adjust to getting back to work this week. I picked up a book today I've been meaning to read for a while "Into the Wild" about a guy who leaves his life to go off into the wild (hence the title) and dies. It should be good.

Happy New Year

the Happy New Year is approaching

2006-12-20T22:37:00.000-08:00

I'm getting ready to upload my new site in a minute. I'm on a new server now, so it's been a little tricky getting things moved over and all set up.
I have a lot more to add to the site, but I wanted to just get it up and then gradually add more work at my leisure. It makes you sound important when you say you're doing something at your leisure.

and one more

I liked this little corn guy I scribbled out

I'm so excited it's almost time for vacation. Really looking forward to this next year. Hope you all have a happy one-

My favorite thing about LA

2006-09-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I see this billboard everywhere:

The background, the font, and
I LOVE the expression on this man's face. I don't know why he is so happy about "Accidentes", but I tell you that Juan's enthusiastic and confident appearance makes me want to get in one.

And I babelfished that "El mejor abogado" which I found out means "The best lawyer". You KNOW it!

big ol update

2006-09-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well we are finally out of the temporary place in Glendale and have finally moved into our new permanent place. Welcome to suBurbank. A lot of people hate Burbank, but so far I don't think it's that bad. It's very hot though. It's clean and you can walk to almost everything you might need from where we are. And the mountains are really pretty - check out the photo. Ok well I think that's Glendale, but Burbank looks pretty much like that so it's good enough.
We're still unpacking of course, but anything "crucial" is unpacked and set up. I have all of my art supplies out and ready to go:

My inlaws bought me an awesome apothecary cabinet for my birthday back in May and I finally got to set it up. It makes ART feel like SCIENCE!

I have to pick up some of those plastic floor tarp things soon though because there is carpet under that desk.
Besides all that - it is now September which means Halloween time on Rog's site. Which means - he has mountains of candies and delicious treats on the floor in his room. He has to review them quickly before I eat them. Well at least the shnickahs. Snickers are probably my favorite candy. I have to say that the cute Halloweeny shaped ones are not as delicious as the regular ones though. They lack the abundance of peanuty goodness which is the foundation of the originals. BUT I'M STILL GUNNA EAT THEM.

Oh yeah and anyone who knows me InRealLife check out my "tan"! (The sun here is piercing and I sit in a car for an hour and a half on the way to work). I know it is impressive.
We have a pool at our new residence. And it is very strange it will be open all year. It's going to freak me out to be swimming in November. I guess they do heat the pool in the winter, but it is outside and I have heard it doesn't really get cold here. I'll let you know!
So that's what's been goin on. Now I'll leave you with a link to a very long but interesting article about the Paul Frank machine http://www.vanityfair.com/features/general/articles/060822fege01

Less than 2 weeks to go

2006-08-22T22:52:00.000-07:00

Well we are FINALLY moving into a permanent apartment next week. I apologize for anyone reading this who is waiting for orders from me. I will be sending everything out as soon as we are moved in and I have access to my posters and books again.
I haven't been keeping up much online anywhere. Honestly the move to Los Angeles has so far been very rough on me and I am still just trying to settle down (settle down!). The move next week into a permanent place will certainly help some. I can't say I like it out here so far, but I'm trying to give it time. I am hoping Los Angeles is like an avocado- because I used to hate avocados and now I realize they make for delicious sandwiches.
You can see a few of the things I've been working on in the photograph above.
I thought I was going to say more about my current art in general, but. nah.