Ektopia

Shawn Barber’s has had his fair share of posts on Ektopia this year. It’s also fair to say that I happily admit to being a little obsessed with his painting style. So much so that when I saw that he was releasing a DVD I knew I had to get a copy…and quick!

Foundation Painting with Shawn Barber is published by Massive Black in association with the Concept Art community. There’s no messing about at the beginning of the DVD. No introductory interviews or explanations; just straight in with a blank canvas as Shawn begins to sketch out the still life, a skull (yay!) on some drapery that he’s about to compose and paint in front of our very eyes. It’s not long before he’s exchanged a pencil for some oil paint as he begins painting proper. As he paints the skull he discusses all the aspects of his technique from composition to his colour palate and how the tones work together. He often changes parts of the painting as he goes along as he sees that it’s not quite right. Nothing is set in stone at any point; he’s constantly re-assessing the images for many factors and re-evaluating how it needs to be changed. The reason that I mention it here is because I think that, for me, it’s about the most important lesson.

He’s quite obviously not too precious about the painting and knows that he is quite capable of making the changes and this inspires me. Another part that constantly inspires is his use and understanding of colour. He speaks of colour in values and tones and can see them super-clearly. He sees unusual colours in the subject that add so much. Nothing obvious but just something that I guess comes with concentration, studying the objects and practice. Sometimes I just couldn’t see how he was going to turn a certain part of the image into what I knew he would create. I mean, the drapery for instance. Shawn seems to have such an eye for the little details that make the most difference. The attention to detail in a couple of small folds in the drapery brought it out from the canvas and almost into the 3D world. Occasionally there are close ups and reference images that show what sometimes look like crude brush strokes but are of course strokes of real genius. A quick zoom out again and the image is transformed once more.

So, although I was fascinated by watching Shawn’s painting come to vivid life I was wondering where the extras were. I was sure that I had read about some other techniques that I hadn’t seen on the DVD. I had watched the bonus features and the parts weren’t to be found there. There is a great little video Q&A with Shawn and some other short interviews with some other artists at the opening night of one of his shows. There’s even a speed-paint version of the skull still-life. That’s as extraordinary to watch as the actual main feature. What surprised me most was how drips of paint would occasionally fall down the canvas over a period of a few seconds. These are moments that go unnoticed in real time as they move so slowly but his relaxed approach to the paint doing its own thing is a real signature quality to his work and it’s great to see it actually appear if you know what I mean. Anways, the extras I was talking about - I had stupidly mistaken the “Setting Up” section for a DVD setup section (you know, the ones where you normally set up 5.1 sound and the directors commentary etc.). As soon as I decided to select this section I was introduced to some really interesting extras. Setting Up actually means setting up you see! Everything from stretching canvases, brush selection, palate preparation, colour mixing etc. is included. Each chapter is a fascinating foundation into the oil painting principles. I particularly enjoyed and learned lots from the colour mixing section, which was enlightening to say the least. I’m sure that there’s something to be learnt for anyone visiting the extras. Of course, he continues to make it all look rather easy but hey, he also makes you want to get your gear set up and experiment too.

Throughout the DVD there are little glimpses of his amazing tattoo portrait series paintings in the background as well as lot’s off other interesting stuff that sits around the studio. This is part of the reason that it’s a very comfortable DVD to watch. It’s set up no differently than it would be if the camera wasn’t there and Shawn speaks clearly and eloquently about his art and techniques. So, as an aspiring artist the DVD is a must have for me. Not only is it suitable for aspiring artists though as I imagine that there’ll be something for everyone to learn during Shawn’s teaching sessions. I’m sure that if you’re anything like me (and I have to assume that some of you are because you keep coming back here to check out the links that I’m interested in) you’ll love this DVD for that reason too. It’s an honour to watch him work, which is something that many of us don’t get the opportunity to do unless people release DVDs like this.

It’s just amazing to see him create such a fine piece of work and put it down as being just practice for the real thing! Because the DVD is released in conjunction with Concept Art, the money that’s made from the sales of the DVD go back into the Concept Art system to support their artistic community, which is great. The whole thing lasts for around 2.5 hours and can be purchased direct from Massive Black’s DVD page. There’s a steaming trailer for it here and also a few le-res sections from the DVD floating about on YouTube. Take a look and I think you’ll be impressed.

In other news - Shawn is working on another book called Forever and Ever and it’s “a 260 page complete catalogue and overview of the past three years’ Tattooed Portraits Series Paintings…” More news on that as soon as I hear anything.