Quantum Interceptions: The Art of Jason Barre

When 2009 started I had a clear vision; to create art, have a large body of work before year’s end and have fun doing it.

Now that it is the last day of the year, I look around my studio and see that it is packed with paintings and drawings. I feel very good about the past 12 months, I’ve had a blast in the studio, met so many new friends, and learned so much. I can only hope that 2010 will be just as interesting!

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My first paintings of 2009 expressed my fascination with monochromatic and extreme contrasting color. That series of 12″ x 12″ portraits were exhibited at the  APW’s Gallery World of Imagination Vol. 2. show.

APW's Gallery World of Imagination Vol. 2 show - February 6, 2009

GLEAM - 12"x12" acrylic on canvas

WANT - 12"x12" acrylic on canvas

TWIST - 12"x12" acrylic on canvas

SMIRK - 12"x12" acrylic on canvas

SCREAM - 12"x12" acrylic on canvas

In early spring I began using skateboard decks as my canvas and explored value. The finished result exhibited at APW’s Gallery Art on Record show Vol. 2.

(top to bottom) DISCERN & EXPAND - acrylic on skateboard deck

Not too long after that I found myself painting a series of portraits on vinyl LPs.

WHATEVER - acrylic on 12" vinyl LP - March 12, 2009

HEH - acrylic on 12" vinyl LP - March 21, 2009

GaGa - acrylic on 12" vinyl LP - March 28, 2009

While painting ‘GaGa’ I filmed my very first time lapse video.

I then started to work on larger canvases.

AWARE - 24" x 36" acrylic on canvas - March 10, 2009

My interest in extreme contrast returned as I worked on my largest canvas size to date; the first of the series; ‘PRIMARY CONTRAST’.

FREAKIN' - 24" x 48" acrylic on canvas - May 9, 2009

Next came a mixture of large scale portraits.

CONCIEVE - 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas - May 12, 2009

AWAIT - 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas - May 24, 2009

Spring had arrived, the air was fresh and my energy still had not reached it’s peak yet. A lot of this excess energy was poured into abstracts and portraits.

QUANTUM FOAM - 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas - May 19, 2009

SOVEREIGNTY - 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas - May 29, 2009

TEASE - 18" x 24" acrylic on canvas - June 12, 2009

ASK - 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas - June 30, 2009

EVOLVE - 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas - July 04, 2009

STREAM - 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas - July 16, 2009

APPROACH - 24" x 48" acrylic on canvas - July 18, 2009

The camera watched while ‘APPROACH’ took shape:

FHYSICS - 16"x20" acrylic on canvas - July 19, 2009

NEURONAL - 22" x 28" acrylic on canvas - July 20, 2009

CARVED - 24" x 36" acrylic on canvas - July ‎26, ‎2009

After having worked on a increasingly large scale I felt the need to turn in the opposite direction and started smaller versions of some of my favorite portraits, the remaining of which I plan to finish in 2010.

GLEAMISH - 4" x 5" acrylic on canvas - August 9, 2009

Continuing the series ‘PRIMARY CONTRAST’,  I started the paintings SNEERIN’ and SMILIN’, both of which will be completed in 2010.

SNEERIN' - 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas - unfinished

as Halloween approached and Fall began it’s slow hold on the weather, my subjects varied:

PLEASE - 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas - October 5, 2009

JACK O' LANTERN - 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas - October 10, 2009

PLANS - 24" x 48" acrylic on canvas - October 24, 2009

DESCENT - 12" x 24" acrylic on canvas - November 1, 2009

By this time the many late nights of work combined with a haphazard sleeping pattern began to catch up with me. I suddenly felt drained of all energy and new ideas. My creative work pretty much stopped as I took some time to rest, recuperate and refresh my imagination.

Time passed and in mid November as I was perusing Twitter, I found the #Draw365 project. A group of artists creating and sharing a drawing almost everyday, totaling 365 drawings.

[flagallery gid=4 name="Gallery"green_style_pro_1]

I started with much fervor, participating everyday. My painting work almost ceased during the early days of this project. The drawings were a refreshing exercise to work with, but I missed the easel. Then came the struggle to try and manage painting and drawing together without feeling regimented or stifled. I’ve reached a better balance now but I am still working on it.

This period left me with a number of assorted pieces.

GAGAISM - 30" x 40" acrylic on canvas - November 29, 2009

SHELTER - 8" x 10" acrylic on canvas - December 11, 2009

ANTICIPATE – 24" x 30" acrylic on canvas - unfinished

Black Hole Engages Matter - 8" x10" acrylic on canvas - unfinished

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2009, what a full year it has been.

Acrylic paint has been my primary medium in 2009. My understanding of it has increased and I feel very comfortable using it. Next year I will continue to use acrylic while moving into oil paints and other unknown areas.

Graphite and charcoal have emerged as a secondary medium that I enjoy throughly and will continue with.

2010 looks very interesting on all fronts. Looking forward to it!

Happy New Year everyone!