Soylent Green Productions

new website

2010-07-28T23:49:00.000-07:00

I have to take a break from my studio for a few weeks, so I am taking this time to work on a new website.
www.crystalbarbre.wordpress.com

Write up from Keith Wigdor on his site Surrealism Now

2010-07-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Below is an artwork by one of the most talked about and brutally intense artists EVER to come out of the LA UNDERGROUND DARK ART SCENE and that is The Master, CRYSTAL BARBRE! The Art of Crystal Barbre is of an extremely proactive nature, her successful formula is producing The Synthesis (as well as) The Morphing of States of Human and Animal to an immediate level of Intense Examination and Consciousness!!!!!!!!! Crystal Barbre's unique artistic and intellectual desire (as expressed in her paintings) raises the level and boundaries of Synthesis of human and animal to the Whole UNITY of human and animal, where the true medium of reality is elevated to a state of consciousness that the artist and her audience becomes one with, upon examing her work!!!!! This is a very hard and difficult task to accomplish, yet Crystal Barbre does it with such grace, its inevitable not to become drawn into her Sphere of Art!!!!! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!! THE ART OF CRYSTAL BARBRE!!!

"The Bird Has a Four Chambered Heart" by CRYSTAL BARBRE (19"x25" framed oil on canvas) from The Keith Wigdor Collection

fun times without pants...

2010-07-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

I am happy to see the last few weeks of the Hyaena show have been going well. We have had plenty of visitors without pants. Thats when I know a show is going well. The less pants, the better.

June 16- June 30 at Hyaena.

2010-06-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

The opening show at Hyaena was a big success! Sold some pieces, met some amazing people, and learned a ton. Fell in love with LA and can't wait to go back. Talked to a guy at the show who thought I was a male meth addict. Always interesting to see how people picture you as an artist before they meet you in person. Realized most of the comments on this blog are from a Japanease porn site. Its nice to know I'm drawing a good crowd.

Roadtrip to show at Hyaena Gallery in LA...

2010-06-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Public art these days deserves a swift ball kick...

2010-05-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

I got up this morning and went for a jog (alright, lets be honest here - fast-ish walk) along the water by Seattle's sculpture park. It was a beautiful day and I took the oppurtunity to lay down on the grass for a bit. I noticed they were erecting a few awnings for some upcoming sculptures that will be visiting the park soon. As I sat there enjoying the rare seattle sun I noticed a crowd of people arranging themselves around the awnings talking to each other and staring. One of the sculpture park security guards walked up and someone from the crowd said - "Excuse me, do you know who did these pieces? There isn't any name here." and the security guard explained to the crowd that it was, in fact, not an art exhibit, but just a FREAKIN AWNING for the sculpture that hadn't even arrived yet. The crowd quickly dispersed.
COME ON?! REALLY?? wait, i'm not surprised. with the crap that qualifies as public art these days I can see why people would be confused. If a giant typewriter eraser and an upside down umbrella are the best we can get why not just throw in a couple awnings for kicks. If public art was a dude I would give it a quick punch in the balls. Coming back from florence has made my already low tolerance for crap art even more unbearable. Its a little sad to come home to a place whose idea of public art is a giant typewriter eraser. Such a bummer.
on a brighter note:
I have a show coming up at Hyeana gallery in LA in only four weeks. I tried to get as much done as possible before I left but there is still so much to do. Being in one of the greatest centers of art in the world gave me just he shot of perspective I needed to return to work and try to finish off the rest of the paintings for the show with a bang. hopefully they won't suck.

2010-05-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

I'm in florence until May 13. Catch you later! xox

late night photo shoot...

2010-03-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

I have corn syrup in my hair and tequila on my breath - but it was all worth it. we got some fantastic photos. Luckily the model's friend came along - he brought his camera which gave me extreme camera envy. Too bad it costs more than both my legs. He was kind enough to let us use his camera and skills so the shoot turned out even better than expected. My reference setups are beginning to get more and more complicated. I'm always grateful for the results. I find unexpected surprises from each shoot I've done. Dozens of happy accidents along the way that continue to add more beauty to my paintings than I possibly could have planned for. Exhausted, but can't wait to get painting...

8th Deadly Sin Art show at The Congregation Gallery...

2010-03-16T17:15:00.000-07:00

What a great show on Saturday night! I was only able to be in LA for a few hours before having to fly back to Seattle but it was all worth it. Everyone was so friendly and supportive. I was surprised at how easy everyone was to talk to. It was a refreshing experience to be in a room full of people so driven and dedicated to their artwork. It was a great opportunity to feel out the LA art scene and to meet a bunch of wonderful artists. Just to have a chance to talk shop for an evening with people who are struggling along similar paths was exciting. I look forward to being able to go back to spend more time in June.

I'm flying to LA tomorrow...

2010-03-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

...for the 8th Deadly Sin show at The Congregation gallery. I've already talked to some of the great artists that are going to be there so I'm really looking forward to it. Its going to be a great time for sure. I'll be posting plenty of pictures when I get back.

I've been busy with this, that, and the other the last couple days so I haven't been in the studio. I have a couple pieces going at once for the solo show coming up in June that I am itching to get cracking on. Like, seriously, a giant mental itch...it sucks when you are just getting in the flow of a piece and its all working out and then life happens and you have to abandon the studio for a bit. The painting gods hate that. I am worried that when I get back from LA they will punish me with some a creative asswhooping. not looking forward to it.

8th Deadly Sin show in LA...

2010-02-25T20:51:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to have the chance to show a piece in the group show at Forgotten Saints on March 13th. I'm looking forward to flying down and meeting some great artists. It should be a fun time and a good prequel to my upcoming show at Hyaena gallery in June.

I just finished sketching out the next 6 paintings for the solo show. I can't wait to get painting. The prep work is such a bore. But I've learned not to jump ahead of myself or I'll be sorry. There's enough that can go wrong in a painting already - no need to tempt the painting gods. So, accept for my little trip to LA in a couple weeks I'll be in the basement working til my eyes give out. Did I say working? I meant partying like a rockstar til the wee hours of the morning. That's how we artists roll.

It's about time...

2010-01-30T02:32:00.000-08:00

The new year has started with some serious lack of attention to the internet
but I decided I couldn't let January pass completely by without at least a little update.

Since the holidays I've been busy preparing for an upcoming show at the Hyaena Gallery.
I've had lots of prep work to do to get my game plan down but its about time to get up to my elbows in some serious painting. I'll be leaving for a month to Florence to do some studying so that takes away a good chunk of my painting time before the big show. That means I'll be spending the next two months deep in the painting cave to make sure I get some good work turned out while I can.

On top of that I've got a couple of paintings due for some Valentine's Day group shows, the SEAF submissions in 2 days, and a mural to get painted at a new bar opening up soon. So I'll have to prioritize hardcore these next few weeks. Goodbye social life, and sleep. Hello 2am coffees and cigarettes.

This new year is starting off with a bang. I can't complain. It feels great to be busy. If I can get through the next few months with some good paintings and without gouging my eyes out with the business end of a paintbrush it'll be a good start to a good year.

Juxtapoz article...

2009-12-03T12:08:00.000-08:00

Its been a very busy week. Hung most of the paintings for the Bauhaus show. Its a giant space so I need to make a couple more paintings to fill up the area a little more. The reception isn't until the 10th, so I should have enough time to get together a good piece or two.
Got an
article in juxtapoz,
on their website.Very excited about that. There's been some great response so far.

We Are All Animals: The Artwork of Crystal Barbre

Tuesday, 01 December 2009

Show at Bauhaus in December...

2009-11-29T19:03:00.001-08:00

chris peters workshop this weekend...

2009-11-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to a workshop at Gage this weekend. This will be perfect for helping with some of the color/value issues I've been discovering I don't have answers to. I'm excited going to soak up as much information as I can. Here's the info for the workshop if you're interested...

Chris Peters workshop at Gage Academy of Art

Chris Peters11/21-11/22, Sat-Sun, 9:30am-4:30pm [2 days]

“Chiaroscuro”, the painter’s use of dramatic lighting, was developed by the Italian Renaissance painter Caravaggio in the 16th century, and provides the core focus of this weekend workshop.

Peters begins by discussing how to light your subject to maximize the description of its three dimensional forms. He then helps you to compose the planes within your picture into large light and dark sections with an unambiguous focus on your main subject matter. Peters pushes you to maximize the dramatic reading of your painting by going beyond a narrow range of middle values so that your intermediary areas of half-light and half-shadow areas play second fiddle to the creation of a strong overall effect. He also shows you how to use a mirror as you develop your painting to help distinguish general values from local values.

During the workshop, you create one small painting each day, working quickly and simply to "cover the canvas" by making value/color choices everywhere. Your artistic goal is to grab people’s attention from a distance and then reward them with beautiful details as they come closer to inspect your artwork, just like a Caravaggio or a Rembrandt.

lovely accidents...

2009-11-17T18:55:00.000-08:00

Up late last night trying to work - couldn't. Just stared at my tools for awhile. Noticed they were quite pretty. Its easy to be so focused on improving on what you know - trying to develop your technical skill, or developing whatever concept you're trying to get across - its easy to forget to listen to the accidents that happen in art. Especially in realist art accidents are considered mistakes, not blessings. I love realism and want to develop my technical skill as much as I can - but I don't want to forget to bend a bit to the chaos that makes art so exciting. I don't want to get so busy trying to master the craft that I lose touch with the small voice that made me love art in the first place. Its a voice I don't think can ever be mastered or explained. I have to remember to allow my art to have enough room to breathe and to allow life to influence my work instead of spending so much time "mastering" it I end up smothering it.

december show fast approaching...

2009-11-17T18:16:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy trying to get this show pumped out by December 1st I haven't had much time for anything else. I only have a little over a week to go so hopefully it all turns out well. It can be very satisfying to have to work quickly on a series - it keeps me from being too precious about the work. At the same time i can tend to call parts of a painting done when it really isn't to par and needs to be worked on more. I should be able to go back over a piece later - after the show and they are back in the studio - but it never works that way. I get so sick of them after they're hung I just never want to see them again usually. Its like going back to an ex boyfriend - ugh. just doesn't work out. Usually it just gets more fucked up then it was before. So, its hard to not have the time to really work through a piece to my satisfaction.

2009-10-27T22:13:00.000-07:00

Coming along on the second sara piece. Getting at that frustrating point when things seem to be getting worse the more paint I put on. There are so many aspects of painting I still have to learn. Sometimes its hard not to focus just on what's not working in the painting. It's difficult because you have to be your own worst critic to be able to be honest about how you need to improve as a painter, while at the same time not getting frozen up by a sense of failure. Walking the line between honest criticism and self deprecation is a tough one. It's funny since its also necessary to keep a healthy show of confidence. Its like dating, if you don't at least put on a front of confidence no one is going to take you home. Same with painters, no one is going to have faith in you as a valuable artist if you don't at least act like you are the bees knees.
Well, keeping my fingers crossed this piece works out.

Second Sara piece.

2009-10-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

Starting the new Sara piece. So far just the burnt umber underpainting. I'll be sticking to roughly the same palette as the first fish girl painting.

2009-10-09T00:11:00.000-07:00

My girl with fish painting is at its new home at the Hideout.

I've been spending most of my time this last week focusing on drawing and painting exercises. We made some casts today from a moulage material. Its a bit boring to be working on so many cast and anatomy exercises but it's helpful to get some good practice in before I get to finishing the series this fish girl painting goes with.

observational work and excersizes

2009-10-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

It certainly feels like the cold season has begun. We had our first fire today in the fireplace upstairs from my studio. Makes it a little more cozy. I haven't been doing any new paintings lately. Instead I'm focusing on working on different excersizes in our atelier. Anatomy studies, Barque copies, color studies, and lifedrawing. I'll be starting a new series that I know will take up a lot of my time, so I need to make sure to get in the habit of keeping up with my observational work now while I have the chance.

week one in the new studio

2009-09-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy with the new studio. Its as big as my apartment. Which isn't saying much considering my apartment is the size of a large jail cell. The new studio is just starting to get set up but its nice to have enough room to be able to step back and look at my work as it goes along. Its bare bones right now, but it won't take long before it gets that lived in artist pack rat feel.
I will need to set up a better ventilation system, as a couple of open windows won't really do it. Look forward to seeing the disaster that will be my attempt at constructing some kind of useful air current situation. I could probably save myself time and money by taking out a comparable amount of toxic chemicals in my system by quitting smoking. but that just isn't going to happen anytime soon.

some earlier work...

2009-09-19T03:04:00.000-07:00

Lucky Cat?

2009-09-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

The house my studio is in has cats. They seem to enjoy coming to visit and helping me paint. The next gallery showing I have I'm bringing these cats. Bums with cats get more change. maybe it works for artists too.

Finishing up the Animal series...first layer of piece 12

2009-09-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

Getting started with the first paintings of the season. Decided to finish off the last of the animal series before I get started with anything else. It's a good way to get myself back into the swing of things after taking a bit of a break over the summer. Just going to have some fun with the next couple pieces. Here are the underpaintings and first layer finished for the one I'm working on right now...

Good summer, time to get to work for fall...

2009-09-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

What a glorious summer! I had a wonderfully well received show at Babeland and got a new and improved studio for this fall's nose to the grindstone painting extravaganza. My collegues and I have an exciting plan for the atelier we are putting together for ourselves for the oncoming year. And on top of it all I had the best experience with a ping pong ball this side of a dingy dimlit stage...

2009-09-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

Crystal Barbre Wins the Arbitrary Art Grant in Writing

Monday, August 10th, 2009

So how does one pick a winner for an arbitrary art grant in writing with 154 contestants? Ping Pong Balls seemed rather appropriate, and we wanted to go swimming. So Jed, Perla, Ben and I packed up the car and headed north to the prestine wilderness that is Smoke Farm. We strung a finish line across the lazy river. We walked upstream and Jed threw the balls straight up. It was fair. It was kind of exciting, in a really slow, quiet way. And as the balls crossed the finish line, it was Crystal Barbre in the lead. Congratulations! It’s just been that kind of summer. Thank you all for playing.

Posted in Events | 1 Comment »

Arbitrary Art Grant in Writing

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

2009-08-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Ok hotel group show on July 2nd.

2009-07-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

The end of the year group show for Mark Kang O'Higgins class of 2009. The show is at the Ok Hotel Gallery through August 1st.

Magnetisme Animal show July 9th at Babeland

2009-07-01T12:05:00.000-07:00