tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110 Michael R. Barrick (a.k.a Atratus) Michael 2026-04-26T08:06:24Z tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2099608 When a cat yawns, it's the law 2026-04-26T08:06:24Z 2026-04-26T08:06:24Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/681232467_18577671985048782_5096361018662080572_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>When a cat yawns, it's the law<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXlhCF9jw3d/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2099608" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2099219 That's enough of this one. Tape is off. Varnish is on. Another grocery bag ruined… 2026-04-25T22:00:05Z 2026-04-25T22:00:05Z public 1 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/680947439_18577568518048782_2965717307569024427_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>That's enough of this one. Tape is off. Varnish is on. Another grocery bag ruined ;-P Painted from my own original photograph of the "Fallen II" fashion show presented by Sanctuay at the Purple Onion, May 18, 2003. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXkcmrCkle0/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2099219" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2099135 I've been thinking about the hubris of the "anthropocene". People who like the term point to… 2026-04-25T18:44:11Z 2026-04-25T18:44:11Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/671106610_18577515052048782_661121159765294072_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>I've been thinking about the hubris of the "anthropocene". People who like the term point to it like a smoking gun of human failure, yet the idea that the global layer of human shіt like strontium-90 and carbon polymers that have been laid down in a meager 70 years is the start of a geologic epoch is wildly optimistic. The idea that it represents an epoch presupposes that it will go on for a geologically significant length of time when it isn't even a significant fraction of how long modern humans have been around. Even the Holocene, the time since the last glacial maximum, is a blip on that scale, just 3% of the time modern humans have existed, only one quarter of one one thousandth of the time we broke off as a separate species from our common ancestor with chimpanzees. Arguably the Holocene is similar anthropocentric hubris and an unspecial chunk of the larger Paleocene that started 66 million years ago with the Cretaceous–Paleogene iridium layer boundary from the big, bad meteor. To call what we've been doing for a single lifetime, or even since the "time immemorial" birth of extant cultures is pure ego. The optimism that we will hold a candle to horseshoe crabs, sharks, or turtles and still be throwing around plastic and other human concocted chemistry for millions of years strikes me as insane. Even if we hold on for a few more tens of thousands of years we won't be an epoch. We'll be a boundary layer marking mass extinction and global climate change that maybe, in the unlikely event that in another few tens of millions of years something else evolves a brain that tries to figure stuff like this out, will look at and think, WTF? Image: USGS<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXj9Ik4GO5W/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2099135" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2098747 I'm not sure including the silly forehead jewels was the best idea and Vidma is judging me for it… 2026-04-25T15:49:33Z 2026-04-25T15:49:33Z public 1 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/673145553_18577490860048782_2388886391124643285_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>I'm not sure including the silly forehead jewels was the best idea and Vidma is judging me for it #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting #studiocat<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXjzCJvjtOE/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2098747" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2098668 Only two or three more stabs away from being done with… 2026-04-24T17:00:29Z 2026-04-24T17:00:29Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/681160980_18577228072048782_1543836167035260134_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Only two or three more stabs away from being done with this #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXhR_H7kSEu/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2098668" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2098298 Time to move on to the details that should pull things together.… 2026-04-23T17:08:06Z 2026-04-23T17:08:06Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/672370468_18576958765048782_7768570869589599509_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Time to move on to the details that should pull things together. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXetcTGFpJW/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2098298" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2097952 A thin layer of blues and greens this morning. I'm not quite happy with the face just yet.… 2026-04-21T17:16:49Z 2026-04-21T17:16:49Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/671831309_18576483220048782_5813694065408944424_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>A thin layer of blues and greens this morning. I'm not quite happy with the face just yet. There are blue, red, yellow, and white lights hitting it in the reference and the imaginary light from the halo that I'm also adding—which is all a pretentious way of saying that I am flailing until it feels good enough that I can let it go. I need to remind myself that this is just an experiment on a grocery bag and lighten up. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXZjArHjdMl/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2097952" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2097725 A couple layers of warm colours on the face and it's not a novelty covid mask anymore. There's… 2026-04-18T17:51:35Z 2026-04-18T17:51:35Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/671765916_18575755240048782_2487420155298373445_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>A couple layers of warm colours on the face and it's not a novelty covid mask anymore. There's more to add, but I'm at a hard-learned "stop now before you fuсk up" point and the cool colours can wait. I'm thinking about the community college art instructor that told me back in 1988 that I didn't see tones properly. He's probably dead now. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXR1wwLDYAT/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2097725" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2097489 I've repainted the face up to the bottom of the glasses. It looks pretty strange right… 2026-04-17T15:48:13Z 2026-04-17T15:48:13Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/670717525_18575503339048782_4668522896594051848_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>I've repainted the face up to the bottom of the glasses. It looks pretty strange right now. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXPMgvKAJWe/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2097489" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2097283 I had to back up to grey to reposition the mouth. Oh,… 2026-04-16T16:55:15Z 2026-04-16T16:55:15Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/670132393_18575274706048782_7112040655912510552_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>I had to back up to grey to reposition the mouth. Oh, well. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXMnio-Dt4k/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2097283" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2096900 Making the halo shine through her hair :-) 2026-04-15T17:14:19Z 2026-04-15T17:14:19Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/671300221_18575030398048782_2012127309474893593_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Making the halo shine through her hair :-) Realising I need to adjust her mouth :-( #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXKFWUQD0mE/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2096900" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2096829 Just a little progress on the hair today and the whole head and face are far from… 2026-04-14T17:55:56Z 2026-04-14T17:55:56Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/670249520_18574854925048782_6195161093735671336_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Just a little progress on the hair today and the whole head and face are far from finished. #process #painting #acrylic #acryicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXHjwYOFu2A/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2096829" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2096503 The gilding went on yesterday, now I can paint the hair and get on to the details in the face.… 2026-04-13T15:32:32Z 2026-04-13T15:32:32Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/670291773_18574616086048782_1257195948646746645_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>The gilding went on yesterday, now I can paint the hair and get on to the details in the face. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DXExTU-FT0I/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2096503" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2096361 I'd like to get on to gilding the halo, but there won't be time today.… 2026-04-11T15:37:06Z 2026-04-11T15:37:06Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/670226017_18574248496048782_5061685204186522128_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>I'd like to get on to gilding the halo, but there won't be time today. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylic<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DW_oQJbj2lk/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2096361" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2095910 Watching the splashdown at work on a CRT like it's… 2026-04-11T00:43:20Z 2026-04-11T00:43:20Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/670934409_18574120150048782_4608444833786992961_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Watching the splashdown at work on a CRT like it's 1972.<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DW-Bh3ogQPe/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2095910" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2095755 Vidma with two eyes. 2026-04-10T17:50:26Z 2026-04-10T17:50:26Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/669669186_18574049119048782_3098876252640739028_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Vidma with two eyes.<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DW9MXoxD5eo/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2095755" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2095375 Starting the halo this morning. The haloes in my paintings are a callback to my Ukrainian… 2026-04-09T16:51:44Z 2026-04-09T16:51:44Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/661726073_18573847972048782_7862772321089166853_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Starting the halo this morning. The haloes in my paintings are a callback to my Ukrainian ancestry and also a subversion—in my world everyone gets a halo. The grocery bag canon is egalitarian. Maybe it is a bit of hubris, too, now that I'm thinking about it; I can canonize whoever I want to. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DW6oTgFDflv/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2095375" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2095300 I did this years ago at work but it is topical right… 2026-04-09T00:53:48Z 2026-04-09T00:53:48Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/662298849_18573590209048782_7464256001867042406_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>I did this years ago at work but it is topical right now. The window in this door throws light into the gallery that is not desirable so it was covered up with a piece of foamcore. I noticed that as the sun moved around the building it cast shadows like moon phases, so I augmented it.<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DW40l3-AVLJ/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2095300" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2094874 Some subtle shadow tweaks today, mostly in the background, and my phone is not doing a great job… 2026-04-08T17:23:57Z 2026-04-08T17:23:57Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/658861721_18573479788048782_3502206060860196019_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Some subtle shadow tweaks today, mostly in the background, and my phone is not doing a great job at picking them up. I think it is about time to figure out how to do what I have in mind for a halo, which will be off centre and intersect with the taped edge. Peeling the tape off could be a problem later. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DW4FVgTmESW/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2094874" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2094775 A dangerous addition this morning: phthalocyanine green. It's sickly sweet and utterly… 2026-04-07T17:35:59Z 2026-04-07T17:35:59Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/661453581_18573068404048782_6214355759293417044_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>A dangerous addition this morning: phthalocyanine green. It's sickly sweet and utterly artificial looking, but there is nothing natural about the lighting in this picture. And it slots nicely in with why I use acrylics in the first place. It didn't exist until 1938. It's entirely a product of the 20th century materials science that lets even paupers like me live well here in the 21st century. #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting #process<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DW1hij_iSTR/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2094775" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2094471 Playing with the infrared camera on my phone in Port Moody yesterday.… 2026-04-07T00:22:15Z 2026-04-07T00:22:15Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/660093581_18572879758048782_2989920766235711309_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Playing with the infrared camera on my phone in Port Moody yesterday. #infraredphotography #infrared<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DWzr0URgQ62/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2094471" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2094254 Infrared laser cats. Because why not? 2026-04-05T07:48:55Z 2026-04-05T07:48:55Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/658865261_18572460724048782_1005046903868504158_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Infrared laser cats. Because why not?<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DWvVJ35ILFg/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2094254" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2093943 20+ years ago I went through the exercise of making a digital camera that could shoot… 2026-04-04T21:17:17Z 2026-04-04T21:17:17Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/658826815_18572374723048782_9120377559433375215_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>20+ years ago I went through the exercise of making a digital camera that could shoot in infrared—removing the low pass filter and replacing it with a piece of custom-cut optical glass and getting a "black filter" to cut out the visible light. This week I bought an ultra-cheap, off-brand cell phone (to replace my Covid-era, now ancient, ultra-cheap, off-brand phone) and it has an infrared camera as a feature. #infrared #infraredphotography<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DWuOjHJkm2e/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2093943" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2093748 A little more red this morning. Technically speaking, the main challenge with this exercise… 2026-04-04T17:43:10Z 2026-04-04T17:43:10Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/657672587_18572348299048782_474386327542104371_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>A little more red this morning. Technically speaking, the main challenge with this exercise is keeping the skin looking like skin under bright, coloured stage lights. #process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting<br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DWt8-gTl-G2/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2093748" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments tag:dreamwidth.org,2022-11-04:4055110:2093419 Watching a live Canadian media press conference with CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen (centre)… 2026-04-04T06:58:52Z 2026-04-04T06:58:52Z public 0 <p><html> <img src="https://www.mbarrick.com/livejournal/2026/04/659005057_18572249713048782_833202371467715196_n.webp" style="max-width:586px;" /><br /><div>Watching a live Canadian media press conference with CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen (centre) with pilot Victor Glover (left) and commander Reid Wiseman (right) from more than half way to the moon. The first Canadian to go beyond low Earth orbit. I am so stoked about this. <br /><small><a href="https://instagr.am/p/DWsshJpDbAQ/">via Instagram</a></small></div><br /> </html></p> <br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=mbarrick&ditemid=2093419" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments