Michael R. Barrick

I started putting some colour in the skin. It's going to take a few more sessions to get it where…

2026-06-20T19:37:33Z

I started putting some colour in the skin. It's going to take a few more sessions to get it where I want.
In just over two weeks I'm going to get my first real, close up look at Byzantine icons. I'm pretty excited about that. Any idiot can go down a Google rabbit hole and print out some images, but it is a whole other thing to be present with your history. Finally seeing the work of an actual family member that worked in the court of King Charles II at the Tate rather than on a screen or in a book was profound.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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I've started working on the skin. She's wearing a lot of powder so I have to be extra careful…

2026-06-19T20:40:52Z

I've started working on the skin. She's wearing a lot of powder so I have to be extra careful about keeping things bright, which is an area where I feel like I need more practice. This whole thing is practice for something I have in mind for submitting to a juried prize.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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When I was little I had a hand-me-down Mr. Potato Head—the ancient kind where you stuck…

2026-06-18T18:11:41Z

When I was little I had a hand-me-down Mr. Potato Headâthe ancient kind where you stuck the features in an actual potato, melon, or sibling.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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What's that rhetorical device called again where you disingenuously pretend to forget something…

2026-06-17T17:28:08Z

What's that rhetorical device called again where you disingenuously pretend to forget something to make your audience feel smarter and more receptive to your bullshit?

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2026-06-16T17:29:11Z

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I'm momentarily happy with the balance between painterliness and detail in the pattern on…

2026-06-15T16:36:21Z

I'm momentarily happy with the balance between painterliness and detail in the pattern on the corset. It's still sitting too much on top and needs integrating, then I can move on.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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I just figured out when and where this picture of my dad (centre front) is from. This is the…

2026-06-13T21:54:23Z

I just figured out when and where this picture of my dad (centre front) is from. This is the crew he went to Italy with, but it can't be Italy because the Canadian Ram tank they are standing in front of was not used in Italy. I have a picture of dad and the guy to his right standing beside a Sherman, which likely is Italy. The Rams were used in England for training, and my dad was reassigned as a training instructor when they figured out that he was under age, but this can't be from then because the guy behind my dad didn't survive Italy. Turns out that when they were in England between Dieppe in August 1942 and being sent to Italy in July 1943, there was a very brief window between March 1943 and May 1943 where the 14th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Calgary Regiment) was given Rams to replace the Churchills they had been using and before the decision to switch to Shermans for North Africa and Italy. So this picture has to be from spring 1943 and my dad is 16 years-old in it.
#family #familyhistory #wwii

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Welcome to my nightmare....

2026-06-12T20:51:12Z

Welcome to my nightmare....

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I made an interesting mistake. I wanted to adjust a line over part of the frame that was…

2026-06-12T16:30:28Z

I made an interesting mistake. I wanted to adjust a line over part of the frame that was already textured. I built up a bunch of crappy gel that I never liked and weirdly found a way to blend the flat foreground over the textured background. It cost me some of the detail work that I'll have to redo, but c'est la guerre.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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This has inadvertently become a larger experiment in texture than planned. As usual, there's a…

2026-06-11T17:49:18Z

This has inadvertently become a larger experiment in texture than planned. As usual, there's a lot more I would like to go on about, but the crushing reality of rent and the double edged sword of my ineptitude of navigating both the academic and commercial realms of the art world hangs over me.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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I spent most of the morning in a waiting room wondering how people can navigate life to…

2026-06-10T22:13:32Z

I spent most of the morning in a waiting room wondering how people can navigate life to adulthood and not know how a "take a number" queue works.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Put the suggestion of some of the seams on this morning. These are intended to mostly get lost…

2026-06-09T17:48:51Z

Put the suggestion of some of the seams on this morning. These are intended to mostly get lost in the detail of the pattern on the fabric, which all has to be done, along with the skin, before I can really get on to the fur, because it's not like I can paint around individual hairs.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Made a little progress on the corset this morning. It's challenging because I don't want to…

2026-06-08T18:50:11Z

Made a little progress on the corset this morning. It's challenging because I don't want to get as mimetic as the Baroque paintings I'm drawing inspiration from for the fur and have it be more in the loose realm of mid-20th century illustration.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Probably will take more time to make this post than I actually spent painting, but at least I…

2026-06-05T16:59:19Z

Probably will take more time to make this post than I actually spent painting, but at least I did something.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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This morning I started putting the structure of the corset together while thinking about…

2026-06-04T17:51:24Z

This morning I started putting the structure of the corset together while thinking about my ancestor that worked in the court of the wife of the previous King Charles.
#painting #process #acrylic #acrylicpainting #familyhistory

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Spruced up the hubcaps on my Mini. Two of the centres were missing when I got the car. These…

2026-06-02T22:39:23Z

Spruced up the hubcaps on my Mini. Two of the centres were missing when I got the car. These will go with the aftermarket taillights I have planned, but I can't afford to do everything at once. I got a new windshield and a bunch of trim didn't survive the swap. That's getting fixed tomorrow, but with OEM parts that don't come cheap.

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The very beginning of making the fur look furry this morning and the specific inspiration from the…

2026-06-02T17:18:00Z

The very beginning of making the fur look furry this morning and the specific inspiration from the National Gallery in London that I am unlikely to approach but endeavour to nonetheless.
#painting #process #inspiration #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Because today is the 100th anniversary of his birth, I went digging around in the Veterans…

2026-06-02T11:04:12Z

Because today is the 100th anniversary of his birth, I went digging around in the Veterans Affairs archive to see what I could find of my dad's service to king and country in WW II. Here, for example is a record of him being removed from active service ("S.O.S." = "struck off strength") and sent to hospital ("C.A.C." = "casualty clearing station" i.e. mobile medical unit, "on adm to hosp" = "on admission to hospital".) Note the date, "25 Sep 43." He was born June 1, 1926 - injured in combat at 17 years old. He lied about his age and joined up at 15.

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100 years ago today this fellow, to whom I bear a passing resemblance, was…

2026-06-02T11:00:26Z

100 years ago today this fellow, to whom I bear a passing resemblance, was born.
З днем народження, dad.

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Trying something I haven't tried before.

2026-06-02T11:00:17Z

Trying something I haven't tried before.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Fighting the enshitification blues with a paintbrush and Benny Goodman…

2026-05-30T18:42:43Z

Fighting the enshitification blues with a paintbrush and Benny Goodman
#painting #process #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Top three mistakes made by artists:

2026-05-29T15:32:02Z

Top three mistakes made by artists:
1.) not practicing
2.) listening to shit advice
3.) getting pretentious enough to give unsolicited advice.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Got that ear problem sorted. I'd write more, but no one reads the captions. Or if they do,…

2026-05-28T17:34:54Z

Got that ear problem sorted. I'd write more, but no one reads the captions. Or if they do, they don't let on.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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How to paint an ear in the 21st century:

2026-05-26T17:58:00Z

How to paint an ear in the 21st century:
Try not to think "ear", just look at the light and shadow. Think about what you are going to write in your social media post. Have your train of thought interrupted by an alarm on your phone. Look at what you have done and hate it. Try to fix it. Get interrupted by a text. Too late, now that paint is too dry. Start to paint over it. Get another text. Give up because you've completely lost the headspace to "just look at light and shadow" and you've got to get to work to barely make enough money to pay rent. Acquiesce to the futility.
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Nothing to say

2026-05-25T18:00:52Z

Nothing to say
#process #painting #acrylic #acrylicpainting

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Michael R. Barrick

I started putting some colour in the skin. It's going to take a few more sessions to get it where…

I've started working on the skin. She's wearing a lot of powder so I have to be extra careful…

When I was little I had a hand-me-down Mr. Potato Head—the ancient kind where you stuck…

What's that rhetorical device called again where you disingenuously pretend to forget something…

{{witty caption}}

I'm momentarily happy with the balance between painterliness and detail in the pattern on…

I just figured out when and where this picture of my dad (centre front) is from. This is the…

Welcome to my nightmare....

I made an interesting mistake. I wanted to adjust a line *over* part of the frame that was…

This has inadvertently become a larger experiment in texture than planned. As usual, there's a…

I spent most of the morning in a waiting room wondering how people can navigate life to…

Put the suggestion of some of the seams on this morning. These are intended to mostly get lost…

Made a little progress on the corset this morning. It's challenging because I *don't* want to…

Probably will take more time to make this post than I actually spent painting, but at least I…

This morning I started putting the structure of the corset together while thinking about…

Spruced up the hubcaps on my Mini. Two of the centres were missing when I got the car. These…

The very beginning of making the fur look furry this morning and the specific inspiration from the…

Because today is the 100th anniversary of his birth, I went digging around in the Veterans…

100 years ago today this fellow, to whom I bear a passing resemblance, was…

Trying something I haven't tried before.

Fighting the enshitification blues with a paintbrush and Benny Goodman…

Top three mistakes made by artists:

Got that ear problem sorted. I'd write more, but no one reads the captions. Or if they do,…

How to paint an ear in the 21st century:

Nothing to say

I made an interesting mistake. I wanted to adjust a line over part of the frame that was…

Made a little progress on the corset this morning. It's challenging because I don't want to…