This weeks Fan Friday is Barry Jones. Barry is from Northumberland, UK. He is an amazing artist that specializes in pastel portraits. A few days ago I ordered a portrait of Rian myself, and I can’t wait till i receive it!
Please do follow him on facebook: www.facebook.com/DesignerDoodles and take a look at his etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/nl/shop/Facesinpastel?ref=search_shop_redirect
Barry not only does Dark Crystal portraits, he does everything you can think of. Barry himself is a huge Dark Crystal fan, along with Star Wars and The Neverending Story.
This time I also had a small interview with our fan, so please enjoy!
This may be a weird one, but how did you find out you are so talented at drawing?
Barry: From an early age I was always picked out at school to show my work and was told i was drawing way advanced for my age. I was encouraged to go to college after school to progress my knowledge and skill which I did for several years.
So how long have you been drawing?
Barry: All my life, at first it was just a hobby until 8 year ago when my daughter had a stroke age 2 and was left wheelchair bound. I then decided to leave my maintenance job to try and work from home drawing portraits so i could care for her at the same time
Of course as a Dark Crystal fan, I’d love to know what you think of Age of Resistance?
Barry: I think its unbelievably well done and stayed true to original feel of the movie. So many great references which took me back to my childhood, watching the movie for the first time. It is a masterpiece in its own right.
So many fans have a favorite character, how about you Barry?
Barry: Chamberlain is definitely my favourite character! He’s both terrifying and likeable at the same time. He shows so many different emotions with even the smallest movement. The design of the Skeksis was something I practiced drawing many times as kid.
Barry, thank you so much for this interview, as a final question, do you have any advice or tips for aspiring artists?
Barry: Like anything, I believe theres no subsitute to practice and patience . Try all aspects of art and find your thing you enjoy first then the skills and learning will follow .
If you would like to be featured on Fan Friday, send us an email at darkcrystalpodcast@gmail.com with subject line ‘Fan Friday’
Roxy van Kreij is one of the administrators on the biggest Dark Crystal fan groups on Facebook called ‘The Crystal Shard: A Dark Crystal Fan Group’.