Even as recently as a decade ago, I had not heard of Barron Storey. I had known his art in National Geographic (you know, those large, fold out rain forest pictures) since I was a child but had never realized it was his until many years later. It was humbling to learn about him and to begin to understand what a profound impact he had on comics. Although Barron has done very little comic work, his work as an illustrator had dramatic influences on the likes of Dave Mckean, David Mack and my all time favorite artist, Bill Sienkiewicz. You know those little trianges you see in the work of Bill and the Dave's... all homages to Barron the great.
I now own a few pieces from Barron. Most recently, I bought a few from a gallery show that I was unable to attend but viewed online. The gallery owner was quite friendly and approachable and so I figured there was no harm in asking about Barron doing a commission. I had no expectation of this happening but I had little to lose. I am still in a bit of shock that Barron agreed. Once the initial details were worked out, I was put in touch with Barron to work towards this piece. Before we had gone through the gallery owner and it was just adding a delay to the process. I was thrilled to be communicating directly with Barron.
The commission was to be the Dragonlady and Corto Maltese. A combination of my two favorite collecting themes and both characters Barron already knew.
There is quite a process Barron goes through for each piece. I was aware of some of it but to experience it first hand was very cool. It all starts in his notebook where he takes notes, does sketches and works out problems. From there things are transferred to a computer and an image is produced. This image is later transfered on to board or canvas and then repainted over in places. That is how he does things. True multi-media.
Working with Barron was a very interesting process. As he worked things out for himself, he would send me scans of pages and material from his sketchbook. All his original thoughts and processes are in these sketchbooks and they are items he does not part with. From there images are taken and reworked. Seeing him work through and solve problems as an artist that I can only begin to understand was fascinating. There were a few interuptions in the process for other projects but he always came back and kept me up to date. I didn't get to see the final piece until it arrived. Here it is, the Dragonlady and Corto Maltese.
I think it is a great piece. It is very much Barron but very respectful and faithful to the original characters and the artists. The piece is large and is a print out that has been repainted in many parts with layers and complexity added. In addition, Barron surprised me by removing two pages from his sketchbook to include with the piece from a little working strip he did. Also, on the back of the peice is a print out collage of many of the other images Barron used in working through the pieces. I was surprised at how much thought and work Barron went through to come to terms with the characters and to produce a piece that met both our needs. I think it turned into a lot more that he anticipated and I'd be surprised if he did a commission like this again.
On a different note, this piece as with other pieces I have of Barron's brings up a recurrent question that challenges me. Is art produced on a computer art? I know it is, but for an art collector the question becomes what is the original. If there is one and only one copy ever printed (like some of the Mckean covers), does that make it original. For me it doesn't but I am not saying that it isn't, it is just something I can't wrap my head around yet.
As an added late bonus, Barron sent me an additional painting on board of the same image reworked differently. I expressed some of my insecurity about digital images as I was starting to work this out for myself but it left Barron with the impression I was not happy with the end result(which as you can tell couldn't be further from the truth). To try and make up for this, he did this additional piece which is gratefully accepted but completely unnecessary.
