Barkmanthology (1995-2020)

Recently I've seen people sharing art they made however many years ago beside their current work. So yesterday I thought it would be fun/awful to dig through my archives (boxes of loose paper in the basement) to revisit old drawings and do the same. It turned into a bit of a deep dive that took up most of my day. Though I've never drawn a lot at any single time in my life, it turns out 25+ years of doing a hobby adds up!

So, the following is a chronology of doodles and pieces I've made over my life! The timeline is approximate. (If you are an artist, sign and date your drawings!! It probably won't end up in a museum, but it's a nice gift to your future self!) 

Monarch Butterfly - Age 6ish
This is one of the earliest drawings I found. You can really see the contempt in that bird's expression.

First Memory of Air Travel - Age 6

This is the first drawing I remember being really proud of. I drew it while my family and I were waiting in an airport on our way on a two-week trip to Ecuador.

Chelsea - Age 9

I have always been a great fan of cats. This was my grandparents' cat who was terrified of anything that wasn't my grandparents. She is pictured here hiding in the ductwork of their basement. It looks like I had already discovered my love for drawing thousands of lines.

Stegosaurus - Age 13-14?

The beginning of my felt tip pen obsession that continues to this day. Also, the beginning of my belief that any kind of paper is suitable for any medium. A belief which I fortunately, eventually, got over.

**I got a little confused that I couldn't find more drawings from ages 9-13, but I think this is when I was discovering the art of doodling in the margins of one's school notes. I'll save that deep dive for another day...

Hatched Landscape - Age 14

I'm not sure what led me in this direction, but I latched onto this style hard and haven't really let go since. I have many drawings like this one (which I think I made looking at an Ansel Adams photo), but this is one of the first.

I think that's supposed to be a missile? - Age 15

Years of reading The Far Side and newspaper comics finally spilled out into my sketchbooks around this time. The pages are filled with either nonsensical or mundane doodles with New Yorker Cartoon-style one liners. This is one of the better ones, if you can believe it.

Geometric Stream - Age 16

I haven't done this in ages, but I used do this kind of stuff all the time. Zone right out and let patterns and shapes flow on their own. I think this is probably a great exercise for any visual artist to practice technique and layering and colour relationships. It's more of a 'journey' than 'destination' kind of art that I don't give myself much time for these days.

Travel Drawing - Age 18

After graduating highschool, I went travelling with a friend through Central America for about six months, before continuing solo for another 4 months or so. Looking back at what I drew during that time, I can remember the disappointment I was feeling for my art, and for not drawing more. Now I know that time was very well spent in terms of personal growth. I also know now that I will never have drawn "enough", but that motivates me to keep at it.

Barkman Bakes - Age 19

In between travelling and going to university, I moved back home and briefly baked cookies for my brother-in-law's mom's store. I think I was more interested in creating the brand than consistency in baking. Haha.

Newspaper Art - Age 22

In my third year of university, I started False Knees for a student-run newspaper called "The Link". In addition to the comic, I made companion illustrations for an opinions column that was, more often than not, just an opportunity for one of the students working at the paper to voice a very very specific annoyance they had. I think the pupil-less eyes was just straight ripping off early Moonbeard comics. It worked for their comics, I don't think it ever worked for mine.

More Newspaper Art - Age 23

I owe a lot of gratitude to the people who were working at The Link in 2012-2013. They were supportive of everything I did. As time went on, I tried to put more effort into my stuff, seeing as it was being printed and being distributed all over Montréal. These little illustrations were also a fun way to work under specific constraints! I believe the woman on the right is wearing a shirt with a Kate Beaton drawing on it.

Batman-borough - Age 24

After university, I moved back home and lived in a small outbuilding (shack) behind my parents' house. It had a woodstove and electricity and free meals and love from very supportive parents (god they must have been so worried about me though). It was during this time that I first had the feeling people were looking at my comics online. I think that's what led me to lean into political and pop culture topics in my comics temporarily. This sketch was from an idea I had of drawing Sir David Attenborough as a Batman villain. I found a 9-panel sketch of a comic I never committed to finishing of Sir David commanding a herd of 2 million caribou into the streets of Gotham. It was a funny idea, but a tired one, even for the time I came up with it. 

Robin - Age 24

Birb! Not much to say about this one. I guess this was me getting into the idea of spending more time making my art look nicer (and even using digital means of colouring!), though the proportions are sort of wild on this one.

Tree Notes From Tree School - Age 25

Though it had nothing to do with art, I consider my time spent in the tree world to be very influential on the direction in which I ended up taking my comics.

Doodle on a busy day - Age 26

I drew this after reading an entire book one day working on a tree-trimming contract for the city of Toronto! You're welcome, tax-payers!

Portugal Sketch - Age 27

Still trying to get better at travel journals. A big lifelong goal I have for myself is to be a proficient travel journal artist. I want to travel a lot in my life, and I want to create beautiful art while doing it.

Back-deck watercolour - age 30

I did this one just a couple weeks ago! Still experimenting, still loving it all, despite frustrations and creative blocks. 

My art is a part of me, or maybe more like a very close friend that I hope to always have in my life. I look forward to all the experiences I'll have with my friend until we're both old.

Anyway! What a novel! I hope there was something of interest in there! Even if just for the images.

I love you all!
- Joshua