Shawn Barber

Bio

Shawn earned his B.F.A from Ringling College of Art in 1999 and A.A.S. from Cazenovia College in 1997. Among his extensive achievements, he has taught drawing, painting and the business of art for over 25 years at various art schools throughout the country. He has worked in several areas of art - including commercial and commissioned work, but found that after years of documenting tattooing it was the logical progression to pick up the tattoo machine and add tattooist to his resume as well.

Currently he is represented by a gallery in Los Angeles and his paintings are held in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe and Australia. 

Artist Statement

"I've been documenting tattoo culture and contemporary tattoo history with a collection of paintings titled: The Tattooed Portraits Series. I started painting tattooed artists in 2005, obsessively documenting the individuals that have pioneered the genre of contemporary tattoo art and the history of modern tattooing. My dedication and enthusiasm for the art form gradually opened doors for me to learn the craft from some of the greatest tattoo artists in the world. My life is consumed with tattooing, the art of tattoo and documentation of tattooing through painting works on this subject. Presently, over five hundred works have been made in this series.”