August 30, 2016

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Outlaw Kritters big, bold designs celebrates the cool, sometimes mischievous side of the animal we love.

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Sally Barlow's Animal Art Inspires The Soul

Artist Sally Barlow is Inspired by Animals

This week's featured artist, Sally Barlow, takes to heart a quote from the famous painter Picasso ~ "Art washes from the soul the dust of everyday life." Her work is not only inspired by animals, but also seeks to fill the soul and renew it through the wonder and awe found in the natural world. She uses a vast rainbow of colors provided by nature to infuse a realistic, yet colorful point of view into her beautiful paintings of the animal kingdom.

Baby Owlet by artist Sally Barlow- “Fluffernutter"

Fluffernutter

Animals Inspire My Work because...

I have always been drawn to birds because they represent freedom to me. It was this initial, natural love of birds that inspired my first animal artworks . . . inspired by the quirkiness of owls, the beauty of the stunning peacock, and the majestic soaring of a sparrow. I never set out to be an animal artist, but I create what MOVES me, which continues to be the awe-inspiring characteristics of animals.Whether it be an adorably fuzzy owl or the mighty buffalo, animals are captivating!

How I create my art...

Digital mixed media is the best way to describe my artwork...it is a combination of graphic art, hand illustration, painting and photography that I combine digitally in Photoshop. Sometimes I begin with a pen & ink illustration, other times a painting or photograph and layer by layer, I create artwork with depth and intricacy.

Original watercolor on left & digital version on right

My pets...

I have always had a deep love for pets, especially cats. I collected cat figurines and wallpapered my room in cat posters when I was a child (I even had a “cat book” that was filled with magazine cutouts of every kind of cat you can imagine!) There have also been a few dogs that have stole my heart over the years, especially my basset hound, Wobley.

Right now our only pets are brother and sister cats that we adopted at 5 weeks old after their mom died in an accident. Nova is a seal point Siamese and Sparx is a flame point Siamese and they have a family of 6 that adores them! (Even my husband has a soft spot for them even though he is definitely a dog person!)

Radiance

I have been creating art since...

Since I was a young child, art has always been a passion, an outlet, and an expression for me. I have been a graphic designer for 15 years, and about 3 years ago I ventured into the art world on a whole new level, combining my “profession” with my passion.

My Favorite Piece of Artwork is...

The LION from my “Garden in the Wild” Series. The idea of this series is to combine the natural beauty of the garden with the intense beauty of animals . . . the lion is a striking piece that captures the essence of colliding those two worlds—power and beauty and grace all woven together.

Garden of the Wild Series — LION

My favorite movies inspired by animals are...

The original Charlotte’s Web, Lion King, The Horse Whisperer

Two words that describe my feelings toward animals...

Awe & Wonder

Triumph - born with only three legs - he never let that stop him.

Something New I'm Up To...

Something new that I have started is creating custom pet portraits. My mom recently lost her dog of 13 years and I wanted to create something for her in his memory and it sparked a heart-warming and rewarding new side to my businesses! I use a technique that I call “digital oil painting” where the final product looks like an oil painting but it is all “painted” digitally. I know how important our furry family members are and I love to be able create something so personal and meaningful for someone.

Custom Dog Pet Portrait by Sally Barlow- Max- Inspired Me to do Pet Portraits