“Everything in life comes down to choices. Do I want to sit in front of the tv to get away from the monotony of everyday life?- How long should I stay at the party, talking about the same old same, night after night?- I hate my job, I hate my boss, I should be doing something else with my life, but just not right now. I’ll do it tomorrow, I’m really not in the mood, I’ll deal with it later, I’m bored. These statements are an example of possible choices and decisions. These passive sentiments are felt by many. I felt this way and said these same words.

“In 1995, at twenty-five years old, I finally got off my ass, went back to school and started to take responsibility for my actions, my future and myself. It didn’t happen overnight. It didn’t happen in two years. Change comes from the willingness to allow new ideas, different opinions and maintaining an open mind to the infinite possibilities there are when one is willing to take chances. Believing in what you do and DOING what YOU want to do, creates opportunity and builds an empowering state of mind.”

Bio: Shawn Barber’s body of work focuses primarily on painting and illustration. He received his BFA in 1999 from the Ringling School of Art & Design, in Sarasota, FL. His paintings and illustrations have been exhibited in diverse solo and group venues including: The Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA; CPop Gallery, Detroit, MI; Cowboys and Angels Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Cazenovia College, Cazenovia, NY; Strychnin Gallery, Berlin, Germany; Gallery 1988, Hollywood, CA; Miami Art Lab, Coral Gables, Fl; The Pete & Susan Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA; The Green Gallery, Brooklyn, NY; The Society of Illustrators, NY, NY; The Selby Gallery, Ringling, Sarasota, FL ; The 1300 Gallery, Cleveland, OH. Shawn’s work is in collections worldwide, including those of Robin Williams, Mat Hoffman, Paul Booth, Aaron Cain, Kat Von D, Van Morrison, Christian Slater and Rolling Stone magazine’s founder Jan Wenner.

Articles and reviews of his work have appeared in ArtNews, Juxtapoz Magazine, the Artist’s Magazine, Cool’eh magazine and SF Weekly. His work has been awarded by American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, RSVP, and The Artist’s Magazine. His work has been featured in Taschen Books’ Illustration Now (2005) and 1000 Best Web Portfolios (2005), Harper Collins’ The Big Book of Illustration Ideas (2004), and Mark Murphy’s Dialogue Book (2004).

To see Shawn’s Work and complete bio visit http://www.sdbarber.com.