Illustrator Barry Lee‘s work makes me nostalgic for those times after school when I would jump on the couch and watch Nickelodeon—think Doug, Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life and Hey Arnold—for five hours straight. Full of bright colors, quirky characters and pop culture that feels oh-so familiar, Lee’s work brings humor and, often, life’s tough realities, together on one canvas. At a young age, Lee was diagnosed with Nager Syndrome, a rare cranial face disorder that affected his hearing, face and hands development. Undergoing with more than 20 surgeries as result of the disorder, Lee turned to art as an outlet and fell in love with drawing.
A recent SCAD graduate, Lee showed his work last November at Octane Westside. His other work includes portraits of icons like Michael Jackson and Prince and casts of cult shows like Twin Peaks and Breaking Bad.
CommonCreativ talks to Lee about how art helped him deal with his disorder, his dream collab and finding inspiration in the ’90s.
CommonCreativ: What brought you to Atlanta?
Barry Lee: I moved to Atlanta in 2009 to attend SCAD. Originally I am from Nags Head, N.C., which is a small island about 10 hours away. Though I grew up at the beach, I mainly stayed inside and drew pictures.
CC: When did you start drawing?
BL: I began an obsession with drawing around age three—I remember my parents bought me a small Playschool easel that had a chalk board. I was immediately drawn to it. When I went to college I knew I wanted to draw, but I wasn’t sure exactly what my major was going to be.
CC: How has art and design help you deal with your disorder and the obstacles that go along with that?
BL: When I was a little kid all the way up to when I was around 13, I used art as a defense mechanism—people knew me for drawing. I drew pictures so I didn’t have to be made fun of for the way I looked.
CC: Your work features vibrant colors and cartoon-like characters. Where do you get your inspiration from?
BL: I think I use such vibrant colors because I grew up in the ’90s—everywhere around me at the time had this marvelous pastel neon Miami Vice/Nickelodeon color palette. Especially growing up in a beach town, I would often pass stores and buildings with very tropical colors. I drew a lot of cartoons and comics as a kid, it was something I was accustomed to since I was very young. I would even draw the detached red noses from a very early age around nine, which I think was heavily influenced by the character designs of Jim Henson. Drawing cartoon-like characters also allows me to make imperfect people—people who are just slightly off. I feel I love more zaniness than something so spot-on symmetrically correct.
Barry Lee
CC: Tell me a bit about your last show at Octane, Home Is Where You Drown.
BL: Home is Where You Drown is a show that ran at Octane Westside during November [of 2014]. The show depicted the experiences of when I was young growing up in a small town, living with Nager Syndrome. The syndrome left me deaf, having eight fingers and, as a result, I had over 23 various surgeries. Each piece tells a various story about an experience, whether it was something somebody said to me or an emotion I felt. For example, there’s one piece called “Oh You’re Deaf? My Dog Is Deaf!” which is an actual quote from somebody after they found out I was deaf. I decided to flip the quote around, and illustrate it. Some of the works were humorous with a dark undertone. The show also included a mural at Octane Westside which included various characters peeking at customers through abstracted bushes. As a child I was stared at constantly, so I wanted to make a piece that made someone feel that they were being watched. The mural is super bright and approachable, as is with all of the pieces, because while I was trying to tell a story of these events that were happening to me when I was younger, I didn’t want them to be threatening or putting people down. That was a tough balance to achieve. The mural is still residing at the Westside location.
CC: You seem to be inclined toward portraits. What other subjects do you like illustrate?
BL: I really love to create quirky odd scenes. A lot of the personal pieces I make for promotional materials are those scenes, like something weirdly absurd such as cats being astronauts.
CC: What are your favorite materials to work with?
BL: I love using a mixture of acrylic, gouache and digital. It all depends on time and the subject matter when it comes to the material I use.
CC: How do you promote yourself as artist?
BL: Instagram, Tumblr and postcards. The great thing right now about art is that it is much more attainable for people to discover new artists everyday thanks to social media outlets such as Instagram.
CC: What do you think about Atlanta’s current art scene?
BL: I really dig its diversity and the fact that Atlanta is so open and supportive of the arts. Everyone has their own little niche and it creates a very awesome melting pot.
CC: Are there any local artists that you would like to collaborate with?
BL: Hmm… I would probably have to say Black Cat Tips.
CC: What are your favorite artists and projects in Atlanta?
BL: I love the work of Catlanta, Black Cat Tips, Yoyo Ferro, Caleb Morris, Heather Lund, Mike Lowery, HENSE—this list could go on and on. I love a lot of the street art and illustration scene here. In terms of projects, Living Walls is something super incredible to me.
CC: What’s next for you?
BL: I have a few secret projects in the works that will unfold in a few months, but I am also working on a group show with Atlanta illustrators Daniel Rodda, Kevin Bongang, Elyse Salazar and Joe Walton that will launch in March. Other things though, you’ll just have to stay tuned, as they say.
You find more of Barry Lee’s work on his site and buy prints of his work here.
