About the Artist
My name is René Barr. I’m a Taurus by western astrology and born in the year of the Fire Dragon by eastern astrology. So, all around, I’m strong-willed, emotional, eccentric, stubborn, lucky, full of pride, warm and yet highly-demanding of myself. Sheesh, what a double whammy, huh? Anyway, I live in Missouri now with my husband and four footed, furry son named Ein. Our human daughter is called Andi.
Having been a freelance artist for going on twelve years now, I can say that it’s not an easy field to break into, but you know, it sure beats the hell out of flipping burgers. I’ve always wanted to be a professional artist. I discovered in college that commercial art was certainly not the direction in which I wanted to take my career. Illustration! Now that’s where all the glamour is, right?
Professionally, I’ve been printed in several different publications including a core rule book for a small role-playing camp out of Boulder, Colorado, Scrollworks Press, and a small art magazine called ‘Montage’ printed in Illinois.I have several pieces in d20 supplement books by Mongoose Publishing. Most of my professional pieces are character portraits by commission. In fact, I’m usually available for commission. For more information, check my pricing grid.
Aside from my art career, my hobbies are cooking, singing, playing video games (of all sorts but mostly jrpg’s) and playing with my dog and daughter. I absolutely adore anime and manga and made a concerted effort to learn that style.
Oh yeah, and let me tell you about Ninja-Monkey.com. The domain name was suggested on the Fourth of July by my husband after a character that I’d invented some time ago for an oekaki on which I’d been drawing. Ninja Monki is a wee primate who battles the forces of the Moo-Tang clan and tries to win the heart of their princess Orange Tang. (Though why a bunch of Kung-Fu cows have a cute little orange monkey for a princess, we’ll never know.) Ninja Monki somehow became a mascot of sorts. So now, he has a special place on the web along with all the other ninja and monkey wackiness.
