Megan Barron

A disfigured Nike sneaker, a toy parachute, and a rusty spoon are just a few of the “treasures” Megan Barron collected this year during her daily beach walks in Long Island, New York. Each day she painted and shared depictions of these objects as part of her yearlong visual diary project, Wrack Line: One Year of Beach Finds, Illustrated. Her attention to detail, combined with her subtle use of color, makes these mundane objects – like a shovel – take on renewed life. For an extra oomph Megan often chose to paint on “literary backdrops,” such as pages from the The Mathematical Principles that she found in a rainy West Village gutter. After the wildly popular 365-day project debuted, Megan created bonus paintings for an Op-Art piece in The New York Times. See what answers surface when one daily project lover interviews another.

1. How would you describe your work in three words?
Approachable yet multi-layered.

2. Who is your creative role model?
I don’t have one. But good work in general–a film, a book, a research project, a painting–& their creators serve as constant inspiration.

3. If you had an extra hour each day what would you do with it?
Make photobooth portraits–duh!

4. What place in the world most inspires you and why?

Where I live (Greenport, L.I.) because there are other amazing creative people here, tons of interesting places to photograph & draw, and iced mochas at Caffè Aldo.

5. If you could do a different job for a day what would it be and why?
For only one day? I guess I’d have to say play pro basketball & try to dunk on people before the game is over.

6. What is your favorite homemade gift to give?
I like to send mail, but have recently made some killer blackberry jam that some friends will be receiving.

7. What is your favorite object in your home?
Asking me to pick one object is impossible, since my house is basically a place to display an extensive collection. But I’ll say a Chinese Chippendale desk I bought at a yard sale & refinished, because it’s where I sit and do almost all my work.

8. What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
To not care what they think.

9. What websites do you use for inspiration?
I’ll check out what my flickr pals are doing (like Phillip Maisel, Olivia Jeffries, & David Fullarton), & on facebook a lot of my friends are artists and tend to share links to work they dig. I don’t read any blog regularly except Raining Acorns.

10. When do you consider a piece of your work complete?
Almost always there’s a point at which a painting looks bad. I then focus hard on the details, & the next time I look the piece as a whole it’s left the awkward phase and becomes a useful adult.