Creative through-and-through, with a hunger for knowledge and adventure. Constantly in a state of geeking-out
Hello, you probably know a couple of things about me otherwise you might be here by accident. First of all, I am José Barrientos to many and Josie to a few. You might also know that I am an Art Director/Designer, and that is true but there is a whole lot more to it. I am an Art Director/Designer with 16 years of experience with a passion for creating dynamic, visual work that encourages dialogue, discovery and transformation. I am sincere, curious, collaborative, social, empathetic and driven. My goal is to mentor and inspire. This is the quick and dirty. With that out of the way, check out some other stuff I geek-out over.
The Long Story
My earliest memory of being creative was when I was growing up in Arandas (the town I grew up in Mexico.) I must have been 8 or 9 years old spending my time drawing my hot wheels and characters from Saint Seya anime.
Fast forward to middle school where, as a recently immigrant kid, I had to learn English pretty fast so I made friends by using my drawing. I also spent my summers indoors spending hours and hours drawing since me and my sibling stayed home due to our mom working all the time.
In high school Art was my only interest. I took every drawing, painting and digital graphic classes I could take. I had a couple of teachers who saw my potential and my only interest and convinced me to submit my art work for a small scholarship to Amarillo Community College. Here is where my love and exposure to other arts began. I graduated with a degree in Graphic Design and long life friends. Warp speed to 2009 when I went back to school and got my Bachelor’s in Visual Communications from Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.
Based on my experiences, my culture and my many interests, I currently spend my day reading horror books, listening to true-crime podcasts, cooking, sewing, plein-air painting, large abstract oil painting, disc golfing, lettering, digital illustrating, riding my motorcycle through scenic colorado, getting dirty on house projects, enjoying tasty beers and other spirits and constantly pushing myself in creative endeavours.
Creative Challenges
Reading + Illustration Challenge (ongoing)
I have given myself a challenge of reading 40 books this year, and created some illustration based on those books a “tribute illustration”. This is a way to get better and more comfortable using Procreate.
365 Day Black + White Challenge (completed)
This project started because was used to painting in oils and canvas and all of that takes lots of space. As a way to keep myself creating and practicing my art I created this challenge: All of the pieces are 6″ X 6″ chipboard pieces and are only done with washes of black ink and variety of pens.
Car Enthusiast Illustrations (ongoing)
Simple car illustration of iconic and favorites cars throughout the years creating art work for t-shirt designs ranging from muscle cars, vintage cars, lowriders, classic imports and motorcycles. Plus one or two movie cars.
Inktober 2019 (completed)
Every October artist from all backgrounds participate in a month long inking challenger, these have helped me get better at detail work and concept development.
Inktober 2018 (completed)
Every October artist from all backgrounds participate in a month long inking challenger, these have helped my get better at detail work and concept development.