III Corps Vietnam Map for Cantigny First Division Museum, Wheaton IL

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Where Technology Gets Us

This morning was a fine, sunny morning. I sat out on the front porch swing watching the world go by across our front lawn while enjoying a healthy breakfast. Organic nuts, seeds and berries with organic soy milk in an organic bowl.

I was smugly content that I was getting my minimum daily requirement of organic riboflavin, bioflavinoids, vitamin F, phyto-nutrients, proto-miscreants and other essential, important sounding stuff.

Tasted like the box it came in. Good roughage, I guess.

Like many minds, mine tends to wax philosophical before I’m completely awake.

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Website launch

After months of hard work, we launched this website officially today, July 24, 2014, which I note for the sake of historians who will surely want to record the date for posterity. We used Constant Contact to send an email to everyone in my email contacts, both business contacts and friends, and so far have heard back many friendly congratulations. Continue reading

News at Eleven

I’ve been interviewed for local TV newscasts on a number of jobs. As I mentioned in my Mostly True Tale, Why They Call It Windows, I’ve recently been editing some of these videos for this website. Here are the news interviews uploaded so far gathered together in one place. Continue reading

Henry Vilas Zoo Anacondas & Classroom

Anaconda-wanting-to-help-Paul-paint-at-Henry-Vilas-ZooOne of my most consistent and enjoyable clients is the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. The director, now retired, was a Viet vet like myself, and a former Green Beret, so we hit it off instantly, trading War stories. My most recent job for Henry Vilas was in 2012, some rainforest walls in the Education building which included an Anaconda exhibit. The two huge snakes, on the other side of a plexiglass sliding door, made no secret of their desire to help me paint. At least I think that’s what they wanted. Continue reading

Painting Rudolf

Muralist-Paul-Barker-paints-Rudolph-the-reindeerA brief informal video of Santa Claus, his sleigh, and his reindeer I painted late fall 2013 (including Rudolph, his nose not yet painted red) for a residential client in the Chicago suburbs to install on his rooftop in time for Christmas. Continue reading

Tale of the Tree House

In 2012 I spent a week working at the zoo in Erie, Pennsylvania, over the cusp of October into November. In size Erie has a relatively small zoo, but in quality, energy and ambition, Erie ranks with the best and biggest. For the first time, I was designing and supervising the building of a TV studio set. Continue reading

The Discovery of Lost Iluria

In 1877 a British ancestor of mine, Sir Miles Yardley-Furlong, wrote a memoir of his discovery of a lost civilization in the headwaters of the Amazon. His claims were incredible in the original sense of the word, as in, unbelievable. But the tale is so entertaining I decided to publish the manuscript in late 2011. Continue reading