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So where to begin?
Why not start with the name. Ink is a play on the term Inc., which is short Incorporated. Ink is a reference to comic panel as they are inked for printing. It was my wife's idea. Unique and a lovely shade of weird. Now Barnsy is a whole yard of odd. The name is a combination of Barney and Fonzy. Barney as in 'Barney Rubble' from the cartoon, 'The Flintstones'. Fonzy is a character from 'Happy Days'. A simple light hearted guy and the king of cool respectfully. By the way, both shows lived in our house as reruns to be found everywhere once cable became a thing.
What is a Barnsy? He is a pelican with further inspiration of 'Charlie Chaplin'; 'The Mad Hatter'; 'Bugs Bunny' and a pelican I saw in the parking lot of a 'Long John Silver's' in Pennsylvania when I was about 2 years old. The fashion sense was Chaplin, thank my Grandfather for turning me onto black/white films mainly silent ones. The Mad Hatter also contributes to the visuals of course as loved him in 'Alice of Wonderland'.
Most importantly Barnsy is me if I was a cartoon character
Every character in this world is based somehow on a real person I know. I just might not mention who or how. As time went I forgot Barnsy until I was about 21 and was looking for an idea. My mom reminded me of him which brought Barnsy back as an idea. I was a aspiring illustrator and writer who really wanted to break into Comic Books as a creator, but harder than it looked. Had some success but a subjective field. Some will like what you do and others won't.
Did I stop trying? NO! Barnsy became the lynch pin of my world I was building. I have created toys of this guy. A functioning puppet that sits in my home. Wrote a graphic novel back in the early 2000's that lead me to meeting my now wife and has helped influence my daughter's desire to be a writer.
2016, My dad got sick
This shook everyone in the family . Dad had stage 4 lung cancer and a tumor in his head. We loose him in 2018. The guy who was always there was now gone. During his struggle I was not dealing well with it. 2017, I was not easy to talk to. My wife told me I needed to deal with this anger. I was trying with prayer and talking it out, but it didn't work. Than she suggested I finally build that website I talked about for a while. That was the key to accepting what I could and could not change.
An Evolution
I went through wix.com to make a free website. Free unless you need to connect a domain to it. I had no background on how to build a website. Never did it before. Plenty of trial and error with a huge amount of studying other sites. I would make the decision in 2020 to keep the site going by officially branding it, 'barnsyink.com. Over the nine years my website has be in a constant state of change. It has been a source of a clean slant to shape ideas. I do not want or need bursting bags of money. No intentions of becoming a rich man though it would be nice if it happened, but that is not the point of this little romp of creative endeavors. I want to share my ideas and talents that are borrowed from God. I want my life to mean something positive.. This is a passion project. I got a full time job so this is a complicated hobby which brings more than expected sometimes.
Barnsyink is not a solo project
No one can do anything on their own. That is a myth. Whether we are drawing from the power granted by God; inspiration; memory or the physical help of others, there is always a team. No matter who may take the credit for accomplishments in the history books. In my case I have God to directly thnank for driving me to continue and for Him sending help in the form of my wife, Kelly, and my daughter, Katy.
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