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Laura

@barklaart.bsky.social

Aussie artist, she/her. Talks too much about drawing, gardening, foraging, knitting, vegan baking, poetry, sci fi, gaming, nature in general etc tumblr: elbarkla, reddit: lauras_art_account

342 Followers  |  83 Following  |  206 Posts  |  Joined: 17.11.2024
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Posts by Laura (@barklaart.bsky.social)

A digital illustration done in a pseudo-traditional style, to resemble coloured pencils.

A horse resembling the sun gallops over the curve of the earth towards us. Below the horse are swirling clouds and city lights along the edges of continents. Behind the horse is a corona of light and in the distance, stars. The sun is white, yellow, orange, and glowing, with white glowing hair and cinders drifting behind. Around the illustration is a stylised frame featuring sunflowers and seedlings.

the illustration represents fire horse, sunrise, and new growth for the new year. apologies for the poor description but I finished drawing this VERY late lol and it's time for bedddd

A digital illustration done in a pseudo-traditional style, to resemble coloured pencils. A horse resembling the sun gallops over the curve of the earth towards us. Below the horse are swirling clouds and city lights along the edges of continents. Behind the horse is a corona of light and in the distance, stars. The sun is white, yellow, orange, and glowing, with white glowing hair and cinders drifting behind. Around the illustration is a stylised frame featuring sunflowers and seedlings. the illustration represents fire horse, sunrise, and new growth for the new year. apologies for the poor description but I finished drawing this VERY late lol and it's time for bedddd

happy new FIRE HORSE year! #art #lunarnewyear #yearofthehorse

16.02.2026 16:43 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

there are people going out in the freezing cold and literally putting their lives on the line in defense of their communities and the multicultural secular society they believe in. not interested in what some online wannabe dnc consultant type wants to tell me what is and isn't possible now

29.01.2026 00:20 β€” πŸ‘ 3668    πŸ” 711    πŸ’¬ 18    πŸ“Œ 9
A protest poster featuring an anthropomorphized cat wearing a beanie, boots, and a pair of bongos as they march. The poster reads: Crush ICE! Love cats! Fight fash!

A protest poster featuring an anthropomorphized cat wearing a beanie, boots, and a pair of bongos as they march. The poster reads: Crush ICE! Love cats! Fight fash!

Solidarity from our siblings abroad 😻 Means a lot in this moment. Together we can defeat the global fascist movement!

Shout to @barklaart.bsky.social for creating this and posting it to one of the best subreddits: r/catbongos. www.reddit.com/r/catbongos/... #ICEOut #AbolishDHS

27.01.2026 20:00 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
an anti-ICE, antifascist poster in a pop art style. In the centre is a sketchy cartoon cat. 

The cat wears a hoodie, beanie, jeans, boots, an anti-ICE whistle, and a set of bongos strapped to their body. They march in protest, slapping their drums and raising a fist. Behind them is an abstract background of other protesters.

The text at the top says CRUSH ICE. The text beneath says LOVE CATS! FIGHT FASH! [fascists/fascism]

an anti-ICE, antifascist poster in a pop art style. In the centre is a sketchy cartoon cat. The cat wears a hoodie, beanie, jeans, boots, an anti-ICE whistle, and a set of bongos strapped to their body. They march in protest, slapping their drums and raising a fist. Behind them is an abstract background of other protesters. The text at the top says CRUSH ICE. The text beneath says LOVE CATS! FIGHT FASH! [fascists/fascism]

r/catbongos, a reddit for smacking your cat like a drum (they love it) has taken a hard stance against ICE! It brought me joy, so here's some art πŸ’—βœŠ #art #fuckice

28.01.2026 03:43 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

One guy tried, unsuccessfully, to blow up a plane with a bomb in his sneakers, and everybody had to take off their shoes at the airport for the next 20 years.

Chatbots have a collective body count equal to Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez, and they're trying to put them in schools.

06.01.2026 01:37 β€” πŸ‘ 9241    πŸ” 3285    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 0

one problem with learning is it will make you so angry at how stupid everything is

03.01.2026 16:24 β€” πŸ‘ 4242    πŸ” 1035    πŸ’¬ 20    πŸ“Œ 19

exactly the reason I don't discuss my veganism online πŸ’šπŸ˜… I've got a cohesive philosophical viewpoint, but many questions about it are VERY DEFENSIVE - in bad faith, if not actively hostile - and you can't have a civil discussion with something like that

07.01.2026 06:15 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Art of a snake horse creature standing against a red sun

Art of a snake horse creature standing against a red sun

I solved the 'it's still the Year of the Snake, but everyone thinks it's Year of the Horse' problem.

It's now the month of the Snorse.

#sygnin

06.01.2026 15:10 β€” πŸ‘ 2319    πŸ” 818    πŸ’¬ 59    πŸ“Œ 35

big step, congrats!! πŸ’— hope you're on the track to improvement πŸ€

07.01.2026 02:10 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Like, my point isn't "copyright doesn't do enough to protect artists"; it's "copyright is literally designed to hurt artists". I absolutely do think a better world would be a world where everything is just public domain. That thread even mentions alternative propositions so artists get paid!

07.01.2026 01:33 β€” πŸ‘ 158    πŸ” 30    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

In a strange position where I think there are massive, massive social harms to the proliferation of AI (misinfo, deepfakes, predatory 'companions', surveillance, labour rights) but also feel the mainstream arguments against it range from unconvincing (water) to actively harmful (copyright; "soul")

06.01.2026 19:52 β€” πŸ‘ 986    πŸ” 281    πŸ’¬ 40    πŸ“Œ 0

new years people - consider "read more books" as your 2026 resolution! you're running out of time to pick, anyway πŸ˜‰

31.12.2025 15:31 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

good piece with an incidental insanely brutal takedown of klein

31.12.2025 14:51 β€” πŸ‘ 4957    πŸ” 1106    πŸ’¬ 63    πŸ“Œ 48
art vs artist grid, with 3 rows of 3 images. The central image is a photo of me, Laura, in a handknit watermelon beanie in the city. The surrounding images are 8 of my artworks from this year: homeowning cats in love, year of the snake, sinister apocalypse deer skeleton, milky flower spider woman, extremely popular mantis painting, empress theresa's little black everything dress, mice on the mouseboat, and fergus the cat portrait.

art vs artist grid, with 3 rows of 3 images. The central image is a photo of me, Laura, in a handknit watermelon beanie in the city. The surrounding images are 8 of my artworks from this year: homeowning cats in love, year of the snake, sinister apocalypse deer skeleton, milky flower spider woman, extremely popular mantis painting, empress theresa's little black everything dress, mice on the mouseboat, and fergus the cat portrait.

Art vs Artist 2025!!
πŸŒžπŸπŸ˜»πŸ¦ŒπŸ•·πŸ›πŸ‘―β€β™€οΈπŸˆπŸŒ²πŸΎπŸΈπŸ­

I drew a lot less, but I wrote a lot more! And started my first ever garden. So here's to a lifestyle diverse as my art style, algorithm be damned πŸ˜‰

31.12.2025 14:32 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"You shouldn't make art for the money" buddy I'll take it one step further and say we shouldn't have to labor for capital at all but in the meantime pay an artist

11.12.2025 19:02 β€” πŸ‘ 10101    πŸ” 3478    πŸ’¬ 34    πŸ“Œ 60

A reminder that the key to writing is getting the very best out of your brain, but in order to get the best out of it you have to take care of your mental health. Stress, concern, and depression will take a toll on your work. So always make sure to take care of YOU and you'll get your best work.

27.12.2025 18:45 β€” πŸ‘ 474    πŸ” 113    πŸ’¬ 18    πŸ“Œ 10

the phonics discourse really opened my eyes: many "literate" people straight-up don't don't know what they're reading, because they were taught to read by guessing. Sharing the article for anyone who missed it:

www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...

24.12.2025 03:00 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition
On foolish decisions which led to misguided visions

24.12.2025 02:55 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

rightwingers privately disagree with a good bit of what they espouse because it’s not about being moral it’s about getting unlimited money and personal power

23.12.2025 19:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1891    πŸ” 191    πŸ’¬ 15    πŸ“Œ 1

one lesser awful thing about the Epstein files is that genuine crimes against a huge number of children are being morphed into fuel for the influencer industrial complex who don't care about truth or accuracy and just want grist for the content mills

23.12.2025 20:43 β€” πŸ‘ 5954    πŸ” 923    πŸ’¬ 62    πŸ“Œ 22

You've got to figure the type of person who'd go to Stonehenge on the Solstice is also the type of person to completely lose their shit when encountering a random black cat there

22.12.2025 15:55 β€” πŸ‘ 120    πŸ” 15    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 1

The running theme between the Epstein story, banning trans healthcare for minors, religious homeschooling and the complaints about adult children estranging themselves is a fundamental American belief that children are property with no rights of their own

20.12.2025 00:50 β€” πŸ‘ 4181    πŸ” 1559    πŸ’¬ 35    πŸ“Œ 33
A screencap from The Ten Commandments (1956), showing three fancifully-depicted ancient Egyptians playing the board game Hounds and Jackals. The two in front look thoughtfully engaged with the game (the guy on the back has shit on his mind though)

A screencap from The Ten Commandments (1956), showing three fancifully-depicted ancient Egyptians playing the board game Hounds and Jackals. The two in front look thoughtfully engaged with the game (the guy on the back has shit on his mind though)

Hounds and jackals board, ivory, found at Thebes, 12th Dynasty. An ancient Egyptian board game. The board, a curved box on four sturdy hooved legs, resembles a chunky ottoman or tiny grand piano. The top is decorated with a palm tree and encircled by holes for the pegs. Ten huge pegs impale the board, as if the tiny piano were stabbed in the back several times. The pegs are tall, protruding vertically from the holes, and topped with hound or jackal heads (five of each).

Hounds and jackals board, ivory, found at Thebes, 12th Dynasty. An ancient Egyptian board game. The board, a curved box on four sturdy hooved legs, resembles a chunky ottoman or tiny grand piano. The top is decorated with a palm tree and encircled by holes for the pegs. Ten huge pegs impale the board, as if the tiny piano were stabbed in the back several times. The pegs are tall, protruding vertically from the holes, and topped with hound or jackal heads (five of each).

I haven't seen Ten Commandments, but I have great affection for its choice to depict Hounds and Jackals, a real board game from Ancient Egypt:

23.12.2025 03:00 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Universal Basic Income now! There's no reason not to do it - it's the most transformative, utopian policy we could implement TODAY, and has minimal costs and drawbacks! And everyone benefits. Even if you don't give a shit about the poor, just imagine how many Silksongs you could have πŸ•ΈπŸž

23.12.2025 01:57 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

that red on the ground is stunningπŸ’—

22.12.2025 03:39 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

And this is another reason. False positives of "AI" art is constant in TTRPGs because Midjourney and others admit to heavily training on fantasy art from D&D and M:TG. This is especially true of "AI detector" sites, which are themselves "AI" and can't tell the difference.

21.12.2025 18:28 β€” πŸ‘ 141    πŸ” 40    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
screenshot of a fucked-up ai-generated cat (from a larger image found on Facebook) with two human-drawn interpretations of the cat's anatomy. from back when I had the energy.

The left hand-drawn cat has three heads: one on the front, one on the back, and one impaled on the "tail", which protrudes from the second head like an antenna.

The right hand-drawn cat appears normal, save for lack of tail, but is actively birthing a long knobbly string of cat heads

screenshot of a fucked-up ai-generated cat (from a larger image found on Facebook) with two human-drawn interpretations of the cat's anatomy. from back when I had the energy. The left hand-drawn cat has three heads: one on the front, one on the back, and one impaled on the "tail", which protrudes from the second head like an antenna. The right hand-drawn cat appears normal, save for lack of tail, but is actively birthing a long knobbly string of cat heads

and even that joy is stale. I used to love making fun of these images, loved to riff on their weird mistakes, but no more. I'm too sick of this shit to engage

22.12.2025 03:27 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

unintended horror/comedy is the only joy AI has to offer, and the powers that be are trying to train that out πŸ™„

22.12.2025 03:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

the yearning, the motion, the energy of that pose! I must draw this later

22.12.2025 03:04 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
screenshot of a text exchange on Tumblr, as follows:

let-them-not-weep: I want small children to think I am either a goddess or a faerie but I want grown men to fear me

amby-jane: blue hair

screenshot of a text exchange on Tumblr, as follows: let-them-not-weep: I want small children to think I am either a goddess or a faerie but I want grown men to fear me amby-jane: blue hair

the classic:

22.12.2025 02:59 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0