#sparkchamber 061520 — Jeff Brawn

It’s all a bit blurry these days, but it happens to be the beginning of another week. And that means #sparkchamber brings a little light and levity to get things started. Today we welcome Portland-based illustrator, writer, father [and other nouns as well] Jeff Brawn. Jeff spent most of his professional career in St. Louis, where he was a common fixture at galleries and art shows, displaying his paintings, illustrations and mixed media pieces. His commercial design clients have included restaurants, universities, print publications, musicians, fun people, boring people and nonprofits. He’s won a few awards, but they will not be listed because Jeff says, “Awards for art are as stupid as ashtrays on motorcycles.” That statement not only shows his feelings about art awards, but also encompasses everything he knows about motorcycles.

For a little more about Jeff … in his own words

“

I fell into illustration completely by accident. Although I always loved drawing, when I grew up in small town midwest it was not viewed as something to pursue as a profession. I loved comedy as well, memorizing all the comedy records I could get my hands on: Bob Newhart, Pryor, Carlin, Steve Martin, Cosby [who knew?] But again, not a profession it was thought you could have.

Ultimately, I studied English and Creative Writing at SIUE, which was also no way to land a job but somehow sounded more respectable. And I loved writing.

This ended up being a good path, because by studying books, you end up studying almost everything — art, philosophy, theater, religion, history ... It made me something of a beatnik-at-heart and convinced me that creativity was a noble pursuit.

I thought I was a novelist, so I started by writing several books that I couldn’t sell. I was fine with the unappreciated-in-my-time, starving-artist image I’d created for myself. Then marriage. Still okay. My wife knew what she was buying with this beatnik. Then children. Greatest gift, fatherhood proved to be the most rewarding role, but now I was responsible for others. Crap. So, mindless office job.

But my creativity needed an outlet, so I taught myself to paint. I got good enough to start selling a few, then a few more, then some art fairs, some gallery shows ... I started thinking of myself as an artist I suppose.

I got confused along the way, trying to make money, not sure what my art should be about. When my mother died, I gave up pursuing money at art and began making things that cheered me up. This ended up being a mashup of my loves [comedy, painting, pop nostalgia, monster movies, literature]. I found that people really responded to those pieces. When I try to make cash, it fails, but I do much better when I just make what I want to make.

I recently moved to Portland, OR and while struggling to find a way to make a living at this here, I’ve hit my stride creatively, I think. This is a long answer and now I feel like a jackass.

“

Editor’s note: *so* not a jackass! Check out his awesome instagram and see for yourself or, better yet, go on and buy something.

1.] Where do ideas come from?

I border on the spiritual with this topic, so I try not to speak on it — to avoid sounding like an idiot. But I think the Greeks were onto something with the whole “muses” thing. Most artists I know feel their ideas sometimes come from somewhere outside themselves. That spark of inspiration makes me feel giddy and like a gift from someone not myself. But, more practically, art begets art, so reading for me, or enjoying any art form will produce ideas and creative drive. Or jealousy. Sometimes both.

2.] What is the itch you are scratching?

The itch moves around a lot. Right now, although I need to be scratching the money itch, I’m driven to make that happy spark happen in others. And myself, I guess. If I get that giddy feeling when I’m creating, that’s when I at least suspect that I’m going to get that scratch of other people really digging it.

3.] Early bird or night owl? Tortoise or hare?

Since I am currently trying to make it solely as an artist, I approach it like a job as well as a passion project. I get up and hit it all day long. I work on something whether I feel inspired or not. But I also work late at night, which is my natural inclination. The family passes out and I go back to drawing. If the world would conform to me, I’d work all night and sleep most of the day away.

4.] How do you know when you are done?

Sometimes I know, but often, I just have to stop because I’ve devoted too much time to one project. I’m really indecisive, which is a bad trait in an artist. I could change, tweak and redo all day long. I always ask my daughters, who have great taste, to tell me if something is done or not. If they say it’s done, I try to walk away.