We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Phoebe Brunner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Phoebe below.

Phoebe, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I have always been attracted to bright colors and patterns. In my early twenties, I went to an art summer school in Guadalajara, and returned the following year to live for another year. The vibrancy and style of the Mexican murals and folk art were a great inspiration. Sometime in the late eighties I transitioned from acrylic paint to oils, which at first was daunting. No, let me re-phrase that. Oils are STILL daunting, However they are are so forgiving, and lush and offer so many variations and avenues. Many times I find myself straying from my original vision, and I end up down a completely different road. I compare oil painting to ballet- one never reaches perfection. There is always more to learn. There are always more ways to express oneself. So knowing that, I don’t believe there is a way to speed up the process. The process is the process. The journey is the destination. As far as skills. Yes, I do get frustrated,ocasionally when I envision a painting and feel that I lack the skills to realize it. It is perhaps a bit beyond my ability, but always something – albeit a bit altered from the original idea or concept will emerge and once again, I am surprised and grateful to the paint.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

A third generation Californian, I spent a large part of my childhood on a 15,000 acre coastal cattle ranch – one of the original Spanish Land Grant ranchos-near Santa Barbara. My fondest memories- that inform my art today- are roaming alone on horseback for hours and hours, up and down the canyons , seeing the land go on forever, absorbing the colors and patterns of the natural world around me . In addition, I was always making art. The contemporary landscape paintings that I still do today are tied to those memories and experiences in a deeply primal way. . Derived from, but not documenting specific places, these views are “re-imaginings”. Created by tapping into my personal visual resevoir of memories, I also utilize photos, field notes and thumbnail sketches. The viewer is led to wonder where these landscapes exist – with a longing to visit- and at the same time search in their own subconscious to find a personal location. Beauty is used as a tool, a hook, a seduction, to involve the viewer, and as an invitation to travel within each piece.
Upon graduating high school in Santa Barbara , I went directly to art school that June, 1968… ( Chouinard Art school in Los Angeles, which subsequently became California Institute of the Arts in Valencia). After almost three years at Chouinard I transferred to UC Santa Barbara to study at the College of Creative Studies there. where I received a BA. During my senior graduate exhibit, a man approached me at the reception and asked if I would be interested in exhibiting my work in his gallery in Montecito. This was in 1972 and the beginning of over 50 years of being represented by wonderful dealers and galleries , having many solo exhibits , participating in numerous Museum exhibits and many group shows up and down the west coast. I have been so fortunate to have worked with such prestigious galleries as Koplin de Rio in Los Angeles, Hespe Gallery in San Francisco , Sue Greenwood Gallery in Laguna Beach, and where my work is currently represented – Sullivan Goss Gallery in Santa Barbara , Rovzar Gallery in Seattle and the Vault Gallery in Cambria, California . I am also very grateful to the many collectors who have supported my work and believed in my vision.

In the last several years, I have been addressing the Southern California droughts with a series called “The Seeding”, Flowers, looming large in the foreground of a familiar landscape have also been intriguing to me. As we move increasingly more into a technological society, we become disconnected from nature. Art is an endeavor that has a great power to enlighten, and to remind us of our responsibility for the stewardship of our planet.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

It’s difficult for me to imagine NOT being an artist, as I have been painting seriously since I was seventeen, and have been represented by galleries since I was twenty one. I would say the most rewarding aspect is the struggle! Which almost seems counterintuitive but it is the relationship between ones ideas, ones vision, and the desire to manifest and share with the world that is overwhelmingly consuming, and yet, despite what many people might think, it is NOT easy. There are no rules, there are no medical benefits, there is no guarantee of sales or a reliable income. There is standing on a concrete floor for hours and hours breathing fumes. There is losing your way and spending days putting the paint on and then scraping it off. There is the leap of faith that it will all come together . There is an amazing satisfaction when you come across a painting you did many years before and it still delights you and seems fresh. There are comments online by random people who you will never meet that your work has deeply touched. There is the excitement of getting back into the studio to see what new magic will happen. It is often frustrating. It is often exhilarating. It is never the same.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Because I live in somewhat of a small town, many contemporary art exhibits are not available to me. Many of my favorite artists do not exhibit in Los Angeles, which is the closest big city. So i have been collecting catalogs of artists exhibitions for years, and ocasionally refer to them for inspiration. Of course the internet has opened up worlds for everyone to share and support each other,.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.phoebebrunner.com
• Instagram: phoebe_p_brunner
• Facebook: Phoebe Brunner
• Other: www.sullivangoss.com (Santa Barbara, CA)
  www.rovzargallery.com (Seattle, WA)

Image Credits

all courtesy of Phoebe Brunner