We were lucky to catch up with Bryson Thurston recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bryson, thanks for joining 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’ve been creating art as long as I can remember. I never really had a teacher except in high school, very briefly, before I got kicked out of art class. I always wanted to do things my way. I wanted to create things that have never been seen before.

I think a big part of being an artist is just learning what works for you and what doesn’t—learning through experimentation and just putting in the hours. Mastery can only be achieved through many hours of repetition. I used to get in trouble a lot in school because I was always drawing instead of paying attention in class.

The hardest part of learning anything is dealing with self-doubt or fear of failure. I think it’s important to just focus on finding your own way and not overthink it. I believe everyone has a gift. It’s important to embrace what makes you unique.

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.

I’ve been working as an artist since 2020.

I had actually planned to go to art school, but after being kicked out of art class in high school, I sort of gave up on art as a career path. It wasn’t until 2019, when I was working a lot of meaningless jobs, that my sister asked, “Why don’t you just do art?” That same year, my mom gifted me a sketchbook; I started drawing again and rediscovered my passion. I remember selling my first drawing to a friend of mine, and shortly after that, I decided to fully commit. I’m really grateful to have such a supportive family. My parents and my sister believed in me, even when I didn’t fully believe in myself.

Drawing is my first love, but I fell in love with painting when I got my first art show. I realized if I’m going to have an art show I need to make some paintings, so I started painting, haha! I use a lot of spray paint and acrylic.

As long as I can remember, I loved creating characters and the worlds they inhabited. Growing up, I felt pretty lonely and misunderstood, as well as struggling with chronic disease; the imaginary worlds I created gave me a place to escape to and brought me a sense of joy and comfort. As I grew older, I realized the sense of solace that art brought me could be of benefit to others, so I set out to share that with as many people as possible.

Since 2020, I’ve shown my work in galleries across the country. I recently got to show my art in Europe and completed a residency in Malta this past summer. I’m looking forward to continuing to share my art with people all over the world.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yeah, definitely. Going back to what I was saying earlier about the sense of solace that I got from the art I was creating and wanting to share that with others… There are a lot of terrible things going on in the world, and we all have our struggles. But if someone can step outside of that and reconnect with the sense of curiosity and wonder they felt as a child, that can be a very healing experience. Even if only for a moment, it can bring them joy. I believe that is something that connects us all. When we are born, we aren’t born with prejudice, hatred, or fear. We aren’t worried about what anyone thinks. All of that is taught to us over time. So, if I can get people to step outside of that for a moment, I believe we can remember how connected we are and who we really are.

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

Aside from what I was saying earlier about my mission, I think the most rewarding part of being an artist is getting to create something I’ve never seen before. As an artist, you take all these tools and materials and make something out of nothing. You can create anything you want; I love that sense of freedom.

My creative process is very intuitive; I never really know where I’m going to end up. Every piece I make has a way of revealing itself to me. I think the joy of discovery is also such a big part of why I love it. Every painting is like a surprise.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://brysonsbrains.com
• Instagram: @brysonsbrains

Image Credits

Cedric Bacon

Ritty Tacsum