Meet Brooke Major

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Sed ut perspiciatis unde.

We recently connected with Brooke Major and have shared our conversation below.

Brooke, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I started drawing and painting, as well as riding horses at a very young age of 3. It was all I ever wanted to do. When I was around 6, my parents went on a vacation to Mexico. I fell upon a man drawing beautiful pictures and painting water colours nearby the pool. I was amazed at the beauty of his water colours and I asked him how he knew how to paint so well. He answered “It’s my job”. It was from that very day I understood it was possible to make a living being an artist. My father was an active real estate developer and my family moved several times. We ended up living next door to art collectors of my native city of Atlanta. I would walk through their homes and admire the skill of the artists they collected and I knew I wanted to be a part of that elite group of artists. I would stay up late at night after riding my horse and completing my daily school assignments and paint until 1-2 am, sometimes later. I would study the works of the masters. I would hone on and copy or create my own version of paintings by some of my favourites: Da Vinci, Rembrandt, Bonnard, Van Gogh and Monet. The best way to become a master of ones craft, I discovered, was by rending hommage to the masters. I was then preparing myself for not only a career in the arts, but a lifelong obsession of the freedom of expression.

Brooke, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew up going on weekends and holidays to the country side at my grandparents home. My youth was surrounded by the mountains and horses, while back home, I spent my time typically painting. When I wasn’t painting, I was busy at the stables riding my horse and spent countless hours taking care of the barn. As I entered high school, I spent my afternoons training my horse for the weekend competitions. I attended private art instruction during the weeknights or on weekends when I wasn’t showing my horse. Obsessed with both activities, I was able to really hone in on both passions and win many competitions. My art teachers recognised my talents and had my work entered into competitions that I didn’t even know about. I often got the surprising, “You won this art competition last week!” from my teachers. I knew at that point that no matter what I had to involve both horses and painting.in my adult life.

Something that has always amused me about my choice of being an equestrian and an artist, is that artists are considered “horses” to their gallerists and art galleries are considered as “stables” to artists. We are talents of the future for the gallerist and the “horse” that wins the most races for it’s “stables” will be the gallery’s bread winner (as to say), just as the horse who wins the competitions will pay for the others. The artist must understand that the race is not a sprint, but a marathon. As hard as it may seem while on the journey to success, it is the journey that is worth writing about and not the destination.

It is important to understand as an artist that each failure is a stepping stone to success. Thanks to horses, I have been able to create quite thick skin in relation to this concept. It took so many tries to win the young horse championships at Fontainebleau. When it finally happened and we won the 5yo hunter championship in 2013, it came really unexpected. In parallel to this event, after many attempts to win diverse and varied Grand Prix’s of painting. 5 years after winning the equestrian championship, I won the Grand Prix of the Rene Clement Bayer in the same town : Fontainebleau.

Success continued and allowed me to watch as my devotion to my passions and the proof of fruitful work came to light with accomplishments of horses placing in the 7yo finals, another horse, Urzo d’Iso is currently winning many classes in the 5 star grand prix. My most important equestrian success story is a horse I trained during all of his young horse years (3yo-7yo): “Seringat” This horse went on to win the Nations Cup twice in Ocala, Florida, also placing seventh in the World Cup and 3rd in Jump Hermes in the Grand Palais in Paris.

Today my breeding business is to create horses as art. I would like to assimilate the most sought after showjumping bloodlines to give the great desire to show the horses, yet they will only be strictly allowed to be living sculptures in fields. and luxurious stables. Living objects of pure beauty to decorate fields and adorn stables to be highly cherished and pampered.

As an artist, I knew that in order to be noticed I had to be different. In order to stand out I had to be outstanding in my artwork. Quality work made with quality products are the essentials for receiving consideration and recognition in the artistic community. After much strenuous study of the European masters: architects, artists and artisans alike, I developed a painting style of bas relief, or sculpted paint, using white and beige toned oil paint in order to replicate what we find as the bas relief of gothic cathedrals, the Roman murals, etchings in stone, like sanskrit and hieroglyphics. Passionate of history, I studied international relations at an American university in Paris where I was able to participate and discover architecture and our artistic masters work up close and personal,

I have since been awarded many prizes including the young talent prize in Menton, France, gold and silver medals in Thonon les Bains and Lyon France, the city prize of Champagne sur Seine, an honorable mention at the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson airport Painting Prize in 2017 and Judges Choice award at the Clayton Art Festival. I currently have my work exhibited in 12 galleries all across the United States. Some might consider it luck, yet I consider it a lot of creative thinking mixed with elbow grease, persistence and belief in what you do combined with who you are.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It is so rewarding being an artist in so many ways. Traveling is not vacation, yet an important part of your work. Making a point to divulge oneself in other cultures for your own inspiration is absolutely necessary in creating new bodies of work. Gathering information for your interpretation of other artistry and influences from other walks of life helps so much to find new inspiration. An artist is dialoguing with his or her own experiences in diverse environments, kind of like what one might call a diary of our lives. Making your own schedule of tasks, giving yourself your own goals, your own objectives are essential to being a successful creative. One must comprehend that putting in long hours for what you love isn’t work, but pleasure. If off time and holidays are on your agenda, being a full time creative will be a hard career choice for you. The fruits of all of the hard work is essential, but the time spent with yourself and getting to know yourself is the most rewarding gift one can offer themselves. We are only allowed a short time on this planet, you might as well make it your own.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think non creatives decided to grow up, forgetting that being a child is more fun. Life, as we knew it as a child, was unlimited. No worries, no fears, no doubts or compromises. As we grow older, we are generally conditioned from our family, teachers and peers to have these feelings. At every situation one might perceive as “difficult”, I view it as a game of chess. My favourite past time phrase that was used by my grandmother “It will all work out the way it’s supposed to” stays in my mind as I advance in my procedures. This has been vital in keeping me from taking anything too seriously and allowing mistakes to come in stride. To try anything new is exposing your intimacy. Telling your truth and being honest are all things that require taking risks. The more risk, the more return. Expose yourself, if you can, and the most you possibly can . You must make artwork so that people will make remarks. That’s how you distinguish yourself, in making remarkable work. Immerse yourself in new and different situations, especially the ones you fear most. Those will be the ones that help you to stand out and quite generally produce the best stories, quite outstanding ones.

Contact Info:

Website: www.brooke-major.com/en/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/brookeseeart
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-major-86356058/

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Meet Brooke Major

Meet Brooke Major

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Brooke, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Brooke, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

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