Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brad Bernard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Brad thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

Art was always encouraged by my parents to art when they observed that it was something that I was good at. I was also greatly inspired by one of my older sisters who was a gifted artist as a teenager. I was fortunate to have friends of my parents who commissioned me to do artwork for them when I was in middle school. These were pivotal forms of support that propelled me wanting to pursue an arts based career from an early age. I also was exposed to working artists who were accessible to me as mentors who offered helpful insights regarding art making.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

While attending the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, I was introduced to various arts organizations and programs around the city. Many of my inspirations and successes as an artist are directly connected and related to community and education.

Early in my career I established myself as more of an all around freelance artist without defining a specific expertise.
I participated as an exhibiting artist and fulfilled numerous commissions including, portraits and murals, as well as some logo design. As a community art educator I was able to conduct art workshops with all ages and demographics. through arts and community organizations. These opportunities allowed me to engage with gallery directors, school administrators, art teachers, programming directors, pastors, politicians, and business owners. It was these relationships along with networking a well established reputation that sustained me prior to attaining my graduate degree. Upon entering the worlds of public education, non – profits, and academia, I’ve always maintained my devotion to connecting visual art to the community as a form supplementing education or as a service in documenting cultural histories and expressions.

My work as an artist has explored abstractions of personal experience, societal observation, or narratives and cultural documentation. As an artist I am committed to educating, inspiring, entertaining, and uplifting through my art, in as many forms as possible. These collective experiences overall have cultivated into my evolving as an artist/educator/entrepreneur/arts advocate. I don’t identify this an an acquired title, but more of a way and state of being.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The driving force of my creative endeavor has always aimed to educate, inspire, inform, and entertain simultaneously, all while effecting positive change and awareness.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to have the ability to document history, evoke emotion, and manifest one’s own imagination for the next generations to gaze upon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bernardartstudio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bernardartstudio/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bradanthonybernardart/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/brad-anthony-bernard-3884b77