We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Notch. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.
Alright, Brandon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
No, it definitely wasn’t like that from day one. Making a full-time living from creative work took years of persistence, discipline, and a lot of self-discovery. For me, creativity has never been just one thing — it’s art, writing, tattooing, acting, and storytelling all feeding into each other. But in the beginning, I had to fight to make any of it sustainable.
Tattooing became my foundation — the cornerstone of everything I do. It grounded me and taught me focus, patience, and the responsibility that comes with creating something permanent on another person’s body. It gave me a way to create art that lived and breathed — literally — while also providing stability. I spent years mastering both the technical and artistic sides of the craft, and over time that dedication allowed me to build a name and a steady clientele. That stability gave me the freedom to explore my other creative outlets — writing, performing, and storytelling — without compromising my integrity as an artist.
I spent countless hours learning not only the craft but the discipline it demands: showing up every day, working long hours, respecting the medium, and respecting the person wearing the art. From there, I started to branch out. My writing and storytelling grew naturally from the same place — a desire to connect, to communicate something real and lasting. Acting came later, when I realized performance was just another form of storytelling.
It was never about chasing money; it was about chasing mastery. Over time, the work began to speak for itself. People started recognizing my name, my style, my approach. Opportunities built on one another — exhibitions, collaborations, book projects, performances. Each step opened a new door.
If I could go back and do it again, I’d tell myself to trust the process sooner. There were years when I doubted whether I could actually make a living doing this, but every setback ended up being part of my education. Maybe I could’ve sped things up by learning the business side earlier — how to market, manage time, and value my own work — but honestly, the slow build is what gave my career its depth.
Art has to be lived, not rushed. The journey made me who I am and taught me that success isn’t a finish line — it’s the ability to keep creating on your own terms and have that sustain your life.
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?
I’ve always believed that art isn’t something you simply do — it’s something you live. I’m a multidisciplinary artist, tattooist, actor, author, and storyteller, and all of those creative paths are interconnected. My work explores transformation, impermanence, and the human experience — the idea that beauty and pain often coexist, and that every mark, story, or performance leaves a trace of who we are.
Tattooing was my entry point into this creative world. It became both my craft and my meditation. I was drawn to the discipline it requires — the focus, the patience, the understanding that you’re creating something deeply personal that becomes part of someone’s body and identity. Tattooing taught me that art could live and breathe on human skin, that it could be both permanent and fleeting all at once.
From there, my work naturally expanded into writing, acting, and visual storytelling. I see each of these mediums as different languages expressing the same truth. Through my books, I explore life, death, and rebirth — themes that mirror the tattoo process itself. My books, “Death Is Only the Beginning” isn’t about fear—it’s about finding meaning, beauty, and wonder in the mysteries we all live with. It’s a journey through life, death, and the unknown, inviting readers to see wonder where most see fear. “Making Way for The New: Seven Steps to Spiritual Alchemy,” is a guide to transforming pain into purpose and turning life’s challenges into spiritual gold. It reveals how true alchemy isn’t about turning metal into gold—it’s about transforming the soul. My acting and performance work bring those same ideas to life in motion, allowing me to embody the stories I write and the emotions I tattoo.
What sets my work apart is authenticity. I approach every piece — whether it’s a tattoo, a story, or a role — with complete intention. I’m not interested in trends or surface-level aesthetics; I want to create something that resonates, that stays with people long after they’ve seen or experienced it. I believe art should challenge and transform both the creator and the viewer.
I’m proud of the fact that I’ve built a life entirely around creativity — that I’ve been able to sustain myself through my art without compromising my vision. It’s taken years of discipline, risk, and evolution, but it’s also been deeply rewarding.
What I want people to know about me and my work is that everything I create comes from a place of honesty and purpose. Whether it’s on skin, on paper, or on stage, my mission is to leave something meaningful behind — to remind people that even in pain there’s beauty, and in impermanence, there’s truth.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is the connection — that invisible thread between creation and the person who experiences it. Whether it’s through a tattoo, a written story, or a performance, there’s a moment when art stops belonging to me and starts belonging to someone else. That moment of recognition, of emotion, of transformation — that’s everything.
Art has the power to heal, to challenge, to awaken something in people. I’ve had clients and readers tell me that my work helped them process pain or see beauty in things they once ran from. Knowing that something I created could leave a mark beyond the surface — that it could touch someone’s life — that’s what keeps me doing it.
It’s also about the process itself. There’s a kind of meditation in creating — the focus, the flow, the discipline it demands. Every piece I make teaches me something new about patience, impermanence, and what it means to be human.
At the end of the day, the reward isn’t fame or recognition — it’s knowing that I’ve turned something internal into something tangible, that I’ve given form to a feeling someone else couldn’t express. That exchange — that shared human experience — is the real art.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
I think one thing non-creatives often struggle to understand is that the creative path isn’t just a job — it’s a way of life. It’s not something you clock in and out of. It’s constant. You live it, breathe it, dream it. Every experience, every joy, every heartbreak — it all becomes part of the work. There’s no real separation between who I am and what I create.
People sometimes assume that being an artist means endless freedom or inspiration, but the truth is, it’s also discipline, sacrifice, and risk. There are long stretches of doubt, times when you question everything — your talent, your purpose, your direction. The creative process can be isolating and uncomfortable, because you’re constantly confronting yourself. You have to dig deep, face your own shadows, and turn that into something meaningful. That’s not easy, and it’s not always understood by those outside it.
What I’ve learned is that creativity isn’t about waiting for inspiration — it’s about showing up, even when it’s hard. It’s about committing to something that might not pay off right away, trusting that the work will find its way into the world when it’s meant to.
If there’s one insight I could share, it’s this: art isn’t a hobby, it’s a calling. It’s a lifelong dialogue between you and the world, and the real reward isn’t in the applause or recognition — it’s in knowing you stayed true to your vision, no matter how long it took or how hard it got.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://brandonnotch.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandon_notch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandon.Garic.Notch
- Twitter: https://x.com/BrandonGNotch
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BRANDONNOTCH
- Other: https://www.sacredsaint.com
imdb.me/Brandon.Garic.Notch
Image Credits
Justin Morton