We were lucky to catch up with Brian Bernazard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

The most unexpected problems I have faced in my creative journey have actually stemmed from my ability to excel in multiple creative fields. Although this might initially be seen as a strength to be proficient at multiple skill sets, I have found that it has hindered me at times when attempting to find more freelance opportunities. Sometimes it is easier for someone in a hiring position to select someone that simply works in one field because it is easier to digest the artist’s singular focused portfolio and envision what they can provide for their project.

Initially this was extremely frustrating for me. At a younger age I did not understand why it was so difficult for me to acquire freelance work even though I was qualified, and often over qualified for many for many projects and positions. Through time and experience, both successes and failures, I learned how to exhibit my work in a more palatable manner. I try to separate my fine art, my graphic design, DJ’ing, and music production to allow them to be presented independently from one another so the target audience can digest the content they are most interested in without having to sift through my work in it’s entirety to find what they want.

This has become increasingly more valuable as content is currently digested by an audience faster than ever before.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Brian Bernazard, but I most often present my work under the moniker Bernee Luv as well as Late Bloom Lab.
I am a Seattle based visual artist, music producer, graphic designer, and DJ.

Moving around quite a bit at an early age, I was born just outside of Chicago, IL in 1982, and lived in Cleveland, OH, Orlando, FL, and Princeton, NJ to name a few. This was a vital factor in my development, as a person and an artist, as it gave me insight to many different perspectives and cultures outside of my own. It also instilled in me the ability to adapt. During this time I also discovered graffiti around the age of 13. I attribute my time of nearly two decades as an active graffiti writer as a key building block in developing the visual language exhibited in my work.

In 2000, at the age of 18, I moved to Philadelphia, PA. For the next 7 years there I honed my skills in the practices of skateboarding, graffiti, and turntablism, under the tutelage of seasoned veterans in an environment where these are time honored traditions. During my time in Philadelphia I cut my teeth in several different industries including graphic design, and event production. I am proud to say that I am self taught when it comes to graphic design. I taught myself to use design programs such as Photoshop simply through experimentation. The advent of YouTube had not come about yet, haha. By designing t-shirt graphics for my company Dum Down Limited Artwork and Apparel, as well posters for events throughout the city. I created a training ground for myself to develop and fine tune my design aesthetic, as well as creating problem solving skills that I would later implement when completing projects for future design clients.

Upon moving westward, I eventually settled in Seattle, WA in 2009. Here I created my skateboard company, Home, that enjoyed a lifespan of a decade. I was extremely proud of this project, as I was able to create something within and give back to the community of skateboarding that developed a DIY ethos in me that has become crucial in bringing my creative endeavors to fruition. I also started a career as a special education instructional aide, working with children with a range of disabilities, from medical fragile needs to autism. This has provided endless challenge and inspiration to my life, that often carries into my work as an artist. I have plans to complete art projects in partnership with organizations that provide awareness and resources for these communities in the future.

What sets me apart from others is my ability to excel at multiple disciplines. Dependent on the needs of the client I am often able to essentially be a one stop shop to bring their ideas to completion. Providing services including illustration, graphic design, web design, mural painting, music production, and DJ services for events, I am able to provide expertise in all of these fields as I have put in the time to develop my skills in order to complete work at a high level of quality. That being said, I will constantly strive to learn, grow, and change over time, never becoming complacent in my abilities as an artist.

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

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is simply the act of creation. I feel an inherit necessity to create. My mind can be a very noisy place, and I need to bring my ideas to fruition in order to make room for the constant influx of new ones. Whether it be skateboarding, having a scratch session on my turntables, crafting a beat, or painting a picture, the process feels very similar to me. It is simply a transference of energy to fulfill that need and provide some respite and peace of mind.

As a wonderful byproduct, I get to experience the fulfillment of taking something that is merely an intangible thought in my mind and bring it to life, in the end taking that idea and making it something real that you can see, touch, or hear. Ultimately it’s always a great feeling to be able to stand by your work with pride as a job well done.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is to not put too much stock in factors outside of myself when creating.

I began my journey as an artist before I can remember, my mom recounting to me tales of me drawing on the bathroom walls at the age of two. Oh the irony, considering I would later revisit this platform of expression for a long while as a graffiti writer. When I began my time as a DJ, learning to spin records at the age of 18, I lived with two friends who had been spinning for a while and asked them to teach me.

I did not constantly draw and paint as a child with the thought that I would reach the stage where someone would pay me to create a poster for their band, paint a mural on a wall, or buy a t-shirt with a graphic that I created. I did not start to spin records with the goal that a club or concert venue would pay me to DJ an event, much less me ever create music of my own. I did these things due to my deep rooted need to create and express myself.

Over time my skills in these practices naturally grew, being so much time had been spent cultivating them. As a result more and more opportunities would present themselves to pursue them professionally and gain financial compensation for my work. It can be beneficial at times to think of an audience you are trying to reach when creating work, someone who your t-shirt graphic will speak to, or the DJ set that will move the crowd. It is quite important to be intentional with decisions when creating. However, there came a time through monetary success from my work, I began placing too high a value in factors outside of simply what felt natural for me to create. This caused me to lose a lot of enjoyment in the creative process, and I feel my work suffered a bit for it. I was creating from a place that I never had before.

I am pleased to say that today more than ever I am enjoying the process of creating more than ever, and it feels closer to that time of discovery during my formative years as an artist. The ideas are free flowing from that part of me with the benefit of technical ability to execute them that I have acquired over my years of experience. In the end the result is work that is more honest and fulfilling to me that ultimately resonates more with an audience.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.latebloomlab.com www.berneeluv.com
• Instagram: @berneeluv
• Youtube: Late Bloom Lab https://www.youtube.com/@latebloomlab7478
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3GjKYgAb0q0JwcVq3L61ye

  Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/bernee-luv/1384581900