We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brock Larson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brock below.

Brock, appreciate you 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.

Although I’ve been drawing my entire life, I began taking my training in art seriously around my senior year of high school. Being raised by artists, I was fortunate to be given a head start in traditional training practices that date back to the mid 19th century French academies. The Atelier programs place high importance on drawing skills, among the abilities to simplify our visual experience to value, edges, color and the ability to render form. There are no shortcuts to achieving a high quality painting, but I believe that the Atelier systems of training offer the most efficient path toward mastery of the craft.

Brock, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was fortunate to grow up watching my father paint professionally for his entire career. Being naturally gifted in drawing as a kid, along with the support and encouragement of my family, the decision to pursue a career in art happened naturally. After my first life drawing session while visiting the Atelier program in Minneapolis, I knew I was all in. I studied there full-time for five years, drawing and painting between 8-12 hrs every day. The program begins with black and white copies of plaster cast antiques and figure drawing, eventually increasing in difficulty adding color with still life, portraiture, and complex interior or imaginary pieces. I began instructing evening classes for the Atelier my last year as a student, and soon realized the value in teaching. My dad and I began discussing the possibilities of creating our own school, building off of the Atelier and techniques being practiced among other traditional art programs across the world.
Around the time that we were developing our curriculum an old, abandoned Catholic Church came on the market in Duluth, MN and we found the home for our new school. In 2016 we founded the Great Lakes Academy of Fine Art, accepting and teaching students while renovating the 7,000 sq. ft. Church into an ideal studio setting for nearly two years. GLAFA currently offers a full time program, part time classes, a youth program and opportunities for artist residencies.
During the period of building construction, I was without a studio space and had only my portable French easel. I found myself escaping into the northland to paint outdoors whenever I had the opportunity. This period of time is when I discovered my love for pleinair (open-air) painting, and have since pursued landscape painting as my primary genre.
My goal as a visual artist, (being that representational painting is a universal language of expression, much like music), is to represent common life experiences in the most beautiful and aesthetic way I can while trying to master the craft of painting. As a less tangible goal, I aim to promote connection. The world is increasingly filled with noise, division and ugliness… Promoting beauty, authentic connection to nature and each other, slowing down to appreciate moments and life.. these themes are the message I hope to represent through painting.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The artists path is filled with extreme highs and lows in my experience so far… for me, one of the highest rewards is when a viewer stands in front of a painting (whether trained in art or not), and tells me “I feel like I’m there!” Their connection to my experience while painting is extremely gratifying.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Buy original art. It’s an investment, If you experience a gut level reaction to a painting, bring it home and you will not be disappointed. I personally love collecting, buying and trading work with painters whose work I admire. Artists pour everything into their work and oftentimes can’t continue if they aren’t validated through sales and commissions.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brocklarson.com
• Instagram: brocklarsonstudio