We were lucky to catch up with Nathan Brown recently and have shared our conversation below.

Nathan, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been 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? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I got to walk away from my day job of 15 years as a concert promoter and festival producer to go full time as a mural artist. Honestly, the main takeaway that I learned pretty quickly once I transitioned into a full time artist, was that if I wouldn’t have had all the business experience I had from my previous work, along with all of the connections I made over the years, I’m not sure if I would have been able to make the crossover full time. Day one I sat down and built a portfolio site with any and all mural work and commission paintings I had done over the years. I knew that social media platforms come and go, so my site was going to be my go to.

I think the hardest thing the first year or so was figuring out my pricing, because every single project is different with different environments, different needs in terms of paint supplies, travel, boomlifts, assistants and the list goes on. Once I found a good formula for that, things seemed to go a bit smoother. I don’t think there was much that could have sped up that process except putting in the work with trial and error.

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

Well, My name is Nathan Brown, originally from Los Angeles but moved to Nashville when I was 12, which was a culture shock. I was always surrounded by art, cultures, diversity, skateboarding and surfing. Moving to Nashville in the 90’s changed all that, so I threw myself into skateboarding and all the underground cultures that surround it (Hip Hop, Punk, rave, DJ & graffiti cultures) I eventually became fully sponsored and got to do a lot of traveling for skating, which led me to meeting a lot of graffiti writers and soon I became one as well. I loved painting trains, doing public art, even though most of the time it was grey area legal. I think the rush of doing graffiti late at night, with friends, was a lot like skating the streets, it was creative, fun, productive and active. So through all of that I met people from all over the country, where most eventually ended up doing some kind of creative work, whether it was working at an ad agency, design studio, street marketing, experiential marketing, concert promotion and more. I found my way into street marketing through a stint in DJing and started an agency when I was 20, dropped out of college by 2nd semester and the next 10 years was figuring out to run a company from scratch and with no degree. I knew that my reputation would really be all I had, so I made sure to always follow through, do good honest work and be reliable. That is what really catapulted my business, from doing small marketing campaigns for record labels, to promoting all the shows in Atlanta for Live Nation. About 5 years in, my business split two ways, one side was full on concert marketing and the other side was brand marketing, PR stunts, experiential marketing and brand ambassador work. Through the next few years, my network grew a ton and I got a chance to produce work for some of the biggest brands in the world. After about a decade of this type of work I began to burnout and was looking for another outlet, a creative outlet that I would fully enjoy. I ended up selling my company and started doing prop styling work for film and tv, it was so much fun, creating worlds out of nothing and building from scratch. After a year or so of that, I got an opportunity to paint a mural for one of my old clients (Pabst) at a well known concert venue in Nashville and that is when it clicked, this is what I’ve wanted to do. From that day on, I haven’t looked back and will always be thankful for all Mom, my past work and creative outlets that led me to where I am today.

I primarily paint public art murals but also paint private interior commissions, collaborate with brands, creative direct and do traditional design work. I am most proud of my public art, as I want everyone to be able to enjoy large pieces of art for free. I have been able to transition into more community beautification projects over the past few years and hope to eventually split my time between commissioned murals and community projects.

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

The freedom. Being able to have the time to live life, to create when I want to, what I want to for the most part and to share that with the world is an incredible gift that I am truly grateful for. I think public art is really important to society and I have loved seeing the renaissance of murals happen across the country. Being a part of a movement to bring more art to public settings, beautifying areas that need it the most and educating kids as well as adults on the process of it all is very fulfilling.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I get asked all the time if I actually make a living as a mural artist and most people are very very surprised and I realized that most people take the safe route with college, corporate job and all that goes with that. Most people ask if I’m constantly scared living project to project but I think it’s all just an adjustment with a little less comfort than a typical job and it always works out with hard work, not getting too comfortable, following through and expanding on services. I mentioned that if I hadn’t had all of the past work experience, that it would have been a lot harder to figure out how to go from a corporate setting to fully freelance. The experience, the years of work and networking is why I get to do what I do and I hope you do too.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.19ss.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathanbrown77/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathanbrown77
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanbrown77/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NathanBrown77

Image Credits
Samson Hatae Justin Easley