We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Russ Brausch a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Russ, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I have been drawing ever since my fingers could hold a crayon. I was obsessed with filling every page of every coloring book my parents and family gifted me. My mom actually still has all of them – I guess to archive me as a young artist. Once I got older, my grandpa who is a photographer taught me lots of the basics. Eventually my kid fascination for cartoons lead me to spend my summers filling pages, copying my favorite cartoon characters like bugs bunny, roadrunner, etc. I had great high school art classes but I put most of my energy into calculus, and other AP classes I thought I was going to need.
I attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska where I was on the pre-dental track, however I still planned to major in art. After being introduced to the challenge of college level art courses, and a lack of passion for organic chemistry, Taking these art classes sped up my abilities, while I also took advantage of every opportunity to be in the studios. During Covid I actually snuck into the studios outside designated hours to be able to keep working on art. Even though I wasn’t enrolled in certain art classes like printmaking or ceramics, I found ways to keep making art in those mediums. I knew that the access to studios would not be forever so I might as well learn as much as I can. I have the rest of my life to decide on one medium to get really good at. Some people know what kind of art they want to make right away and thats great. But I was always interested in how my artistic vision could be altered depending on what medium I was using.

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?

My name is Russ Brausch. I currently have an art business – Russell Brausch Fine Art LLC. I work in painting, ceramics, printmaking, and some sculpture. Through my business I sell t-shirts I design and screen print myself, I do lots of painting commissions, murals, and typically sell functional ceramics like mugs, shot glasses, bowls, at local artist markets.

My commissions are most challenging, trying to find the balance of the client’s artistic vision and where my strengths align. I spend a lot of time working in the planning stages to ensure my clients get exactly what they are envisioning.

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

In the creative process there is the initial excitement which gets me to start making a piece. Then there is the middle – ugly stage – which is so hard to get through. It makes me question, “can I even paint?” and then eventually I push through it and the end result is usually better than I imagined in my head. Getting through that period of ugliness, doubt, wanting to quit, can last for months on a piece, so getting through that is a very rewarding aspect of being an artist.

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 have encountered lots of feedback about pursuing art as a career from non-creatives. Mostly it comes in the form of questions and doubt. There’s a high level of risk to pursue art as a career. For the artist, you must have trust in your hard work, and faith in the end goal, which might look different than the day to day. I think that a lot of careers seem mysterious of how to be successful. For example, my brother, dad, and uncle are all in the aviation industry. To become a successful commercial pilot, there is a complex system to work within. Not many people, including myself, can fully understand the system of being a pilot. But just saying “I’m going to be a pilot” sounds a lot more stable than “I’m going to be an artist”. So it is important to explain to people exactly what your journey as an artist might look like and tell them about your faith and confidence in yourself. Others will always doubt you – but also I would not want to find myself at a dead end job in twenty years, wishing I had pursued art because of what people said to me. Being an artist will give you a strong backbone, so don’t be afraid to use it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.russellbrauschfineart.com
• Instagram: @russbrausch
• Facebook: Russell Brausch

Image Credits

Tia Sposito