Brandon Marshall - Abstract Painter By Brian Lynch For those who have a hard time understanding abstract art, how would you describe it and its meaning for you? I've always had a fascination with abstract art because it can be anything in the eyes of the viewer. When you look at a piece of work and it depicts a beach scene with a light house on a craggy piece of land jutting out into the turbulent ocean, that s what it is, that s what it will always be but with abstract art the image can change from one person to the next. This is what makes abstract art so exciting to me.
Why did you choose abstraction as your creative style of choice? I grew up most of my life in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and we all know the history of that city and many other major metropolitan areas located in that area known as the rust belt of America. Growing up in this city I would find the most fascinating forms of abstraction when the detritus of yester years meets the ever powerful forces of nature. I would see this amazing formation everywhere in Pittsburgh and was always inspired to create this in my own way. Why are all your creations untitled? I choose not to title any of my work because I do not want the title I give the painting to influence what the viewer sees in my paintings.
How has your style changed over the years? My friends always joke with me and call me the chameleon painter because I always adapt to my surroundings so well and always find a way to paint no matter how little money I have or how small of a workspace I have to work with. With my ability to overcome these obstacles I have always been able to create work over the past fifteen years which has influenced my painting techniques. As my work area shrinks so do my paintings and vice versa and as my bank account shrinks and expands so do the kind of materials I use in my work. Another strong factor that comes into play when I work on a piece is that I'm not afraid to use each painting as an experiment and because of this every painting I create I learn something new about manipulating the materials I am using at that time and then I use that new discovery again and again until I mastered a new techniques.
How do you find your inspiration? My inspiration comes in the form of self gratification. As I continue creating works, I learn from them. Since every painting is a combination of technique and experimentation, I get this high that is hard to explain. I never was a fan of sitting around watching TV or playing video games. My mother said I have always been an artist and I feel that as long as I'm creating I feel happy. If I stop and sometimes it happens I feel a great depression move in. What is your creative process like? What I like to do is start off with a general idea of what I want the painting to look like and then let the painting take on a personality of its own by incorporating techniques I've
mastered over the years and experiment with the reaction of the medium I use with other materials. What do you believe is a key element in creating a good composition? I believe texture and color help create a good composition and size does matter. I've always been a fan of large bodies of work so lately with my work all I want to do is create large work to enforce the WOW factor. How do you use color, texture, and composition to evoke emotion or meaning in your pieces?
I've always had an eye for texture and color so I love to have all my work full of texture and color. I use texture so people would want to touch my work and I use color to help guide the viewer through my painting and show them many cool landscapes to interact with. What is the most challenging part about creating your art? Creating a piece that I have been commissioned to do. What has been your greatest difficulty as an artist and how did you overcome it? I feel uncomfortable talking about my work and myself and I'm even worse at promoting myself which is important if you want people to see your work and ultimately purchase your work. Because of this I've been more proactive with getting the word out about myself and my work. Webmasters note: Brandon s art is three dimensional. These are also large pieces that are approx. 4ft. by 6ft. They are only truly appreciated in a live setting.