THE ARTIST
“Brockman’s cityscapes mend our fragmentary vision of the city into one that is ever more elusive.”
- A. Moret Installation Magazine
JAY BROCKMAN
In my paintings I capture fleeting moments. I paint the sunset day dreams that could have been if we only had a breath in our busy lives to allow them. If we did settle for one moment to see, it would reveal a metropolitan mixed with imported palm trees, billboards beckoning vices, and flashing lights emerging from the depths of traffic that will either guide or entice us.
DOWNLOAD CVBetween night and day, there is a moment, almost a breath before the sun dismisses the day and night begins. We see it everyday but it never fails to astound– a sunset . The changing of the guard, people leaving work, people heading to work and the landscape of lights and moving cars create a fireworks display that burns for a moment.
- Jay Brockman
ALWAYS AN ARTIST
I’ve always been an artist. Everyone around me acknowledged my natural inclination for creativity and encouraged my need to create. My parents fostered my imagination, exposed me to museums, enrolled me in summer art classes, and allowed me make a mess decorating my birthday cakes.
After a couple of well intentioned missteps (marine biology was never gonna work, no matter how much I love the ocean) I enrolled at Ringling School of Art and Design in Florida. My primary focus was painting. Two years later I was offered an opportunity and moved to New York City to work in advertising while continuing to hone my skills and paint.
New York was too cold for my Florida blood. I headed West and landed in Los Angeles where my adoration of capturing moments bloomed. Time passes differently there. I began my exploration into cityscape painting shortly after my arrival. I persist in perfecting my art while now residing in Oakland.
I continue to seek moments to capture.
INSPIRATIONS
I find inspiration whenever I see a painting, wether it be a sloppy hand painted sign on the side of the road or a modern master. Sometimes the only thing that may separate the two paintings is the price.
FROM THE ARTIST
Home is where the heART is.
Recently, I received a request asking if I would share photos of my art studio. I’ll have more details on that in a future post. As I set my camera up, I began thinking more about the artist studio.
I have always had a longtime interest in the studios of artists. Over the years I have inspected many art books looking for photos of the artists’ studio. In these I am always looking for clues to their lives. What book is that on the table behind the brushes? Is that Les Demoiselles d'Avignon in progress on the back wall? What wine is that? Did they paint all of those works at the same time? Where is the light coming from? Are they painting with an easel, on the wall, on the floor? How many cigarettes did they smoke? Did they just come off an art bender? Did they just come off a different kind of bender? And the questions go on. It is an interesting side of art that can easily be overlooked, but reveals a lot about a time, place, and artist.
There are many aspects of an art studio. It’s a place to work and create, but isn’t always about brushes and paints. The location of a studio can be just as important to the art made. Are you near a coffee shop, a liquor store, a busy street or a sprawling countryside? Do you sneak into your space, or do you walk through someone else’s living room, or do you live there? Do you share your space with other artists, your muse, a partner or maybe a combination? What ideas are triggered on your way to the studio and how will it affect what you do? All of these experiences are part of the studio. This is the life that inspires the art.
I have had a lot of studios. From a floor in a living room, to couches in New York City. Kitchen floors, walk-in closets, bedrooms, studio apartments, other peoples’ studio apartments, maintenance room in the Hollywood Hills, illegal live work loft inside an art gallery, an office room above a bar in an old bank building, a quarter of a living room divided by a curtain, and, most recently, a private space with perfect north light at the Compound Gallery and Studios. Each one unique and inspiring. Each one marks a period of time that reminds me that I have always been making art. From the humblest and trying times to better days, I have never stopped dreaming and making art.
Out of all my different and unique spaces that I have had, there is one common thread.
Every time I secured my space I thought to myself, “This is the best studio ever.”
I guess I am always in the best studio.
