Meet Brie Walter

We recently connected with Brie Walter and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brie , thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

Optimism can really ebb and flow as an artist. Sometimes I love what I’m working on and other times I trash them. On occasion when optimism is low, over the years, especially when I was trying to find my focus and hone in on what my thing should be with my paintings, I’ve put them on display in the alley behind my house before trash day in case someone else can find beauty in them. I wouldn’t do that now. Now, if a piece doesn’t live up to my standard for it, then I don’t want it out in the world and I paint over older works and create layers until it is right. These days, my optimism shows up as a slow work process… I know I can get it to a place I want if I put the time into it, so I keep my head down and keep working. Sometimes that means it takes years of layers and walking away and coming back until it is right. I’ve found you just have to persist.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

So much about an artist lifestyle is up and down. It requires taking a lot of risks, rejection, and persevering through it, believing in yourself that it’s worth the long road. But being an artist is all I ever wanted or felt called to since I was young. That being said, it’s not the most stable when you want a family, so I did start a Floral design business for weddings called Pavan Floral, which has helped support my art and my family over the years. You can see more of that work on our website www.pavanfloral.com.

As artists, it’s about doing the work, and honing it forever. So, even when I’m not showing it, I’m still working on it. There was a period of time early on where I stopped painting after I lost a baby during pregnancy, and that shifted my whole perspective and how I entered into my practice after that. My color palette changed. My layers changed. I started painting over work because life felt so different. And that’s sort of how I found my footing in the end. Painting was grounding, and simultaneously, the layers in the process brought about a new look that felt as layered as my emotions felt at the time. It felt very representative of life and the human experience being so complicated and the use of warm tones with cool tones in subtle layers depicted all that. My hope with all the paintings is that there’s a sense of calm amidst the chaos for onlookers to get lost in a bit.

This year I joined the Malibu Art Association, so I will be showing more work in person locally. There are shows coming up this summer June 23, July 21, and August 18th, where I will be showing 10am-4pm at Legacy Park.

I’m also working on some new collections of work that will be available this summer on my website www.briewalterart.com.

My new work has a lot of calming, but striking color combinations of greens and blue tones, with accents of warmth. I always try to keep that balance because just as in life, there is always an optimism tinged with sadness, or joy amidst death, or struggle yet rewards. There is always a certain balance we cling to emotionally when one feels heavier to bring ourselves to a state of raw emotion, and that’s what I try to exude in my abstract expressionist work.

I am also planning to dive back into my figure paintings and create a new collection on my website to showcase some of those since nudes aren’t always allowed at public showings. I really try to capture the everyday moments in my figure work, and capture that movement of the body in some way.

I’ve also started a new Youtube channel with behind the scenes footage, Timelapse videos of a painting coming into being with voiceover, talking through the process of making it and my techniques. Please consider subscribing if you want to see more content like that. It’s a great way to support an artist even if you aren’t in the market to buy a painting.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Early on I worked for a couple of artists who paid for their own art shows locally and around the world. They ran their own web design business to support their art, and it never felt like a compromise that they weren’t living off their art sales. They still identified as artists and lived their lives by that code.

It was such a good example early on to model my own lifestyle after, and I created a business that allowed me the time to still practice my art and support my family, and pay off student loans. Creating my floral business wasn’t a compromise to our lifestyle. It’s what allows us to continue as artists.

If I were to offer any advice to someone early in their work, that’s what I would tell them. If you look at artist of the past, so many were either supported by family businesses, or a parent or sibling like Van Gough, or Cezanne. It’s been this way for hundreds of years. It’s only in recent years that people started making a living off their own work in their own style (that wasn’t commissioned for someone else’s style). That shift of recent expectations can make an aspiring artist feel less valuable if they compare themselves to others on social media who brag about making their living selling only their artwork. That takes so much time usually, and our worth shouldn’t be stagnant in that space. Shame will shut down your art practice quickly. So try not to feel shame if you aren’t selling as much or as quickly as you think you should. It’s a long process, and remember to look at past artists, not comparing to the world of social media in the current state.

What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?

Go for a walk. Get outside in nature. It does wonders for your mood and ideas can come in that space more easily because of the natural elements of wonder as you immerse yourself in that environment. It can remind you that you are a cog in a larger picture, and somehow your overwhelm can lessen when you get out of your head like that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.briewalterart.com
• Instagram: @briewalter
• Twitter: @briewalter
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa9sBR1bjkIOcFsuPGVIzhg

Image Credits

Sara Weir