Spotlight: Brandon Vosika, Painter and Poet

Brandon Vosika is a Canadian American painter, poet, and sculpture artist living, working, and building his own frames in Seattle, WA. From his haunted downtown studio, Brandon turns indistinct feelings and nostalgic memories into ethereal works on canvas and colorful portraits that can be found in homes and galleries around the world.

How did you find yourself on an artist’s path? Always there? Lightbulb moment? Dragged kicking and screaming? Evolving?

All of the above! Some days I have to drag myself to the studio, others are full of hope and excitement, it’s always evolving.

As long as I can remember I’ve relied on creativity and thinking differently as a means to move through the world and communicate how I feel.

I’ve had many lightbulb moments, but the first was in 4th grade. Two things stick out from class that year, being told by my teacher that a drawing I made was “a waste of paper” and winning first place in an art competition voted on by my classmates. I was crushed by rejection and also bashfully elated with recognition. That was the first time I felt like I was really good at something meaningful.

I cared about the silly little art things, I was making more than I probably should have, but look where it’s led me. I still care too much!  

Do you plan your work out ahead of time, or do you just dive in with your materials and start playing?

There’s tremendous value in both thoroughly planning out work and exploring spontaneity, painting from little or no plans, and embracing the unknown. Part of the job of being an artist is knowing when to employ either technique.

Commissions and big detail-oriented projects require communication, planning, and collaboration but for better or worse, I’m generally much more excited exploring foggy ideas and seeing where they take me. 

Do you have a dedicated space for creating? If so, what does it look like?

I worked from home for most of my career. Everywhere from the dining room table to a walk in closet I turned into a miniature art studio.

I’m very lucky now to have a studio of my own close to the main art district in downtown Seattle. It’s a big windowless bunker on the top floor of an old brick building full of charm and friends and ghosts probably.

I fill my space with colorful fake plants, odd ceramic tchotchkes, and lots of art books and old Hollywood magazines that inspire me. The walls are plastered with my paintings and poetic notes I write to myself on scraps of paper. My emotional support puppet and studio confidant Mcgruff the art dog, always seated in my big blue broken chair watching over the place.

Do you use a sketchbook or journal? How does that help your work develop?

I use both a sketchbook and a journal to organize my thoughts and the little pictures that pop into my head. As great as I am at picturing things in my head, the ability to flesh things out is in my opinion an essential part of the creative process that all artists should utilize.

It’s just not possible to remember all of your good ideas without writing them down. 

How often do you start a new project? Do you work actively on more than one project at a time?

I start new paintings, sculptures and projects almost every day. Unless there’s a very big and important specific thing going on, I’m usually working on at least a few things at any given moment. Maybe it’s ADHD but there are simply too many things I want to make and not enough time. 

Can you tell us about the inspiration and process of one of your works? How does a new work come about? 

Recently I’ve been very inspired by my feline companion, Olive, who I’ve spent the last 18 years of my life with and is currently facing late stage kidney disease. It’s taken me this long to realize how much she has taught me about myself over the years, and I find her spirit and likeness make their way into many of my paintings.

A piece I made in 2023 came about in a sort of mysterious way, as many of my paintings do. I started with a very vague sketch on canvas and let myself get carried away with color and the actual painting process. I’m a very visual thinker so concepts and feelings appear to me as I work. Sometimes it sort of feels like reading a poem or writing a story as I go along. With this piece in particular I didn’t truly discover its meaning until I was finished. I called it “In the Moment Olive Goes to Heaven”. 

How has your creativity evolved over the years? What triggered the evolution to new media/kinds of work/ways of working?

I’ve always worked in many mediums, but recently I’ve been feeling a real desire to more deeply explore and refine what my inner voice has to say and that has led me to focus most primarily on acrylic painting and short poetry.

What do you do to keep yourself motivated and interested in your work?

The best way I’ve found to keep motivated is to immerse myself in the local art community and art world in general. I look at, read about, and surround myself with art every day. I’m inspired by all the incredible work my contemporaries and friends make, it pushes me to create. Also, just the act of working motivates me. There are days I feel nothing, but I still go to my studio, and just keeping the wheels turning keeps me going. 

How do you know when a piece or project is finished and needs no additional work?

I think it comes down to the ability to read the energy a piece gives off, and it’s always changing. If the energy is right where you want it, the piece is done. Sometimes it’s surprising! It’s a very difficult skill to learn, frequently I don’t know until it’s too late but I’m getting better. 

What traits, if any, do you think that creative people have as compared to people who are not creative?

To put it simply, I believe highly creative people feel things on a higher level emotionally than most people. For me, music is a big inspiration and I often find myself moved to tears by what I’m listening to when I’m painting. I don’t know why, song just opens up something desperate inside of me.

Creativity comes from a place of curiosity and imagination, which we all possess. What makes a successful artist is the ability to access that spirit and the willingness to let yourself be vulnerable. There’s a lot of bravery involved in creating something that moves people in a meaningful way. It’s a lifelong pursuit with many, many failures. Bravery and the ability to let yourself fail and big traits that contribute I think. 

Where can people see your work?

I’ve shown my paintings and sculpture in many galleries and museums along the west coast, recently Geheim Galley, Forest For The Trees, Get Nice Gallery and AMCE Gallery in Seattle, Hashimoto Contemporary in LA, and I have an upcoming show opening in October at Gallery Ergo in Seattle.

For everyone outside the west coast, Instagram is the easiest and most accessible way to see what I’m up to (@brandonvosika). I love sharing my process, studio pictures and things like that!

https://Brandonvosika.com
https://linktr.ee/brandonvosika 
https://www.instagram.com/brandonvosika