By Brad Robson
The immediate result of talking with Brad Robson artist is that of being swept up in an immersive inspirational lecture. Suddenly, you realize you have needed this for quite some time. His words inspire you to get cracking on your deepest held dreams and desires.
Brad doesn’t mince words: the time is now. Currently, he is going for it and embracing life to the fullest on his own terms. Indeed, his inspiring paintings stand as a testament to that philosophy.
Seizing the Day: A Los Angeles Story
Perhaps the best example of Robson’s infectious “seize-the-day-ness” lies in the origin story of his most recent commission. When we spoke, he was visiting Los Angeles for a few weeks.
Previously, he had completed a wall commission outside a landmark cinema in the Los Feliz neighborhood. Because of this work, he received a good amount of attention and accolades. Then, one day recently, he stumbled upon a skate shop and struck up a conversation with the owner. Before he knew it, the owner offered him their exterior wall to develop a large-scale mural, on which he is now working. That is Brad Robson artist in a nutshell.
From Graffiti to Grand Tradition
There is a certain meandering flaneur spirit in Robson. This spirit reflects the immediacy of his outdoor work: part graffiti, part urban ethnography. Yet, he expresses it in the very definitive language of traditional painting.
His Los Feliz mural depicts classic cinema stars, both past and present, from Charlie Chaplin to Cate Blanchett. Remarkably, the work possesses the texture, evident paint strokes, and chiaroscuro of a Caravaggio, even though magnified at five times the scale.
He does not spray paint or apply paint the way one expects graffiti to appear. Instead, his work feels more aligned with the grand tradition of history painting. However, he translates this style to the most timely of narratives: the celebrity and the teeming city bursting with diversity. Currently, one can spot a Brad Robson artist mural in Barcelona and New York City, too.
The Musician Who Became a Painter
Interestingly, Robson did not train as an artist. In fact, he was much more skilled at math in school. Later, he spent many years as an accomplished musician, playing guitar and singing throughout the Sydney music scene. Unfortunately, he describes that experience as ultimately leaving him depleted.
One day, Robson played at a music festival where he saw some pop-art style paintings on display. He thought to himself, “I could do that.” So he did. Thus, he began a self-taught journey in painting. This path brought him the looseness, autonomy, and pure self-expression he lacked when playing music.
Robson says: “This is probably the most genuine kind of practice because I had to live a little to realize what I’m meant to do. I’m lucky because I let it all evolve naturally.”
Studio Practice and Abstract Style
Though his outdoor work might point toward a nomadic existence, Robson actually maintains a rigorous studio practice in Sydney. There, he says, most of the experimentation and magic happens.
Surprisingly, his paintings are strikingly small when compared to the murals. For Robson, this presents the greater challenge: how to make meaning in a format so weighted with tradition?
He often begins a work by painting it straight with a limited palette of cool tones, like blues and soft pinks. Then, he obscures the work. Looking for ways to push the form, he will get a blade, scrape the paint back, and add another color. He aligns this approach with a punk, DIY aesthetic rooted in music. Ultimately, his abstract style comes from this intuition.
The Philosophy of Freedom
Not only are his paintings stunning, but his philosophy on life is infectious. After talking with him, it is hard not to immediately grab a paint brush. He seizes the day, and he believes you should too.
As the Brad Robson artist philosophy goes: “The beauty of being free is that you can literally create your own path. That’s the idea of free will–it does exist. We all have free will, we can create our futures. And that’s what I’m doing and want to continue to do.”
