Life & Work with Josh Bourassa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Bourassa.

Josh, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My artistic career path started with airbrush artwork and custom painting on motorcycles. I grew up in the automotive customization culture and had exposure to the airbrush as a child. I was always creative and doodled throughout my life. Once I went to college and took art classes I realized that I am an artist.

Shortly after that opportunities showed up for me to start custom painting motorcycles for a Harley dealer in Bozeman Mt, so I ran with it. That became my profession and my education all at the same time. I learned the ins and outs of applying automotive paint, pinstriping, airbrushing, and running a small business. 20+ years later I had a shop located on South Broadway where we custom built and painted Harleys as well as manufactured custom fiberglass parts for them.

As with many things in life, that path came to an end. I learned so much over all those years and I am very grateful for that but I also saw that it was a bit more toxic to me than I was willing to keep enduring. Automotive paint is highly toxic with a tremendous amount of waste. At the time of that career path, I had also gotten married and had three children which inspired me to look at creating my life in a more wholesome way. Less toxicity and more time to be a good father.

In 2017 I closed my shop and went on a personal journey to find my new path which led me to do murals. I loved doing them as they had very similar client interactions as the motorcycle customizing. Meeting a new client and talking to them to find out what they wanted and really digging into the creative process with them to come up with outstanding designs and then doing the application.

The creative process with my clients is where the magic happens and what does bring me the most joy. That and delivering the artwork that we worked together to come up with. My mural career has been great and allowed me to spread art throughout the west, from Montana, Colorado, and even to California. As one client so profoundly told me, I am beautifying cities one wall at a time.

Again as life changes something else was on my horizon. Fresh out of high school I immediately went to a tech school for Autocad drafting. I didn’t follow that career very far but it was the knowledge that I have always used. In 2019 I decided to learn 3d CAD software to reproduce a sculpture I had created in art school circa 1995. Digging into this new software and finding my previous drafting knowledge very helpful I began to grasp it quite well.

I received a call from a person referred to me by a past motorcycle client to do a mural at a dispensary in Denver. After a fun hour of imagining cool artwork all over the building, he mentioned that they were looking at creating unique retail display cases which piqued my interest. I told him I would be interested in creating something for him and with a tinge of shock in his eye he said ok. So, I put together a couple of ideas in 3d CAD and showed them to him and it has been a go ever since.

Currently, I design and build out primarily cannabis dispensaries. I emphasize a strong balance of retail engineering and interior design with my clients. These opportunities have brought together so much of what I have done for the last 25+ years. I love meeting new clients and going through the creative process with them.

The evolution of that combined with the 3D CAD software as an amazing tool to pre-build in virtual space to scale what we are going to do down to fractions of an inch and tones of color in the room has made this incredibly satisfying. Designing these retail functions is twofold. Function first which is the retail engineering aspect of the design process.

I start with solid interior measurements of the room to build in and a couple of consultation meetings where I dig into their client flow, merchandising, and employee workflow to maximize my understanding of their needs. I utilize all this data to first build a 3d rendering of the room and then begin to place display units, cabinetry, wall shelving, and storage.

The other half of what I am doing with my clients is developing the feel of the room. The vibes. Colors, textures, finishes, and even wall art create a unique environment for their customers and their staff. What I have come to understand about myself is that I am more than an artist. I am a craftsman, a designer, a marketing/brand specialist and a small businessman always learning, growing, and evolving.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Challenges are just part of life. Of course, I have had many. Probably the most difficult aspect I came up against was growing too big, too fast, and getting completely overwhelmed which lead to burnout and not making good decisions. That is an experience that is hard to teach.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have learned what sets me apart from others is my ability to be both, a creative understanding vibe and feel and my ability to be analytical in the necessity of function. Having a decent understanding of humans, and their desires and being able to draw out from them what they want, and what they need is a bit of a trained gift. I am just the creative conduit and they are the inspiration.

Once we get into the consultation conversations, imagery and ideas begin popping into my head which I then set into the motion of design. Aside from that I seem to have a gift of being able to look at something and recreate it with my hands. Whether that is drawing something, building something, or both. I put all that together with solid professionalism and integrity to always do the best I can.

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
So many… The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
The War of Art. by Steven Pressfield
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kyosaki
The 4 Hour work week by Tim Ferris
Joe Rogan podcast

Quite honestly with todays availability to access information whenever I get an inspiration to learn something I dive into youtube and start watching as many videos about my subject of interest as. I learned how to use the 3D CAD software, Fusion 360 via youtube.

Most recently I found I wanted to dive deeper into my knowledge and skill of playing guitar and after a month of soaking up information, I can say my guitar playing has taken leaps. No matter what I choose to do I take to learning it voraciously. That seems to make a difference.

Pricing:

• Murals are $20 per square foot
• My retail design retainer is $2000
• A custom motorcycle paint job usually started at $2500

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bourassadesigns.com, www.bdwallart.com, www.dispensarycreations.com