Meet Joshua Brady

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Brady.

Thanks for sharing your story with us, Joshua. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Over twenty years ago, I ended up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Having been here so long now, I consider myself a local. I graduated from the University of Wyoming (in Laramie) with concurrent degrees in Art and Art Education. I made my way back to Cheyenne and began my career here as an Art teacher.

For quite a few years after graduating, I was more-or-less afraid to sit down and make Art. I felt I had lost my ideas and I didn’t really have a social circle around me that was developing their own Art compounded with what I perceived as a lack of an “art scene” in Cheyenne. So I cranked out a handful of mediocre pieces in the evenings while teaching Art during the day. It wasn’t until a few years back that a friend and tattoo artist Enrique, invited me to participate in a month-long social media drawing competition that I really became truly focused on Art.

By drawing daily (sometimes forcing myself to sit and draw), I quickly noticed that ideas flowed more freely, lines became straighter, mistakes less frequent and confidence more inherent. The support in social media from my fellow challenge accepters helped to bolster my commitment. At the conclusion of the challenge, I felt that my whole view and approach had changed. Somewhere, on one of those daily drawings, I had worked through a wall or two and began to feel the freedom in bringing ideas to existence through creation once again.

Inspired by graffiti, street art, murals and the Sharpie work of Mike Giant, I landed on combining Sharpie and spray paint on paper in a manner that emulates block printing. Using unorthodox mixed media allowed me marry my passion for drawing and spray paint with the bold, thick, blocked black ink and color fields of block printing. It is in this capacity that I finally feel I’ve found my “style.”

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think the longer the road winds, the smoother it feels in retrospect. But no, the road isn’t always smooth when creation is involved in any capacity. I remember an instance in which I spent hours cutting a stencil only to realize I had inadvertently reverse it and the words read the wrong way. With so much time and attention dedicated to a mistake, I had a wild emotional meltdown, smashed a bunch of empty frames, ruined some old sketches, kicked some trashcans, screamed “fuck” and then eventually sat right back down and did it correctly the second time.

The physical mistakes and gaffes aside, there are also occasions in which I want to create but the ideas just aren’t there. Learning to be patient with the process and recognizing that not every day is a success has come with a struggle of its own. Being able to see the sketches and silly doodles as part of the complete process of creation has been hard-earned and still frustrates me.

I firmly believe that if the thing you love doesn’t frustrate you to the point of emotional crisis, then you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough. When you love something so much that you return to it, knowing it may break you, then I think the work becomes authentic because true passion is an investment that can only be earned. I also get frustrated with people who want free Art from me. I think as visual artists, a lot of us can think of times when we hear “well, you love to draw and I just need something small like a 9×12…” Yeah, I love to do it, but the materials ain’t free and you’re paying for 34 years of hard-won knowledge so don’t be a cheap ass.

We’d love to hear more about your art.
I am an independent artist who works a full-time day job as an Art teacher. I dedicate a lot of my free time working on my personal art. I am by no means the first person to combine spray paint and Sharpie but I’m one of a few artists in Cheyenne that I see doing so. I use that style to create images of our local historic or iconic buildings. Those two things combined, I think set me apart from my friends and colleagues in Cheyenne.

Honestly, I am most proud of this town and how it’s beginning to mature and accept non-traditional artists, styles and ideas to develop its own unique vibe. I’m proud to be a part of a group of friends and artists who are beyond talented but share a lot of my same quirks, neurosis and desires to be caffeinated.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Vision and persistence. I think my mid-thirties have shown me how to be more focused, patient and determined to set long-term goals and fulfill the short-term goals to realize the whole big picture. I never thought the phrase “my ten-year plan” would ever come out of my mouth until I realized I REALLY DID have a ten-year plan.

Contact Info:

• Website: dirtyhandsartworksop.com
• Email: dirtyhandsartworkshop@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dirty_hands_art_workshop/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dirtyhandsartworkshop/?modal=admin_todo_tour

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