Check Out Brooke Major’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Major.

Hi Brooke, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am American artist born and raised in Atlanta, GA. As a child, I was always well noted in drawing, painting. In addition I was an avid equestrian riding the hunters and jumpers as a child. My parents were intentional throughout the course of my youth in exposing me to new places, further increasing her deep passion for art and architecture. These are the passions that led me to move to Normandy to breed and raise horses for the sport of showjumping and develop my art into a career, the landscapes and architecture inspired and still inspire many notable artists, especially my favorites: the impressionists and dadaists.

I initially moved to Paris to study political science at an American university, but I felt myself drawn more towards the arts and followed auditing classes at the Beaux Arts school in Paris. It was during this time at the university where I began to experiment with oil paint as a sculptural medium, using a mixture of thickened titanium white manipulated onto canvas as I developed my practice in painting.

Following my childhood passions, art and horses, I moved to Normandy to begin putting to action my dream of breeding show jumpers. I set up my art studio that had originally been used as a grain loft in an eighteenth century manor home on the landing beaches of DDAY. This is where I currently paint and raise my horses. I have been living and working as a professional artist for the past 20 years and I share my time between the United States (Georgia) and France. I am now exhibited in galleries across the united States ( Georgia, NC, SC, Tennessee, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Colorado…) as well as in Newmarket in the United Kingdom.

I sculpt oil paint using pallet knives, challenging both techniques of painting and sculpting while exemplifying light and shadow. I choose all of my subjects from my childhood experiences: traveling, horses and architecture. I also depicts my everyday life in my recent subject of landscapes of the typical Normandy countryside. “I paint because I need to. I paint what my hand wants to paint.”

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would have never imagined arriving to the point that I have arrived to today. I have had an interesting journey as I spent many years trying to find a perfect way to combine horses and art. When things started to get complicated , I kept a positive mindset. Using positive energy I have paved a path for myself that allows me to not only make a clear vision of my goals yet also keep my mind on bigger goals. Today I can say I feel like an accomplished breeder as I have horses on the international circuit that are winners of world cup and nations cup classes. I have achieved a lot of my childhood dreams of becoming an artist, breeding horses, living in a castle, living on the beach and leaving a legacy through art and having the most wonderful family and son one could ask for. Not all of these ambitions seemed possible at the time that I wished they could come true, but with hard work and never giving up, I was able to achieve almost everything I set my mind to. There were many bumps along the road but I have made sure that these goals have become reality by persistence The most important part of the journey is the path and not the destination.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been practicing the technique of sculpting oil paint in order to create images of my two favorite subjects: architecture and horses through oil paintings. I started this work about twenty five years ago by laying thick layers of oil paint and sculpting into the paint. As time passed, I started to do the opposite of laying a thick layer and adding paint in creating a sculpture into the paint. I paint what I love and I love what I paint. Each painting I create records like a diary for my life, which allows each artist to record their own adaptation and record their time on this earth. That’s what allows a true artist to be an original.
The work has lead me to win many prizes in painting such a the young talent prize in Menton France, The Grand Prix of the Rene Clement Bayer Salon, the Mayors Prize of the City of Champagne sur Seine and Honorable Mention at the Hartsfield Jackson International Airport painting prize.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am keen on working with galleries, collectors and art dealers. These collaborations have led me to be represented by galleries all over the United States and in Europe, including: France, the United Kingdom, Holland and Belgium. It is my ambition to achieve representation from blue chip art dealers not only to leave a legacy for my art but to also create more value for my work that has already been acquired by collectors. These contacts will allow inclusion into major museums, art fairs, and eventually one day I wish to exhibit for my country in the Biennale of Venice. In order to include the horses into my artwork, I have made them my living sculptures. My studfarm is named DADA, all of the horses have a name associated with Dada. Dada is a name in French for “Hobby Horse”, allowing a perfect play on words, as all of my horses have come out “Du-champ” and will become “Du-champiens!!”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brooke-major.com/en/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brookeseeart/
• Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/brookeseeart/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooke-major-86356058/