Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Savoy.
Brandon, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I moved to LA at the age of 21 after I was recruited by an award-winning design company from LA. Over the next 10 years, I worked at various design studios such as (list a couple of them here.) and worked with big known brands. Then, one day a friend approached me to create and design a website for a company he wanted to start. Since he was part of a band at the time, I honestly thought that’s what I was going to be creating the site for. He then told me he was also looking for a business partner for this idea. The idea was actually an online art gallery. This was before online shopping was big, so it sounded like a fun and exciting idea I wanted to be a part of. From that point on, we started KULT studio, an online art gallery, in 2010 and since then I have been surrounded by art.
Even though I had been in a design/artistic career my entire life, I never felt like a true artist and only considered myself a designer. I love design and do consider it a form of art but with so much of it being online it was a different feeling. One day, I did a photoshoot of these original paintings we were going to put on the website and I was blown away by the details. I was really attracted to the tangibility of paintings and sat there mesmerized by what the artist did to achieve a single effect as well as the colors used. It was after that day I started to really want to paint because I was so inspired by the way it made everything around me slow down to look at the works of art.
I had only picked up a brush a few times when I was young in art class in high school or even in art college since my curriculum was focused on multi-media and digital art. Back then it was more about going through the motions the teacher wanted. As an adult when I chose to pick up the brush again, I understood so much was about my own style, personality, and knowing how to put a mark on a page. That in turn also scared me because coming from a digital world where you can easily undo a change, there is no such thing as command Z on a blank canvas to undo a mark on a painting you just made.
Through the process of learning to paint, I learned to create a game plan by working out ideas on paper and then moving to small studies on canvas. Once I have a feel for what I want to create and what the painting is going to require, I am able to move to a large scale canvas. My process is constantly evolving through experimentations but a lot of times I hold off putting all those experimentations into my current body of work. I enjoy seeing my stages of growth rather than painting different every single time.
My latest body of work is all from memory whereas my other would came from references. I wanted to experiment with the development of my skills, so I did not use references and began to paint solely from memory. It was liberating. My only problem I was trying to solve at the moment was the one that was on the canvas. I have learned a lot through painting from memory and although my next series will be different, I know I will use the memory regression sessions again in my career.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It is rare to find a smooth road, especially here in LA. I didn’t move to LA thinking I was going to become an artist, I only came here knowing I was a designer. So, I somewhat stumbled into the path of becoming an artist. Being surrounded and inspired by amazing artist all the time motivated me to try it myself. Struggles come up all the time, there is not one specific struggle I can look back at. But, some of my struggles include managing my time between painting at the studio, work, and social life as well as understanding how much dedication it takes to get past your own personal plateaus. Understanding my struggles and learning how to deal with them helps me push through and keep forging ahead. Some of my best work comes out during these tough times because that is when I am really reflecting on things that are happening.
Please tell us about Brandon Savoy.
I think mostly I am known for how dedicated and motivated I am in my work, whatever it may be at the time. As a painter, I specialize with oil paintings on canvas. Most people who know me know that I really get into one particular project at a time by giving my complete dedication. I am my worst critic and not super proud of one particular thing because I always feel like some of my best work is always yet to come. Sometimes I have little break through where I am proud of a drawing or a study that help me progress to the next stage. All this keeps me motivated and dedicated to keep pushing past whatever plateau I am currently facing.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
No. I’ve really come to embrace the journey I have gone through in life. I think all things lead up to what you become and if it was done differently, maybe I wouldn’t even be here now.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brandonsavoy.com
- Email: brandon@brandonsavoy.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/ibesavvvy
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thebrandonsavoy
- Other: https://ello.co/brandonsavoy and https://www.saatchiart.com/brandonsavoy
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