Brandy Agun
Seattle, WA
Website
brandyagun.com
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How would you describe your work?
My work is representational with a nod toward contemporary ideas. I paint mostly figures in some kind context which gives a narrative concept. Occasionally I’ll paint an interior or still life. I enjoy some decorative elements and often use patterns. I demand good drawing of myself and look for balance. I use large relationships I can tie together across a picture which gives some structure. I like both colorful and neutral palettes.
What inspires you?
The early Renaissance painters such as Giotto, Piero della Francesca, Fra Angelico, Bartolomeo degli Erri and Paolo Uccello. I love the flatness and use of different perspectives to promote the importance of something such as a figure. There is something childlike or make believe that I’m drawn to. I also enjoy post impressionistic painters such as Vuillard, Gaugin, Maurice Denis and Paul Sérusier. I see a kinship between these painters that intrigues me. I like the imaginative colors and playful spaces that leave realism behind and enter a kind of enchanted world where not everything needs to make sense but has a deep aesthetic appeal. I’m hoping to lean more in that direction myself, but being traditionally trained I find this a struggle. I also am inspired by interesting color choices and have recently began to restrict my palette to 2 - 3 colors for mixing or generating 5 - 7 colors or so with limited mixing in which to paint the whole picture. It forces me into my imagination when I can’t reach a color given the palette I chose.
Can you speak about your process?
I spend a fair amount of time on a design which I mock up using Procreate on my iPad or photoshop on my laptop. Sometimes this is as simple as cropping a photo I’ve taken and other times this means using several photos collaged together and making several edits to move things around. Once a balance is achieved with the objects in space I spend time deciding on a palette. I consider whether I wish to restrict the colors or have a full palette, shift everything to warm or cool, employ neutrals or have strong chromatic color. And then I often do an oil study to explore my choices and here is when I also find large elements I can link together and moments where I can lose edges. If I’m still undecided based on my oil study I’ll take a picture and load it into Procreate where I can play with the color more on my iPad. I use the study to inform my painting but remain open to changes as things can look different at a larger scale. Next I decide on a size. I like medium sizes like 24” x 32” or 24” x 24”. But sometimes I’ll paint smaller like when I have a lot of boards at smaller sizes or when I’m really wanting to be more experimental.
I always paint on a panel these days, usually aluminum composite material (ACM) but sometimes plywood. I have different ways of starting. Sometimes I do a drawing on white in paint and just fill everything in as simple, flat shapes. Sometimes I tone my canvas first prior to the drawing. And sometimes I create an abstract field hinting at where things may go color wise and then draw on top of that and proceed to the broad simple shape stage. Sometimes I paint more directly defining specific shapes early on. However I start I find I always need a few more layers to alter values, colors, edges and find moments where I can lose edges (called passage) or find places where I can link large elements across the picture. The goal is to keep the viewer moving through the picture and not create a trap for the eye or have any one element pull attention too strongly. At some point things get resolved or I bring the picture to a place where any more work would simply be destructive. Then I stop. I usually find elements at the end I don’t like but am at a loss as to how to fix. And I’ll spend a little post mortem time analyzing how the picture could be better.
How did you become interested in art?
I don’t recall ever not being interested in art. As a kid I always had a sketchbook and diddled around. My parents had a few art books that I gazed at and I was always wanting to do paint by numbers which I adored. As I went onto college art came to a halt while I pursued a degree in computer science. After graduating and getting a job in the software field I started taking art classes in the evenings. This was in Portland Or. When I moved to Seattle there were so many classes and drawing groups it was easy to keep busy in the evenings and weekends with a class. Eventually I traded my software career for full time art school in a private atelier that took 3 years to complete. The time I spent in school I leaned more toward academic and traditional art. But after graduation I’ve explored more post impressionistic and abstract styles and have grown to love them.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?
“One sees what one wants to see. It is false, and that falsity is the foundation of art.” - Degas
"We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies." - Picasso
The Art Spirit by Robert Henri. A great book.
Piero della Francesca is one of my very favorite artists along with the others I previously mentioned. I also enjoy Bruegel, Velázquez, Pontormo and Jacob Lawrence.
What advice do you have for younger artists?
If there is an artist or a few that really speak to you explore what it is about their art you really enjoy. It will often be something specific like their strong sense of shape or the quality of their brushwork. Avoid the temptation to imitate but rather get to the elements that you like and incorporate them into your own vision.
Take classes to stretch your ideas and skills. And when doing so really lose yourself in the class wholeheartedly embracing the teachers instruction and assignments. You’ll turn back into yourself once class is over but there will be something that stays with you forever. Also look at a lot of art across a lot of different styles. Nearly all really good art will have something that pulls at you even if it is that you really don’t like it. Then ask why.
Have fun and enjoy the process. Making art is a journey and a lifestyle, it is not about the end product. Be fearless. Be honest.
