Artist Proof: Bryan Collins aka BryanDrinksCoffee is a daydreamer who uses acrylic paints, Prismacolor pencils, scratchboards and watercolors to make record of the monsters, robots, weird worlds, and surreal humans he sees. His artistic themes deal with death, isolation, acceptance issues, spiritual battles, and other debilitating calamities. While tackling such grim subjects, He still attempts to maintain storybook-like qualities and a colorful nature.

AP: What inspires your art?

Bryan: My wife inspires me, since I work full-time as an artist. I want to be great for her. My children inspire me, without question. I also have regular, vivid dreams that are a huge influence in what I paint and draw. Since God is the ultimate master artist, nature is another big factor. Anything that artists can create is nothing more than a rendition or personal interpretation of something God has already done.



AP: What is the relationship between technique and content in your work?

Bryan: I have two major mediums that I use: Acrylic paint and colored pencil. The content of each piece dictates which medium I will use since the technique behind each is so very different, as is the look and feel of each finished product between the two. My colored pencil work is often psychedelic and bright with extreme saturation and sharp lines. My acrylic work is still very bold and color-focused, but lends itself to softer backgrounds and transitions between shades, tones, and colors. I guess to sum it up, my paintings are sadder than my illustrations, and this is due to the technique behind each.

AP: Describe your first experience of making art and how it affected your life’s journey

Bryan: I can’t remember my first experience making art. It was certainly at two or three years old. Drawing is just something I’ve always done. It’s like asking me to remember my first experience of eating a solid meal. I do remember the first time I realized that I was an ‘artist’. I was in junior-high and was taking an after school class on Wednesdays with a senior-citizen volunteer. He was a cartoonist and was showing me and one other kid how he draws. He demonstrated a few techniques my school art class had never touched on, including inking my pencil drawings. He was also the first to introduce me to a certain brand of colored pencils (which I won’t mention because they are not sponsoring me yet). When I finished my piece that day, I realized how much it looked like the comic books I was so in love with, and my heart rate elevated. I actually got a physical rush from the experience. I went home and looked through dozens of comic books, this time really studying the way they were drawn, inked, and colored, and immediately began creating my own characters. From there everything changed and I developed an actual addiction to making art. To this day I feel agitated and depressed if I go even one or two days without participating in some form of creativity. I think this state of being possessed by art is what makes one an artist.

AP: Describe your most recent experience of making art.

Bryan: I draw or paint nearly every day, so my most recent experience would be last night, pencil sketching a T-shirt design I’m doing for a shirt company. The shirt is being offered online for just 24 hours, making it an extremely limited edition (follow me on Twitter @bryancollinsart to know when it goes live!).

AP: Take us on a guided tour through a day in your life as an artist

Bryan: It all starts with coffee. I let the dog out while I’m setting up the machine to brew. The dog comes back in and I turn on the computer to check email, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, DeviantArt, and so on. I work from a home studio, so I get some breakfast to the kids (daughter Elorah and son Isaiah) and then look at my project board. I try to work on things in order of deadline. One day is a custom toy, one day is an order of prints, one day is a painting, one is an illustration. I say “one day” but most projects are multiple days or even weeks, for sure. I try to get most of my art time done while the two kids are napping, and do my computer work while they are up. Art time involves lots of music and more coffee. I do my best work when listing to good music. The dog hangs out and wishes I would play with him. Some days I make a trip downtown to my public studio to grab something that sold online or to hang a new piece I just finished. We bike when we go places, unless it’s freezing cold. The kids ride in a bike trailer and hold the items I might be taking to the post office. In the summer we stop at the park so they can play and I can spend time with a sketchbook outdoors. We always have fun. I guess you could say I’m living my dream.