Brooklyn Bartley

You describe art as the way you communicate, breathe, and survive. When did you first realize that making art could become your main language?

I realized when I was a child. I’ve grown up in very hostile environments, and I often wasn’t able to advocate for myself. Art is a quiet revolution for me. Even as an adult, I’ve survived certain traumas that have taken away my voice. Being able to paint or draw certain emotions or concepts helps me to heal. If I didn’t know to speak through lines and color, A part of myself would have faded away.

Your portraits often feel emotionally intense and deeply personal. What usually comes first for you: an image, a feeling, a memory, or a color?

Most of the time, I actually have trouble imagining things. But before I draw a portrait, I usually think of a feeling. Whether someone else caused the feeling in me, or if it was the product of my own thinking.

I very much aspire to let the viewer feel what I have felt. I think art and emotion go hand in hand.

Color plays a powerful role in your work. How do you choose your palette when you want to express something difficult or complex?

My color choices are chosen painting by painting. I like to paint over something again and again until I get the colors to match the mood I am aiming for. I’m not an expert in color theory, I just know that color to a painting is like music to a movie. Whether I choose mostly primary and secondary colors, fully monochromatic, or every part of the wheel, every choice was carefully considered for that specific piece.

Brooklyn Bartley | Death Has Been Defeated

Many of your figures seem to carry both vulnerability and strength. What do these faces represent for you?

I myself feel vulnerable and strong, like an egg covered in thinly coated iron. I wear my heart on my sleeve because I’d like to be seen as who I am. The same is for my work, I want my art to be my mirror. The majority of my paintings are of self portraits, even if it doesn’t appear to be me, I am most likely painting myself. Not in a way that is entirely self obsessed, but because I need to communicate myself to the world.

Brooklyn Bartley | Christ Crucified

You work with mixed media. What materials or techniques help you express things that words cannot fully describe?

I use primarily gouache, but I also like oil pastel, and graphite. I attempt to take advantage of color, angles, and shapes to create atmospheres that are similar to the general concept in my head. Abstraction in art for abstracted thinking.

What do you hope viewers feel or understand when they encounter your work?

I hope they feel genuine emotion and sit with their feelings. But if they feel nothing at all, I like to imagine that they will appreciate my design choices.

Brooklyn Bartley | Jesus, Me, And Skid Row

How do you decide how much of your personal experience to reveal through your art?

I realize that I would like a certain level of mystique to be upheld in my work, so I don’t share everything at all times. But I try at the very least to allude to an emotion or an environment that I’ve been in. Sometimes I am bold and share everything, but other times I still struggle with the fear of rejection and paint more subtler themes.