work – brian sostrom

Destroy to Create (update)

December 1, 2018December 2, 2018 by Brian Sostrom

This painting is on the bubble for me. It has a lot of the force and intrigue I enjoy but is that enough? I will catch it out of the corner of my eye when I am working and it draws my attention… is that enough? It has some beautiful color, blending, texture, shape and motion… enough?

I am forever running out of painting surfaces. Now when I finish a painting I set it aside in the studio rather than varnishing it. I let a little time and distance come between me and the painting and see how it stacks up against other works I am making. Then when there are too many paintings and not enough new boards I spend a morning removing paint from the ones that fall short.

This has become part of my process. I am increasingly comfortable destroying to create. Nothing is sacred.

Still not sure if I will keep it but it is intriguing so I will put it aside and let it breathe.

Captured Images (a small collection)

September 27, 2018September 28, 2018 by Brian Sostrom

Collecting high resolution photographs of your art is critical. At the very least it is something worth looking at later to see how your work has changed and hopefully evolved. I frequently fail to capture images of my paintings and it’s a shame to sell work without retaining a digital version.

Over the weekend I did manage to take some photographs of my recent works. These aren’t the highest resolution, I scaled them down for the website.

I was motivated by a deadline, it always seems to take a deadline!

Shipping News

May 19, 2018 by Brian Sostrom

This last week was a good week for me. I mailed off 8 paintings. Work sent to Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Germany!

Selling work through my website and Instagram account (@bsostrom) is fun and satisfying. As an independent artist I am taking on all the promotional responsibility along with negotiating, packing and shipping. Ideally I would just like to spend my time painting but nothing is that simplistic and as an artist you have to hustle and scramble to make ends meet.

Thanks you for your support and interest!

The High and Low

January 30, 2018 by Brian Sostrom

The High and Low 16

I seem to be painting a lot of clouds these days. Giant powerful and full of mood they have always fascinated me so I am simply following my interests. This particular painting is 16″x16″ acrylic / open acrylic painting on cradled board.

As a painter I am striving to paint work that feels unique and new with a fresh vibrant use of color and mark making. The goal is a bit like shooting at the moon, I realize it is impossible but it doesn’t stop me. This particular painting is simple but encapsulates a lot of what I am striving for.

Shipping work

January 17, 2018 by Brian Sostrom

I am excited to be mailing off more work to Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, California. I have been sending work there for more than a year now and it is nice to have another venue for my paintings.

I am doing a final coat of varnish on these paintings before I ship them to California. I have struggled over the years with the best way to seal my acrylic paintings. Acrylic tends to stick to acrylic so if you do not varnish the work you will end up with a mess at some point! I am currently using Liquitex professional high gloss varnish. So far I am very pleased as it dries quickly and creates a really nice protective layer!