Meet Shayne Brantley | Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shayne Brantley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shayne, how do you think about risk?
Without risk there is no point; risk is the only thing we really have going for us to build experience and develop technique in life and career.

“Security is mostly a superstition; avoiding danger (risk, if you like) in the long-run is no safer than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing”, and that’s Helen Keller. Risk works.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally? Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Nothing is easy, especially overcoming challenges. I’ve always felt my art is fairly straightforward. It is neither ironic nor satirical. What I like to produce are pieces that are open and ethereal.

My technique is paint, pencil or ink deployed on metal, wood, canvas or paper and is almost sculptural in application; building up surfaces of different color and texture, then scraping back through them. The rendered images can be compliments or casualties of this process and are related to everything else by the relationships the viewers divine. Nonetheless, the building and scraping back through the layers during the process is a strategy and usually yields pleasingly unanticipated results. If not, more building and scraping and drawing. Eventually, the pieces find me where I find them.

The Residency at the Skowhegan School in Maine really provided the inspiration to go big. The paintings are ambitious in scale, “Popcorn as Asteroid” is 96” x 86” and “Chick” is 60” x 60”, both are in private collections in Houston. However, a recent piece, “Teacup” is 12” x 24”, paint on metal and more intimate. The drawings on paper are usually 44” x 30” with a few exceptions. Visit shaynebrantley.com for the whole show.

As for lessons learned, a good team is required. This includes logistics, installation and public relations teams that make exhibitions happen and able to be seen. My studio is located on Galveston Island and I love it there, but without a plan and a team my paintings would stay there with me.

That the world would care about a story is always so curious to me, but I have been recognized to possess a peculiar talent that provides me a reason to be and to work and to stay interested in the world. Know my work and you’ll know me. That’s my story.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The Menil Collection campus. It has everything…In addition to the permanent collections housed in a Renzo Piano masterpiece; there are also two permanent installation galleries for the artists Dan Flavin and Cy Twombly (also in a Renzo Piano creation); contemplative spaces (the Rothko Chapel), vast green spaces (also with great public sculpture), earth works, the Drawing Center, excellent bistro, restaurant and bars, and now extraordinary accommodations. To see it all well would take a week.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As an undergraduate in the early 1980s, I told myself to approach pieces without any preconceptions, but this became impossible after a while. I then approached the work with formal aspects being the primary consideration…until about two years in. It was at that point my instructor, Joe Havel, told me to, “Stop composing”.

Since then, I just throw stuff at the work and see what sticks. As a shout out to Samuel Beckett, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Experience tells me it’s true.

Website: https://shaynebrantley.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/shayne.brantley