All works featured are composed and sold by Brandon Bottensek, a Rockford based multimedia artist. Media typically include acrylic, wax pencil, pastel, and Posca on canvas, wood board, or mat board.
A statement from the artist:
I want to make things that make you feel like you did when you first picked up a crayon as a kid. Before someone told you art was a skill- something to hone, sharpen, and kill your confidence with. The things I make are whimsical, impulsive things. Little shards of my joyous fixations made physical by pigment and fiber.
I first learned from the work of impressionists- rebels in a time of suffocating elitism and mastery. I second learned from the street artists and pop artists- those who push boundaries and make art for the diverse people of the modern world. Third, I learned from the folks artists- those who made art without anyone telling them how they should do it. And then everything clicked. I stopped obsessing over proper anatomy, I stopped criticizing my work for its imperfections, and I stopped hating myself. Freedom from the shackles of perfection is a beautiful, infectious thing.
There's a reason I avoid realism. I respect those who enjoy making it- but it feels dishonest for me to create realism. My sense of wonder is not drawn to it. I am drawn to the messiness of this life. The bumps, ridges, and textures that make the back of my scalp tingle. I'm drawn to the things that make me stare. Paintings under paintings, little bits of color or shape that pull the eye places doing their work hidden undernath the bigger picture- the service workers of the composition. Thats where I feel that I can be honest with myself and my art.
Past and scheduled events:
Rockford Stroll On State 2024 (317 Art Collaborative), Rockford Fall ArtScene 2024 (Three Ravens Pottery Studio).