Roger Dale Brown: Capturing the Essence

Award-winning artist Roger Dale Brown grew up in Tennessee, exploring the woods, creeks and fields around his Nashville home – a passionate observer of every aspect of nature since early childhood. This winter, that passion is on display at the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center with his exhibit Capturing the Essence, a collection of plein air landscapes.

Second & Commerce: Your Tennessee upbringing has obviously influenced your work, but your art career began in a rather nonconventional way when you were living in California.

Roger Dale Brown: I was working at a California LensCrafters and in January of 1994, the Northridge earthquake completely destroyed the store. After everything settled, they transferred me to a LensCrafters in my valley. About a day or two after I started working there, this guy came in who was an artist.

I wasn’t even looking to do art – I drew in high school, but it was not even a thought in my mind. I was always interested, but never pursued it. I talked to him for about an hour, selling him glasses and accessories. At the end of the conversation, he asked if I wanted to come over to his studio and look at some of his work, and if I had anything to show, I could bring it. I had a couple drawings, so I went over there, and at the end of our visit he asked me to come to work for him as his assistant.

I really didn’t have anything to lose at that point. So, I quit my job at LensCrafters and went to work for him. I did a lot of grunt work – cleaning brushes, stuff like that – but every once in a while, he would show me some things. He did mostly faux finishings. After the fifth or sixth job together, we were supposed to meet to give a bid on a mural. He wanted me to go along with him so I could have the experience.

I went, and he never showed up. The designers were there waiting, so I said “you know, I can do this.” I asked what they liked, and they said “we like Monet.” I got up and left them, and went to a bookstore to get a Monet book. I found one, but it was $50 and I couldn’t afford it. On the way in, I had seen some impressionist calendars on a rack. So, I got one of those calendars and brought it back to them. We flipped through it... then I went to an awning store to get a piece of canvas. I pinned it up on the wall of my one-bedroom apartment and used house paint to paint the mural. And they liked it.

The designers liked it, and as a result, I started getting jobs. That’s how I got started back in the art world. By 2002, I switched from faux finishing and murals to full-time gallery work.

S&C: Capturing the Essence is a collection of plein air landscapes. What catches your attention when you are looking for a subject to paint? How do you adapt to the scene's changing conditions?

RDB: I think light, in all its forms, is the biggest inspiration. Strong light, lack of light... it all has its own charms. Part of being an artist is learning how to see. You can draw beauty from all different types of light and subject matter. When I go outside to paint, it’s really to study. Not that I don’t want to get a good painting out of it, but it is to study what is real, what is the truth. Outdoors is a whole different type of lighting... it’s God’s way of lighting. Different weather situations aren’t a bad thing – I’ve painted in the rain before.

I’ve always loved the outdoors. My grandparents were country people; they picked cotton for a living most of their lives and I was always outdoors with them. My whole backyard was woods, and there was a lake, Old Hickory Lake. I spent most of my time running through those woods... all that gave me a deeper appreciation for the outdoors. When I go outside, I’m looking for the truth. I try to copy tones that I’m seeing out there. When I go out and see something that inspires me, I want to keep that thought in my mind, whether the light changes or goes away completely, I still have that memory of that original concept.

S&C: You enjoy a fusion of artistic styles and don’t fall into one specific “ism” or art movement. What is your outlook of representational versus abstract when you approach a subject?

RDB: I approach all my subjects as an abstract. When I look at a scene, I bring it down to its simplest forms, and that is how I start painting. As it goes on, I have options of really tightening down and going more realistic, more impressionistic or a combination of both. One thing I coined early on in my career, because I didn’t really fall into any one style, is “expressive realism.” I use real colors, I like those earthy tones and I do like some brushy work. I adhere to some of the ideas of impressionism and some of the ideas of realism.

The one thing that I hate hearing [from students] is “I just don’t have my own style. I want to develop my style.” All you have to do as an artist is paint. Your style develops as you mature. We all have our own personality, and that is going to come out in your painting. Just like handwriting – you can line up a million people to write the same word, and none of it will look the same. It’s the same in artwork. Your own voice is going to come out... all you have to do is paint and get better.

Brown is a member of many art organizations across the country, and has reached Master Status with the Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society and American Society of Marine Artists. When not traveling to paint or teach, he lives with his artist wife and their dog Rachel in Franklin, Tennessee and teaches in his home-based studio. Roger Dale Brown: is on view in the Crouch Gallery from January 6 to February 26. His , is available for purchase in Seasons: The Museum Store.