but sometimes it still takes a while, you know? As an artist, you don't want to just give the message in your work to a viewer, but you don't want it to be too difficult to figure out either. Finding that balance is key. After I nail down a concept, I can just make. The making is the best, easiest part. 11: I noticed you had a series of illustrations with a Miyaziki theme. Everybody loves Miyazaki, right? JB: Doing the Miyazaki posters was a way for me to recreate the things I loved growing up. Miyazaki has something for everyone, not just anime nuts— heartwarming stories and amazing characters. I wasn't the kid who copied Marvel comics because he loved the characters. In fact I still can't stand cheesy superhero comics. I respect it, but I just don't like it. Since I never did the copying thing like most kids, I thought at 29 it would be good to do my own version of one of the things I liked growing up.
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11: Who is your greatest artistic influence/hero/idol? JB: My grandmother. She graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a masters in watercolor when she was in her mid-'60s. I always thought that was inspiring because it showed that no matter the age of the person, finding what you love and want to do in life is what matters. When she died, I got a bunch of her pastels and watercolor paper. I made sure that every piece I did on that paper was something from way inside of me. I'm sure she would be stoked! Oh, and another major influence was Dragon Ball Z. You have these crazy strong beings from another planet kicking the shit out of these crazy strong mental alien beings who basically have nukes coming out of their fingers or eyeballs. There is so much power there. Maybe my work holds some of that power. 11: What's your experience being an artist in portland? JB: Um, it's awesome because there's a huge community of artists here. Everybody is passionate about something. I mean even crafting, gardening, or cooking. That's also the most difficult thing. We are so saturated with artists that you feel like you go unseen most of the time. I feel like it's