between a regular dream and this one is talking about something that’s going to happen. I need to pay attention.” In addition to his belief in precognitive dreams, Brian sees dreams as a way to tap into the “collective unconscious,” much like tuning into a specific radio frequency on a dial, and this is possible whether a person has passed or is still alive. “So you always exist within that realm, some part of history, your mind, so that anyone who still remembers you can tap into you that way. My grandmother was very significant in my life, and I’ve had dreams where she was talking to me about something, like a really great life lesson.” So, does he ever paint things from his own dreams? “The funny thing is every now and then I do a painting based on a dream, but those are pretty rare, because physically painting a dream is probably…not probably, it is the hardest art form to potentially ever do. It’s incredibly difficult.” Then the good art history student in him comes out. “It’s also the first form of art. The first paintings, cave paintings, were dream art.” But dreams do find their way into his art, in the form of text. “All of this dream text that I’ve collected from so many people is in the background of these paintings and shows through because that’s how I view the world. Some people say they see God in everything; that’s kind of how I see the collective unconscious. I see that in everything all around me. So that’s what I try to mix into my artwork. A lot of people see my work as being kind of spiritual…I’m not going for that. If you’re tapping into something that’s bigger than yourself, or trying to tap into something that’s bigger than yourself, then that’s bound to happen.” “You travel quite a bit, as is evidenced in your work. Why did you choose Savannah as your home base?” I ask him. “I did go to SCAD, but that was not the reason why I moved to Savannah,” he says right off the bat, referring of course to Savannah College of Art and Design. “I thought about New York, but I’m a Southerner. Ultimately, I like the east coast, but Richmond felt a little too big for me. There are so many aspects of Savannah that were just right. It’s got a big art scene, but it’s a small city. So I can be a big fish here. I have a good life here. I can do whatever I want, paint whatever I want. And thankfully people like it and buy it.” And they do. Recently Brian was commissioned to do two large pieces based on his most recent collection, his “skyline series.”
With enthusiasm, he tells about the excitement of working with a client on commissions. Some members of his clientele have even collaborated on travel pieces with Brian, supplying him with their vacation photos and travel journals (sometimes even their dream journals), and letting him create a piece especially for them, in the style of his own travel-inspired works. Around 160 repeat art collectors own more than one of Brian’s original paintings, and at least 25 collectors own 10 or more of his originals. His art has found a home in over 10 different countries and nearly every state in the U.S. “That gives me plenty of income to live here and travel around the world. I would like to say I could do that in New York, Miami, L.A., but it would be a lot harder. In a way, I would probably have to change my style, which is what a lot of artists do, is to compromise in some way in their artwork, if they solely do artwork as a career.” And apparently Savannah is just a great place to live. “Savannah hit that sweet spot. Great temperature the majority of the year round. The beach is 20 minutes away. I bought a house, in downtown. It’s 110 years old. And it’s about a mile to my gallery.” He laughs, like his good fortune has suddenly just hit him. “That’s great!” he adds. “I can ride my bike here or walk here. I’m basically working in retirement. I live my life in like, ‘working retirement’ mode.” “You said that every city has an emotion and a color scheme,” I remind him. “So, what would you say Savannah’s emotion and color scheme are?” “Oh man. That’s hard. It’s difficult because I live here. It’s much easier to be objective about a place if you don’t live there. To be honest, a light shade of green would be Savannah’s color, and not because of St. Patrick’s Day,” he says with a grin. “It’s because of all the trees,” he clarifies. “That’s why I moved here and still live here, is because of all the parks and the trees in the city. Living in Savannah is the best of both worlds. You’re living in a forest, but you’re also living in the city at the same time. There really is nowhere else that is like that. A few places are close, but not in the aspect of Savannah where every single block you turn you see a tree. That’s pretty awesome.” “And the emotion of Savannah?” “The emotion of Savannah…” he ponders. “Would have to be laidback. There’s a lot of creativity here. And there’s a lot of energy
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