Brooke Borcherding is a Seattle-based contemporary landscape painter. “I’m a full-time artist working out of Wallingford, known for ubiquitously showing my bold and colorful acrylic paintings that depict familiar places all around the Seattle area.” Learn about Brooke Borcherding…
Follow at: @brookeborcherdingfineart
Hometown: Santa Monica, California
First job: A barista at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
Favorite ways to spend your free time in WA: I enjoy getting outside anytime the sun peeks out and taking walks.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: I’m incredibly thankful that in 2014, I created a series of experimental “deconstructed” landscape paintings that my gallery and the public very well received. This positive reception gave me the confidence to continue exploring broken blocks of color in my artwork. Although my painting style has evolved over the years, it has become my signature voice, and people still recognize my work ten years later. If I hadn’t taken that initial step into a more abstract landscape, I wouldn’t have been able to transition from being a part-time to a full-time artist (I’m now in my ninth year!). It feels great to say that I was able to quit my job as a barista and leave the food service industry behind to pursue a career in painting full-time.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: A year-long clinical depression episode and being diagnosed with bipolar two mood disorder. It was a huge dip in my life to come back from, and it required patience to find the proper medication and requires continual mental maintenance.
Someone who inspires you and why: Teachers; they have the organizational ability to give out digestible amounts of information that others can use and harness in their own ways.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: To turn your 2-D art into a business, you might consider teaching, or you can be highly self-motivated (to an extent obsessive) and have a unique “product” – a type of artwork that sets you apart and has mass appeal. Be prolific, and once you have a voice that gets a good reaction from other people, put it out there in as many highly trafficked areas as possible.
Favorite quote: “I love that for you.” ––James Charles
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: It’s not much of a secret anymore, but if you’re a stranger, you might be surprised to find out I’m a world-ranked competitive pinball player. I also play in a Monday night league with more than 300 other pinballers in Seattle.
What makes someone fabulous: A person who exudes a unique sparkle or possesses a passion that can be absorbed and felt without a doubt.