Brady Starr is a paradox in that the more you get to know him the more mysterious he becomes. As an artist, his process is more about discovery than it is about personal expression. When he speaks of his work he’s often as unsure of its content as anyone. It’s as if his art is a separate entity that he channels, curates, and then spends months, even years trying to decipher. He speaks of it as if it had a mind of its own and he is as much a spectator as anyone. To say that he was possessed may inadvertently conjure images of cult horror movies but those close to him have used this very descriptor to describe his process. His relationship with his work could be construed as unsettling due to the abstract and dark nature of it but truly the man and the art are both enigmatic. There is a humanity behind the darkness that is unexpected and immediately connects the viewer to it. I’ve yet to personally witness any apparent darkness while in his presence but surely it must be there waiting patiently for Brady to apply paint to canvas and give it shape.
Brady Starr hails from a family that seems to have been painting for so many generations they could make a case for exploring the possibility of an oil painting gene. He speaks fondly of his mother, her impeccable taste, and her exceptional abilities as a painter. He has painted his brother his entire life. I get the sense that family is important to him though he only ever spoke to me about them in the context of his art. Any attempt to probe further was skillfully evaded. In fact, if his paintings are truly channeled from either the subconscious or from somewhere outside of himself, the personal expression that Brady is most skilled at is the crafting of his personal narrative in such a way to continually inspire curiosity.
Brady studied at The Schuler School under, Ann Schuler, widely considered one of the last American masters. He told me that she still speaks to him when he paints. He suggested that we also do a story on the school. Besides what I’ve already told you Brady didn’t reveal much else. We had a thoroughly engaging conversation that lasted for hours and mostly what I’m left with are his own words which represent him better than I could ever hope to.
“I draw as a compulsion. I have to draw and I don’t know why.”
“I over work things to a point, sometimes, where I don’t like them and it’s really sad because at one point it was such a great painting and this is one of them. I had my father cut it without giving him instruction and made a show out of it. I sold a few pieces.”
Pet
“I try really hard not to make it dark and I think that makes it even darker. It is scary sometimes and when I’m painting these things, occasionally they scare the fuck out of me which is even stranger. I’ll obsess over it at night. It just means something personal that’s scary to me and I don’t know why because I never plan my paintings. Sometimes I’ll try to plan not to be scary I’ll paint a happy face. I’ve gone as far as painting as many happy faces as I could and people tell me that’s my creepiest piece.”
“I don’t think my art reflects much about me in particular. A lot of artists plan what they’re going to make and make pieces to express the feeling that they have. I’m kind of the opposite, I like to not think. The way I start a painting, I have to get frustrated about not have any ideas and just take a brush to the canvas and say this is where it starts. And then, it builds itself.”
“Any art you encounter becomes an influence.” -Brady Starr
