Today we’d like to introduce you to Micayla Brown.
Hi Micayla, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I started drawing first before I took up painting. I was always fascinated with cartoon characters from the tv shows and movies I watched. I thought it was so cool that you could make a character come to life just by drawing it. I wanted to see if I could do the same, so I started drawing what was around me. Once I realized I could also bring something to life, I wanted to get better and learn more. My parents were always supportive of my gift and signed me up for art classes outside of school. Art is therapeutic for me, I not only enjoy creating beauty, but the process to get to the end results is so rewarding. Being an athlete sometimes would overshadow my ability to create, and I would draw less and less. Art whether it’s been at the forefront of my life or taken a back seat, she always finds her way back into my life in some form. It wasn’t until college when after changing my major about three times, I finally stepped into the fine arts department. The adrenaline rush of creativity and talent was so intoxicating from the art building, I was addicted. I dropped out of nursing and became an art major right there. That’s when I first took up painting, and never looked back.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been on and off over the years since I graduated. It’s hard going from being in an environment surrounded by other creative people every day, to essentially not. My now fiancé who is also an artist was a big influence in keeping me going with painting, I fed off of that creativity from him, until I finally didn’t need that motivation and could do it myself. As far as the business side of things, I’m still growing and trying to show off my work more by sharing my talents with others. I have multiple passions, and I’m currently trying to upgrade art in my life from mistress to my main chick ha. It’s hard but not impossible, just like with anything you have to be consistent and disciplined. Everyone has their time, and I’m going to continue to create regardless if it is my time to shine even more than I already am.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love working with oils, the richness of the paint and how the medium combines and blends is mesmerizing. Portraits are my favorite to paint, I enjoy capturing people’s likeness. The eyes say so much for not being able to speak, and that’s what I strive for in my paintings to do, is capture my audience. I create realistic oil paintings majority of them are African American women because I’m African American and why wouldn’t I paint people that look like me. Of course, I paint anyone, especially commission works, and always deliver on execution. But women are strong, and beautiful, and it’s those expressive qualities that I love to capture on the canvas or wood panel. Realistic portraits with hints of graphic design elements to elevate the subject matter. I’m excited to start my next series, because I’m going outside my comfort zone on this one, so stay tuned for that.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
You can’t wait to be inspired; you just have to paint. I’m happier when I’m doing something I love, and one of those things for me happens to be when I’m painting. Don’t worry about what others are doing, yes you can take notes and learn from them, and there’s lots of similarities out there, but that didn’t stop those artists from creating art, so why should it for me.
Contact Info:
- Email: mjbrown_9@yahoo.com
- Instagram: mjbrown_art
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