Artist Update - What I'm working on next

Click Here to Share on Facebook

I absolutely love being an artist. It is a dream come true. During the week I work full time for my publisher Framed Legacy, That means that all the artwork that I work on during that time, is owned by Framed Legacy. They own the copyright. Some of my artist friends think that I have sold my soul, but I think it's great. What other artist gets to work from home like me, and still gets a steady paycheck? There is definitely something empowering about a dependable income. The downside to this arrangement is that there are many paintings that I have made, that I can't sell the way that I want to. Much of my artwork is only available mounted and framed.  I get requests all the time for a simple small print but I can't do that because I don't own the copyright and am only able to sell what is manufactured through my publisher. On the upside, this publisher has the potential to reach markets and customers that I can't do on my own. All spring my artwork has been in a traveling Sam's Club roadshow (currently in Las Vegas). In addition, they sell through other stores like Cal Ranch and Bed Bath and Beyond. My artwork can be found in Bed Bath and Beyond stores throughout the West, as far as Southern California, and recently on the East Coast, starting in North Carolina and soon to be in New York. Because of this arrangement, I am constantly working on new artwork, some of which I would choose to do on my own anyway, but some probably not. Currently, I am working on a series of "local" artwork for different stores. I recently completed a series of lighthouses from North Carolina. I am also working on a series of "vintage travel poster" styled images of National Parks for some California stores. My favorite things to paint are those that I spend my time on during the weekend - portraits of Jesus Christ. Needless to say, I am very busy working on many things at once.


I remember once when I was young, my mom called me scatterbrained.  I didn't understand why she thought that, because relatively speaking, I think I really had it all together. I got good grades, I was focused and task driven, and all around pretty grounded, especially for a teenager (of course I am a bit biased in this aspect). The more I thought about it, I think she saw me as "scatterbrained" because I liked to change what I was working on so often. If a tasked interested me enough, I could focus on it for hours (once I started a watercolor painting after school, by the time I put down my brush, I looked out the window and noticed it was dawn, time for me to go back to school), but generally, I would work on one thing for awhile, then change tasks and do a little something different, then go back and finish the first. I was constantly working on many things at once. Although I am far from having A.D.D. (just ask my friends who have it, they thought I was very boring) I did like to turn my attention to other things. My ability to multitask kept me from being bored. I am the same way today.

A few months ago, I did a series of photoshoots, and began quite a few paintings, all at once. The first painting I completed from this group is titled "House of the Lord". In this painting, Jesus Christ stands in the open doorway of the Salt Lake Temple, beckoning you to come inside. The idea of this painting led to another, which I started at the same time, the second painting being called "Prince of Peace".



At the same time, my publisher, Framed Legacy, had an idea for a painting that I began and soon 
completed. We know that Jesus Christ is our "Good Shepherd", but they wanted to portray Him rescuing not just any sheep but a black sheep, to symbolize the fact that Jesus loves us all, even the ones that may be different than our "normal" culture. Because of a difference of opinion during our conceptual art meeting, I ended up created two of these. They can be found HERE.


There are a couple other pictures that I began doing on my own, but I got so excited about doing that I decided to work on them during my "Framed Legacy" time (and in so doing gave the copyright to them). The first one came to me when I was remembering an old painting called "Grace" that used to be hanging in my grandfather's house, I wanted to create my own version, I called it "Daily Bread" - It can be found HERE.  


The second painting is titled "Forgiveness". I wrote a blog post about this painting already HERE. 


I am always receiving messages from people about ideas for potential paintings.  Just, a few days ago, I was outside mowing my lawn, and a complete stranger saw me and stopped to tell me about an idea for a painting that he would like to see done. I told him what I always tell people: "Because of my commitments to my publisher, I don't have a lot of free time to pursue as much as I would want to do, but I will definitely file it away in my brain, and who knows, it could turn into a great painting in the future." Unfortunately I am just unable to paint everything that I would like to, but sometimes I can! I mention this because I am proud to say that I recently completed a painting that was requested by a fan through my Facebook page almost two years ago! This new painting is titled "Come, Follow Me"



So What's Next?

I mentioned earlier that I started a whole series of pictures, all at once. I have the rough, early stages of quite a few paintings in my studio. I have plans of a painting of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, one of the Crucifixion, and I'm very nearly complete with two new portraits. One of my favorites that I am working on I actually began back in 2011. The Book of Mormon account of the Tree of Life as seen in Lehi's Dream was always something that I have wanted to create for myself. I have especially enjoyed designing the Great and Spacious Building! I have recently altered my original plans and I have now added Jesus Christ as the focal point, Standing under the Tree of Life holding it's fruit, inviting us to come and partake. 

I jump around a lot in my endeavors. I will probably begin and finish many paintings before I have everything done that I am currently working on, but I'm having fun doing it! If you have any great ideas, let me know! I can't guarantee anything, but I will "file it away in my brain" and maybe pull that idea out in the future. I'm excited for the future. I see great things in store.

To see available artwork by Brent Borup, please visit: www.brentborupstudio.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What did Jesus Really Look Like? (and why does it matter?)

Image
Click Here to Share on Facebook All my life I have known that I wanted to be an artist. I have had many jobs in the art industry using my talents, but I always felt that I was not truly living up to my potential. It wasn't until I began painting pictures of Jesus Christ that I could see my talents really making a difference in the world, one life at a time. I realize that seeing a picture will not usually cause some great life changing miracle, but it can help one feel the spirit. Art can bring you peace and remind you of our Savior. A mere picture of Jesus Christ can remind you of His life and everything that He has done for us. Although we do not worship the image, it can still help us to visualize the real man. It can help us to better see Him as a real person, who really lived on this earth, and who still exists as our Savior today. If my artwork can help somebody understand that Jesus Christ is real and is waiting for us to follow His teachings, then I am blesse
Read more

Living with God - Before We Were Born

Image
A few months ago,  I wrote the following post on my  FaceBook page . The idea was a simple one. I wanted to remind people that since we all accepted Jesus Christ before we came to this earth, then sharing our belief in Him shouldn't be a hard thing to do. The response to this post was overwhelmingly positive, however, there were some replies that took me by surprise (examples shown).     I believe in the idea of a pre-mortal life. Although there are plenty of scriptural references to back up this fact, I am not writing this blog post to debate, or even to prove, but simply to present information that I know to be true. I share with you my testimony of important, life changing stuff here!  Many people do not know where they came from, and because of that fact, they don't know their own potential. You are a child of God! The seeds of divinity are within you! We existed before we were born. As spirits, we lived with our Father in Heaven. God presented us with a
Read more

Artist Update - Summer 2016

Image
A lot has happened the past few months. First, I lost my job. To fill you in, I had been painting pictures full time for a publisher out of Boise. They decided to do some major restructuring, which meant some major downsizing, which means that I no longer have a steady source of income. That is a very scary thing for a husband and father, sole provider of my family. What is even scarier is what we have decided to do about it. Nothing. Well, not nothing, but not finding another job either. We decided to take this 'setback' as an opportunity, and pursue my dream of becoming a full time, self employed artist. My wife and I have wrestled with this decision for many months, and we still wrestle with the outcomes (or lack thereof) that we are seeing daily, because frankly, I'm not sure just how we are going to make it, but I'm sure we are ... Why? because this is what we felt we should do. I believe in prayer. I believe in personal revelation. I believe that God is mind
Read more