Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Morgan Brown.
Emily Morgan, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
As a child, I wasn’t great at school or sports, but I remember always feeling confident with my art. Binders and notebooks were always filled with sketches of my teachers and perspective studies of the walls and ceiling.
I majored in graphic design and art history at Auburn University and went on to work as a designer at an advertising agency. After that, freelance design work slowly led to full-time studio artist. Today, I work out of my bright backyard studio.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I am a charcoal and egg tempera artist. I draw children’s portraits on paper and botanicals on unstretched Belgian linen. The large scale of my botanical work is offset by the muted palette of the linen base, creating a modern take on the ancient art of tapestry. After I photograph the botanical for the composition, I dry the flower and use its ground pigment to make an egg tempera paint for the background of the tapestry. This tempera wash allows the flower to be a literal part of its portrait.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
There is so many things I wish I had known earlier! The best advice I can offer young artists is to keep creating. I believe artists feel the pull to make art long before they find what they are meant to create. This can be frustrating and I’m sure many don’t make it over this hump.
I love how Ira Glass explains this process: “Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you got to know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s going to take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just got to fight your way through.”
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work can be seen person in multiple galleries in the US, as well as one in Australia. An updated representation list can be seen at www.emilymorganbrown.com/bio/. Collectors can follow my latest work and inspiration via Instagram @emilymorganbrown
Contact Info:
- Website: emilymorganbrown.com
- Instagram: @emilymorganbrown
Image Credit:
Joanna Ballentine
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