Brian Barnett is a Central Florida artist and designer who specializes in fine line abstract ink and pencil drawings, painting and other mediums. He is also the SO of my high school friend, and though I only know him online, he’s friendly and interesting, and his work is astonishing. I have to share it. After learning about him, follow the links at the end to contact Brian, scope out more of his work, and purchase pieces.
Tell me about your artistic process, from ideation to finished product, including medium / material, schedule, environment, and inspirations tangible and abstract.
The process for my art can take a second or be meticulously planned for weeks months or even years. For example, if I’m working with pens, the process is almost instant. I don’t have a pre-planned route or image I am seeking when I create using the pens; it’s just free and letting the ink flow as it wants to create the images. 
But if I’m working on a sculpture, I may have thought and planned it for months, looking through the bins of mixed media for that certain piece that make it perfect. I don’t have a preferred medium. I tend to draw mostly as it is most accessibleof my mediums at any time. I prefer lately to work with my hands, sculpting or building creations, with my next step being woodcarving and the eventual goal of teaching myself and being able to carve my wife’s face out of wood or sculpt from clay. I’m constantly challenging myself with new mediums.
How do you find buyers—short-term and long-term strategies and venues; do you create art from your own vision and / or commission art?
When it comes to selling my art, it’s just not the goal. 
I do markets and online sales, hang in local galleries. and sometimes I post randoms for sale, but when I found this talent, I didn’t find it for fortune. I found it for sanity. I am always honored to sell a piece. To me, it means that person liked something that came from inside of me enough to spend money on it and hang it in their house. To me, that’s amazing. To me, it means I touched them; they connected with the image or the sculpture. That’s a priceless payday for an artist to see the viewer connect. I have done and am available for commissions—I love to work with a client to reach the perfect piece.
Describe your support system online and IRL—who are your biggest cheerleaders?
Support systems, hmm. That’s an interesting one. I have two support systems online and in real life. Earlier in the interview, I said I found art for my sanity—this is very true. I am a recovered addict and alcoholic for almost 14 years now. I found art as a great filler and escape from life, and the things that make the mind go astray. 
So, when it comes to my support, my art is my release that allows the people who support me to connect to me in a way they wouldn’t have been able to before. If it weren’t for the Orlando art community’s support, and that of my family and friends, I couldn’t have as much joy on this mission of art as I do.
How does your life influence your art and vice versa?
My art influences my life for sure,. My world and the people in it are filled with canvasses and sculptures and the artists that made them. I’m always in the mix of what’s going on in town, and art is truthfully my air. My art is influenced by the past lives I’ve lived, the people I’ve been, and the things I’ve seen n this 47-year mission around the sun. I hide imagery in my linework, with lots of little stories in many of those pieces. I find art a very healthy way to deal with life now and the recovery from the ones I lived.
What do you love most about your creativity?
The thing I love most about my creativity is where it has taken me, the people I’ve met. The things I get to do and be all because I choose to make art, its almost unfair to those that don’t. I found a community of people from all walks of life, and all races and orientations, with one common core bond—ART! These people are my people, and I hope that once you’ve finished this interview, and checked out my art, you’ll also become one of the amazing folks in my circle of life.
Connect with Brian: