Introducing the Wild Things GreenJacket LE
Astral is proud to present the latest GreenJacket LE in collaboration with world-renowned whitewater kayaker, Nouria Newman, and painter, illustrator and muralist, Bret Brown.
ASTRAL
You’re known as painter / illustrator / muralist. How would you describe your art? (to someone who’s never heard of you)
BRET BROWN (BB)
My art has many faces to it. I’m trained as a painter and would say abstract expressionism is a primary mode of creativity. However, I also work in multiple mediums (assemblage, woodcuts, illustration, photography, photo-transfer). My paintings are loose, and often start from a spontaneous place, and then refined as it works towards being finished. On the other hand, my illustrations are more controlled, planned for, and intentional. The illustrations are intended to tell stories that are often personal in nature but also capture systemic and organizational themes.
ASTRAL
How’d you get started making art?
BB
I’ve been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. However, it wasn’t until middle and high school that I began to take it more seriously. I had a few influential teachers early on that inspired and motivated me to make art. Behind the training, I’d say my creativity came from a calling to express something beyond my understanding at the time. When you’re young the well of creativity is often less covered up and armored. So, in a sense it started from that place and was ultimately used as a way to protect myself and emotionally survive my environment.
ASTRAL
What are the ingredients that make good art?
BB
When I look at a piece of work I want to feel something. If I feel something, regardless of what that is, then it has potential to be good art (IMO). Aesthetics can make us feel but so can story or intent or concept or the energy that the artist puts into the work.
ASTRAL
Word on the street is that you rip on a surfboard. When’s the last time you were out in the water?
BB
Haha! Word on the street is way wrong! No ripping going on around here! But, I grew up near the ocean and have relied heavily on it for play, connection, and joy. The ocean has been central in helping me move through developmental stages in my life. I’ve grown up and aged with the ocean by my side. So whether I’m in the water, or just running down to the beach to check the surf, it’s a beautiful constant.
ASTRAL
What style waves do you prefer or dream of most?
BB
Uncrowded Rincon. Key word is uncrowded. I prefer mediocre waves with nobody out to an epic Rincon with 200 other surfers in the water.
ASTRAL
Favorite board in the quiver at the moment?
BB
5’4” mini simmons twin keel fin shaped by local shaper Nathan Doles. I’ve had the board for a long time and it’s still my favorite for anything knee high to a couple feet overhead.
ASTRAL
How does your time in the ocean, lineup and surfing influence your artwork?
BB
Time in the ocean is centering. The smells, sights, sounds, etc. It’s such a sensory experience when you’re sitting in the lineup. Then there’s the anticipatory feelings when a set roles through and the momentary mindful/flow states that arise when you’re on the wave. It’s an incredible experience that has influenced damn near every part of my being. So, subsequently it influences my art whether that’s painting or illustration. But it more influences the process, not the content of my work.
ASTRAL
What was appealing about working on a project with Astral and Nouria Newman?
BB
I love Astral and everything Astral is about. Philip has been a big supporter of my work over the years and I appreciate the relationship and connection I have to him and the brand. So, when he hit me up with this project it was a no brainer that I was in. Especially once Nouria’s vision was pitched. I’m all about supporting that call to the wild, to the unknown, to the scary depths and to be a part of a project with Astral and Nouria that spoke to that was perfect.
ASTRAL
The final artwork features some wild looking monsters. But monsters aren’t new to your art. What’s your connection to monsters? And are you scared of monsters? Or do you like them?
BB
The monsters didn’t emerge from my work until my daughter was a toddler (She’s 13 now). She would join me in the studio and we’d get messy together mixing paints and doing our best Jackson Pollock impersonations. Then through the spontaneous process of creating with her the monsters were born. The original intent was to create playful and curious creatures. That’s since evolved to include a wider spectrum of emotions, creatures, and expressions. Ultimately though, I like them. I find them wild yet comforting.
ASTRAL
This LE is a collab between a surfer / artist, a whitewater kayaker and a brand that makes life jackets and footwear. What can the world learn from a project like this about pushing the limits of traditional thinking, the pursuit of flow state and creativity?
BB
Great question. My hope is that folks feel inspired by the project, and see the LE collab as a symbolic expression of returning. A returning to our human experience. That inside each of us is a scary, wild, unpredictable calling that deserves being listened to.
