By Julie Osterman
Texas artist Brian Grimm says there are two things that make the difference in any emerging painter’s career: “Hooking on to a good mentor and just working directly from life.” The former graphic designer found his mentor in master wildlife artist Ken Carlson, who critiqued Grimm’s paintings for about a decade until the younger painter took the plunge into full-time fine art in 1999. Since then, Grimm has spent much of his time in the great outdoors—observing, sketching, photographing, and painting wildlife, from longhorns to big cats to buffalo.
Animals have always intrigued the Texas native, who grew up on a farm immersed in nature. “It’s a thrill to come across animals in the wild, and I try to bring that to the painting,” he says. “I want the viewers to imagine themselves there, to share the joy.” Grimm’s goal in each piece is to capture the essence of the animal in its environment, rather than focusing on every hair, every leaf, and every blade of grass. “I’ve heard viewers say, ‘It’s better than a photograph,’” he relates. “When they say that, it means I did my job and they connected with the piece.”
His paintings are on view April 21-May 6 in a group show at Whistle Pik Galleries in Fredericksburg, TX. Grimm is also represented by Legacy Gallery, Jackson, WY.
Featured in “Artists to Watch” April 2006