Gallery 234 presents “Such is Life” an exhibit of ink and watercolor drawings from Cal Brackin. Brackin is a Jackson resident and a graduate student at the University of Wyoming. The exhibit is part of a larger body of work titled “Tom” which is co-created with Ryeon Corsi. The main theme of the exhibit centers around cherishing the memories of family elders.
The modern world is full of artistic inspiration as long as one is open to the possibilities. One’s own family can be a veritable buffet of inspiration, as one artist will share when his show opens today in Gallery 234.
Cal Brackin from Jackson is a graduate student at the University of Wyoming. In his spare time, he creates images of the world around him in a mix of ink and watercolor. Gallery 234 on the lower level of the Wyoming Union will be exhibiting examples of his work from Oct 2-19.
“Such is life” is a presentation of pieces from “Tom,” a book Brackin co-created with Ryeon Corsi. The images depict stories from his grandfather’s life from childhood till now, Brackin said.
“The work I am presenting is personal, but it also conveys the importance of maintaining relationships with wiser generations,” Brackin said in an email. “Their perspectives and reflections on life experiences are necessary and can be disregarded in our fast paced life.”
While most people seek to preserve their family’s stories in photographs, Brackin prefers a lighter, more portable alternative. “I use ink and watercolor mostly because of their mobility,” Brackin said.
“During a five-month trip to South America, I started using the mediums in an illustrated journal,” he said. “Watercolor and ink didn’t take up a lot of room in my backpack, required little set up time, and they put down a solid image.”
“I think that my preference for illustrating realistic scenes helps my art to be relatable,” Brackin said. He describes his art as “cartoony” and believes that the combination allows the audience to “personally connect to what they are looking at, but also connect to the emotion that can be highlighted through illustration.”
Brackin is self-taught, he said, but that does not stop him from creating thoughtful works of art.
“I draw inspiration mostly from real life. I’m constantly sketching in moleskin notebooks that I carry around in my pockets,” Brackin said. “They turn into little journals that reflect my life experiences and provide testing grounds for new illustration methods.”
Finding his passion and sticking with it has made art easier for Brackin. It is what keeps him motivated.
“If the passion isn’t there, other important things like work ethic, self-confidence and developing will suffer,” he said.
“I found my passion when I went traveling with my art. I didn’t have any excuse to not do art, so I did it every day,” Brackin said.
Art is daunting. No one can promise that art will pay and even in the creation of a piece of artwork, there is the possibility that it will fail.
“It is like confronting a void and without a driving passion, it is extremely difficult to jump into something without promise and maintain hope,” Brackin said. “It takes 10 years to become a master and start seeing the fruition of your practice, and without that passion, you won’t make it.”
