Husky Brown spray paints on shed in South France, 2010
In Britain London and New York
With a catalogue of fine art masterpieces under his belt and a number of detailed collections that capture both the beauty and vanity of the urban streets of England
“The depth of this artist's exquisite talent becomes even more apparent once one learns that he is completely self taught. Unlike many contemporary artists; Husky did not attend an Art College
When questioned about the origins of his talent, and the inspirations behind his work, Husky replied; “Sometimes you have to find your gift; mine is art and I’m very grateful for that, I’m in a good place. I never went to Art College or University to study art; I finished secondary education in Wolverhampton with a GCSE ‘B’ grade in art. I’m a self-taught craftsman and an enthusiast for knowledge. My thirst for painting stems from my favourite artists; the inspired works of Salvador Dali, Harvey Dinnerstein, and Dave Pinnock to name a few. When I paint complex figurative compositions and portraits, detail is everything and I like to challenge myself to follow these masters with my paints.”
“When I began creating portraits of icons such as Notorious B.I.G and Marlin Monroe; I knew that I was on the right track. Those portraits made a big impact in 2006, at that point I grew more confident and people began to understand how serious I am about my work. Critics started to take notice, and for the first time there was a demand for my work to be exibhited globally.”
Speaking with great affection, Husky went on to describe how his passion for and connection with art began at a very young age. " I was raised in a strong, traditional Jamaican family household; whereby music was a way of life for a young boy trying to stay out of trouble. My dad is a reggae DJ and has been since way back in the early sixties; mixing original blues, Ska and Dub. The house was full of records. I used to watch my older brother Spiritual, practice sketching and copying cartoon figures from the record covers on the Green sleeves label. It was access to this sort of music that first opened my eyes to art.”
“ The record sleeves were so distinctive back then, especially for an independent record label from London
“I saw artwork in everything back then ; from record sleeves to memorabilia, including those from seventies P-Funk and the Psychedelic movement. I was completely overwhelmed by the beauty of it all; the sounds of the futurism and fantasy all unified towards free expression art.
Pedro Bell’s numerous artworks for George Clinton really opened by eyes and served as the final step for me; the call for me to embrace my love for and talent with art. I then began to evolve into the devoted artist I am today."
It became clear that Pedro Bell's work, the plight of the Artiste, and Black History are all topics close to Husky's heart, he continued: "I became completely inspired. Pedro wrote the albums’ liner notes, peppering them with cartoonish drawings, clever puns and names like “Thumpasaurus” and “Funkapus” that remain synonymous with Clinton Douglas 's powerful visuals helped define the trademark visual style of the group's newspapers, posters, and pamphlets; all of these things had a huge impact upon my interpretation of art, and served to boost my motivation to do well in art and in life.”
However, things have not always gone so well for Husky. Far from coming from the well-off background boasted by many artistes; Brown came from a council estate in Wolverhampton . His parents worked hard to provide for their family, but things were far from easy for the young artist. He admits that his early circumstances lead him to make mistakes; getting mixed up with a bad crowd in the eighties; husky experienced novel worthy excitement and danger. He is the first to speak about his experiences of being in a gang, and his efforts to leave that life behind, now merely drawing upon those experiences for inspiration. His secondary school report referred to Husky as 'lacking concentration in lessons', yet despite all of this, he left his school with excellent grades.
When reflecting upon that time of his life, Husky commented: “Debates of World War 1 in the classroom with a teacher who needed to take early retirement are my educational nightmares; a pain to my consciousness! Maths lessons without any girl’s were a sinful occurrence and we never had the internet to challenge algebra. Within today’s education system students with these traits would have probably been given a red card with the words ’Attention Deficit Disorder' written in bold. Another vehicle for oppression. He’s Clearly passionate about his motivations, Husky continued: The simplicity of Art is silent and deadly if you are a person who is not ready for confrontation; I wanted to create art that was equally as powerful and influential . Art that speaks to people."
From the age of sixteen Husky spent four years working as a trainee print finisher for Morse & Co, before receiving redundancy. He described how, whilst this bump in the road really affected his confidence, his belief in and love for his art helped him to get through difficult times. “I learnt so much from the manger Richard Morse, he took me under his wing and taught me different graphic design techniques and illustration. I became a master of the computer art world, I watched computer art genus Sarah Snow create magic on the computer. I was desperate to get more involved in the creative art side of the business; however at that age I wasn’t ready for the pressure involved in that role. Those moments changed the rest of my life for the better. I continued experimenting with the computer and perfected my use of the mouse as if it were a spray can or a brush. I started to ask the right questions, and I perfected the use of pantone colours”.
When probed for more insight into this brilliant artistic brain; Husky spoke passionately about those artists that had inspired him. Completely enthused, he continued: “we are visual poets; painters of stories and, visionaries interpreting thoughts for the conscious being. Since the times of Leonardo da Vinci, and the Pre-Raphaelite artiste, today’s work has become still from those who lack substance. Art is being explored in so many ways with new mediums acceptable to the cosmopolitan collector. Only a few main artistes will paint to make a difference, maybe the reason why people say I’m from a fraternity of social activists”.
Recently Husky's work has evolved further, as this amazing Artiste continues to derive inspiration from his Birmingham Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
This quirky but mysterious artist found within those walls, the seeds that grew into his most recent collection; capturing some of his most inspired work yet. The controversial works of this young black Artiste are now received well by the public; nonetheless, Husky described how frustration would often get the better of him and cause him to question his work. He doubted that his individual style was worthy of the high caliber expectations of perfection required by Art collectors; and wealthy socialites with a very good eye for art.
He said; “I knew these artistes ( John Everett Millais, Rossetti, Monet, and Turner) were serious and they changed everything, the usage of their painter’s pallet gloriously boasts the richness of oil paints in each piece, they motivated me; I needed to get away from the traditionalist graffiti street writer I was and begin to explore a new age of Graffiti”.
Husky created his own distinctive identity by calling his personal style: Bohemian Graffiti – through which Graffiti interacts with Fine Art. Within a year his Bohemian art style collection echoed around the world. It reached millions online; and sold out in his recent exhibition in New York US
From the age of sixteen Husky spent four years working as a trainee print finisher for Morse & Co, before receiving redundancy. He described how, whilst this bump in the road really affected his confidence, his belief in and love for his art helped him to get through difficult times. “I learnt so much from the manger Richard Morse, he took me under his wing and taught me different graphic design techniques and illustration. I became a master of the computer art world, I watched computer art genus Sarah Snow create magic on the computer. I was desperate to get more involved in the creative art side of the business; however at that age I wasn’t ready for the pressure involved in that role. Those moments changed the rest of my life for the better. I continued experimenting with the computer and perfected my use of the mouse as if it were a spray can or a brush. I started to ask the right questions, and I perfected the use of pantone colours”.
When probed for more insight into this brilliant artistic brain; Husky spoke passionately about those artists that had inspired him. Completely enthused, he continued: “we are visual poets; painters of stories and, visionaries interpreting thoughts for the conscious being. Since the times of Leonardo da Vinci, and the Pre-Raphaelite artiste, today’s work has become still from those who lack substance. Art is being explored in so many ways with new mediums acceptable to the cosmopolitan collector. Only a few main artistes will paint to make a difference, maybe the reason why people say I’m from a fraternity of social activists”.
Recently Husky's work has evolved further, as this amazing Artiste continues to derive inspiration from his Birmingham Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
This quirky but mysterious artist found within those walls, the seeds that grew into his most recent collection; capturing some of his most inspired work yet. The controversial works of this young black Artiste are now received well by the public; nonetheless, Husky described how frustration would often get the better of him and cause him to question his work. He doubted that his individual style was worthy of the high caliber expectations of perfection required by Art collectors; and wealthy socialites with a very good eye for art.
He said; “I knew these artistes ( John Everett Millais, Rossetti, Monet, and Turner) were serious and they changed everything, the usage of their painter’s pallet gloriously boasts the richness of oil paints in each piece, they motivated me; I needed to get away from the traditionalist graffiti street writer I was and begin to explore a new age of Graffiti”.
Husky created his own distinctive identity by calling his personal style: Bohemian Graffiti – through which Graffiti interacts with Fine Art. Within a year his Bohemian art style collection echoed around the world. It reached millions online; and sold out in his recent exhibition in New York US
Nonetheless; Husky remains humble and true to his origins. In his effort to make a difference, Husky Brown has donated some of his previous collections to charity for the organization Invisible Children – A charity created in 2003 to campaign against and help children being used as weapons. Husky explained how Stories of young girls abused and children captured and torched into child solders of war in Northern Uganda inspired him to do something constructive.
His contribution did not get unnoticed as his paintings have were very influential and helped to raise over $1.2 million, as part of the Schools for Schools innovative program. In addition to this Husky has also provided numerous Art workshops to children in suburban schools and libraries. His mission; to touch, inspire and effect a positive change upon the minds of young people.
Recently Husky appeared on the television advert for the 2010 Red Bull Urban Arts Award to be held in Europe, and will be appearing on the Daniela Joseph Graffiti Documentary Street Kings; A featured film featuring work from Husky, Banksy, D*Face, Sheppard Farley, Blu and others. An auto -biography is also rumoured to be on the horizon for Husky. A much awaited insight into the difficult and interesting experiences that served to create the magnificent Artiste he is today. Husky Brown is, without doubt, a truly natural talent; a devoted and gifted Painter and Illustrator of Graffiti fine art; he is definitely one to be watched.
Written By Naomi Spencer
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