My Story.
"Art lights the way down any dark path I've had to walk through in life." - Brette
“ I work in the dark cause the work is light.”
- Frank Ocean
bloom where you are planted.
Hey, I'm Brette ~ author of #colorforacause: a STUK Coloring Book. Why should you choose to buy my art or join my community? I am unique as an artist, because of my story. I grew up in Oakland, where I attended a tiny all girls high school & inevitably became a community oriented womanist and socially conscious self love advocate. I had my first art show in high school, when I was 17 & sold the entire collection!
I continued art at Loyola Marymount University & had to break away from my classical training to develop my own style as an artist.
Seems like a great story right?
Well, any seemingly great story comes with some struggle. I come from a family who never fully supported me as an artist or as a person. I was never allowed the space to be my true self. I was always in trouble for just being myself. My family externally pretended to support me. They were nice to me in front of others, but at home was another story. So, I had to learn how to love myself instead. I used art as an outlet.
My household was full of yelling and discord. I ended up having to tell my mom at the age of 10 that my father was being unfaithful to her.
Thus, I've dealt with pretty debilitating anxiety and sometimes depression, most of my life. It began when I was about 12 & returned again many times.
It has caused many health issues & setbacks in my life. But at the same time anxiety appeared in my life, I also found that art uplifted it.
Many times I've come so close to just giving up on my purpose. There have been many days when I could not get out of bed, or could not find the fuel to push forward. But art get's me up. Art has always been the antidote. Art has turned my life around, at times when I thought there was no road back to joy."
If you have anxiety or know anyone who struggles with it, then you know it is a lifelong struggle, and to move through it, you must find something you love. Art is my love. In my work, I am drawn to illumination in darkness. The deepest growth happens when you learn how to glow in the dark. In my work, I depict the moon, as a symbol of light surrounded by darkness.
I depict flowers, as symbols of growth and presence. Flowers teach us how to STAY in the present moment.
I feel like every human being (just like the moon and flowers) needs a heavy dose of both light and darkness to find beauty and bliss. We then need presence and self love to maintain that bliss.
I have overcome almost debilitating emotional abuse and a near death experience through the power of self love and art.
To heal myself from anxiety I studied post grad at East Bay Meditation Center & Agape University; of Transformational Studies, Metaphysics & Leadership. I had to look deep into my own darkness; family dysfunction, personal triggers and heartbreaks, to sustain a feeling of lightness, because the only way out is through. Most of all I had to learn to love myself through the pain. Art is my form of self love. Through facing my pain in each period of anxiety in my life, I have emerged with more light and have become a stronger artist. I now have a unique style in which I am blessed to teach and uplift others. Let's connect, work together and add love, magic, growth, and presence to your frequency.
Love, Brette
Your mind is like a garden.
tend to it.
Listen to my story.
There are no ordinary moments. bloom where you are planted.
