Travis Braun does not remember a time when he wasn’t interested in drawing and creating art. A creator of surrealistic contemporary music posters, mixed media portraits, and mixed media abstract art, Travis graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Brigham Young University. “I did learn and grow a lot during my time there; however, I feel like I really came into my own style and perfected my craftsmanship in the years following graduation,” he recalls. “So, I guess I would consider myself both formally educated as well as self-taught.”
Travis says music has always been a huge influence in his life. “Back when I was in middle school, I started a band with my best friend, and we called ourselves Star Larva; rock stars in our larva stage… or so we thought,” he says. “We played a lot of school dances and other small gigs around the community, including a show in the parking lot of a Dairy Queen. After a year or two of playing some shows, we eventually booked a handful of gigs at bars around the Twin Cities. Our senior year of high school we even recorded a six song EP at a local recording studio, but that was the height of me fulfilling my rockstar dreams.”
Ten years post his band days, Radiohead released The King of Limbs, and Travis decided to purchase the special newspaper edition. “The day it arrived, I sat down for over two hours to read the newspaper and enjoy the artwork while re-listening to the album,” he recalls. “That was the first time in a long time that I felt a tangible connection between art and music. Since that day I have been striving to reconnect art and music in my life through reinventing the rock poster.”
Two of the biggest influences in Travis’ life have been rock ‘n’ roll and spirituality, which he believes, in a lot of ways, are opposing forces. He explains: “Rock ‘n’ roll preaches sex and drugs, and religion preaches abstinence from both. “Throughout my life I’ve felt as though I didn’t belong in either place and have been torn between these two worlds. But I’ve been unwilling to give either one up because they both greatly enrich and beautify my life.”
He remembers going to rock concerts and not feeling like he was a part of that “rock” family. “So many around me would be indulging in smoking, drinking and drugs, which I never did and still haven’t even to this day. Then on Sundays as I’m sitting in church, I also didn’t feel like a completely accepted member of this religious family because I loved the ‘devil’s’ music.” Today, Travis uses his art to highlight the spirituality he sees in rock ‘n’ roll and the rebellion he sees in religion. “I also strive to use my art as a way to personally connect these two sides of me and find peace in having one foot in both worlds.”
Tavis says he really loves mixed media and the process of using a variety of art tools. In almost all of his work, he has parts that are painted and parts that are drawn. He also frequently uses collage in photographic textures for his music posters.
“In the beginning I usually start out with expressionistic abstract texture paintings that I do in acrylic, watercolor, and /or tempera. Then I scan those and layer them in Photoshop. After that I either make a print and draw directly on the abstract print or I scan in my drawings and layer those over the top of my abstract backgrounds,” he says. “It depends on if I’m doing my music posters or a portrait. Most of my drawings are done in pen and ink because I like the boldness of the lines.”
Travis is also inspired and influence by graphic novels and manga. He adds that teaching also inspires him to stay creatively active. “I teach a variety of painting and drawing classes at a high school. Being in the classroom around budding artists is really inspiring to me and helps me stay motivated and creatively curious in my own work. And actually, part of my abstract painting process was developed around a lesson plan I created for my curriculum.”
He is also finds inspiration from other artists such as Pat Perry and Philip Burke. “Salvador Dali has to be my favorite artist of all time. Not only is his craftsmanship so precise but his ideas, creativity and imagination are completely unmatched in my opinion. Kentaro Miura, Katsuhiro Otomo & Inio Asano are the masters of manga. Their line work is so exquisite, and their stories are captivating.”
Travis is in the process of writing a graphic novel, which is 90% finished he says. “Because this is the first book I’ve ever written, I’m kind of going into it blindly, which is both scary and exciting. As of right now it looks like this story will probably be 300 – 400 pages. I’m definitely in it for the long haul since I’m doing everything myself.” Parallel to his work on his graphic novel, Travis completed a 3,400-word poem. “It has a kind of edgy Dr Seuss feel, mixed with some potty humor. By the end of summer, I should be illustrating the panels. I’m hoping that by starting with this smaller comic book, I’ll learn a lot of things to improve my larger graphic novel.”
Check out more of Travis’ work at tbraunstudio.com and follow him on Instagram at @tbraunstuido.
