During college, Bryn found herself deciding between a Psychology or Fine Arts Major. “Taking my first painting class revealed a patience I didn’t know I contained. After that, I spent all my time in the Fine Arts department to the detriment of all other subjects, including Psych 101. Psychology remains my muse and my subconscious inspires my paintings,” reflects Bryn, whose vibrant, acrylic on canvas compositions explore the relationship between our physical selves/bodies/identities and our inner invisible spirit/soul realm. “I explore how these two are in conflict or how they align. Mainly, my paintings have dealt with my own ambivalence of how to be a body? How to be a woman? How to have a physical form that projects and acts in authentic alignment to my spirit?” By painting female figures in fashion in varying degrees of abstraction, the artist explores her own inner wrestling in visual terms. Working out of her studio in Long Island City, Bryn’s current challenge is allowing herself guilt-free time to be non-productive. “To give myself time, space and freedom to NOT create in order to have something to create from,” is how Bryn breaks it down. “My societal conditioned belief that tangible productivity equates success and worth is a constant battle to fight. ‘Inner work’ has become integral to my creative process. Learning to give equal time to the yin and yang of the creative process feels revolutionary. As does deeming the unseen meaningful.” At the moment, Bryn is preparing for a show in Brussels, working on a new series of paintings involving ample experimentation with color and form. “I’ve been painting small format in order to build up to painting large format. Painting large is definitely where I feel I’m at my highest potential.” She’s likewise stepping away from fashion as façade and working more with (female) figures in landscapes, circling back to a notion she terms “fantastical feminine landscape,” which was her focus in 2003. “I’m excited to see where it leads!”
Follow her on Instagram @brynmc