Colour and Form, Work and Play: A Conversation With Beth Bruninga.

Below, Beth Bruninga reveals in conversation where the vivacity and inspiration for her paintings emerge from. On her colourful canvases, you can find abstract compositions reminiscent of children's building blocks. The shapes bring a playful nostalgia exacerbated by the sunny and bright energy emitted through Bruninga’s vivid colour use. We begin by digging into Bruninga’s roots and investigating where these shapes and colours find their origins.

How did you get to your current artistic practice?

'It all started with doing small commissions for friends. These then grew to larger scale canvases. Then I met my art mentor who showed me the ropes of muraling. After that I realized the possibilities with art are endless, and it doesn’t matter that I’m young or a female. I can create anything.'

What is your art concerned with? What do you want to express?

After doing art full-time for a year, I have learned that the reasons behind my art will always be changing. At the present moment, it is concerned with balance and feeling. I want people to feel emotion when they look at my art, whether that’s joy, curiosity or heaviness.

You have described the concept at the core of your practice as finding balance with colour and form, which is beautiful. What is this life-balance to you?

Balance comes in many different forms. Right now, it comes in the form of balancing the masculine and feminine. It also comes up with balancing work and play. Especially, as an artist, it is important to decompress and clear any blockages hindering creative flow.

On the topic of work and play, some of your works are done as a 'live painting'. What is this experience like as an artist? How does painting in front of an audience affect you and your paintings?

I like this question. At first, the idea of live painting intimidated me. I was so used to painting in the studio with maybe one or two people.

But after my first live painting with IIDA Southwest, I fell in love with it. I loved the performance of it. And I found that people love to watch the artist’s creative process. It is truly special to have an audience of people witnessing ideas flow from my mind to the canvas, live. I believe this helps me fall deeper into the flow of creating.

At the end of this month I will have completed my 8th live painting performance. I look forward to doing more!

Who or what influenced you? What continues to influence you?

I love music. I am heavily inspired by 90’s culture and music. I specifically love Tame Impala, a psychedelic rock artist from Australia. Basquiat is also a massive inspiration for me; I admire the way he expressed himself.

You have been working on large scale installations and murals, what are you working on at present? Are there any future projects we can look forward to?

I am currently planning a large-scale sculptural piece that I will be painting live at an event in Phoenix, AZ, for the company Plant, Body, Soul. I am very excited for this one, I haven’t done anything like it before.

I will have some murals coming up in the future as well to look forward to!

Beth Bruninga is currently located in Tempe, Arizona. She continues on her path, creating art representing the dichotomies in life: work vs play, masculine vs feminine, and more. Her upcoming pieces, “Boy” and “Girl”, are brought together to create balance and harmony through colour and form. They are displayed at Ren Square in Phoenix, Arizona, through September 2022.

ARTE GLOBALE has recently showcased the solo show 'Balancing Emotions', which features Beth Bruninga's latest paintings. You can follow Beth Bruninga and ARTE GLOBALE on Artsy for more updates and information about Bruninga’s art.