Art Hive: Artist of the Month (September): Browan Lollar

September's artist of the month

is Browan Lollar. Stop by Rivertown Coffee Co. and take

a look at the work he has on display.

(Photo by Allison V. Smith)

Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Browan Lollar. Im 26 years of age. I live in hotels all over the place but I keep my stuff in a storage unit in Florence, Alabama. I was born November 19th, 1982 at a hospital in Knoxville Tennessee. I lived in Atlanta for a little while in the 90's. The things I love include music, art of all kinds, movies of all kinds, books of all kinds, and ghost hunters. I'd consider myself a nerd.

What materials do you commonly use in your art?

Lately I've been using India Ink almost exclusively but I like using other things in conjunction with it. I'll use color pencils, Acrylic and oil paint, charcoal and regular pencils. I also love working with collage.

Describe your artistic style and/or approach.

I guess the approach I take depends on what material Im working with and what my ultimate goal for the piece is. India Ink is very forgiving in all the ways you wouldn't expect it to be. If you put it on a gessoed board you can scratch or sand it back down to the gesso. So working with the ink is completely different than working with color pencil. No matter what Im working with I usually start by staring into the empty canvas for at least an hour.

What influences your art?

I'm lucky enough to travel a lot. That has a huge impact on what I put down. I also seem to draw a lot of influence from books and history. Some of my favorite artists include: Byron Wilkes, Daniel Martian Diaz, Salvador Dali, Travis Louie, Michael Page, Kris Lewis, Dada, and Wes Freed.

What do you want the viewer to take away from your art?

I'm not really sure. Lately my paintings are more like rorschach tests than ever. Everybody see something different, including me. It would be a huge honor if someone told me that one of my paintings triggered a repressed memory.