Meet Bruce Black | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bruce Black and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bruce, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
This is such a vital question for artists. Honestly, for me, there really is no ‘giving up.’ I look back at my time in graduate school, where I had a beautiful studio and spent every waking hour immersed in art. It was intense and wonderful, but I remember thinking, ‘It’s going to be a long haul before I have a setup like this again.’

I’ve always thought of my career as climbing Mount Everest—it’s just putting one foot in front of the other and refusing to stop. Today, art is simply my daily practice. Whether or not the accolades come, I keep painting. I’m grateful to finally have a wonderful studio again where I can really focus on the work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My creative journey has been a winding road with plenty of detours. It started with a love for traditional Southwest watercolors—I actually taught myself as a child using a landscape book my grandmother gave me. Later, I explored illustration and spent years as an abstract painter, experimenting with different styles in graduate school.

Eventually, I felt called back to my roots. Today, I’m living in Phoenix and painting the landscapes and still lifes I love, alternating between oil and watercolor. While art school was all about ‘unique vision,’ I’ve come to value the technical craft of painting just as much as the concept. Simply put, I am a painter and I paint.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Phoenix is full of incredible spots for food and nature. When friends visit, I always start them off with dinner at Cibo, a wonderful family-run Italian spot downtown. For hiking, while many people head to Piestewa Peak, I personally prefer the rugged beauty of the McDowell Mountains. After working up an appetite, we head to The Rokerij for some delicious New Mexico-inspired cuisine. Finally, we’ll top off the trip with a dose of culture at either the Heard Museum or the Desert Botanical Garden—you really can’t go wrong with either.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I certainly could not be where I am today without the support of my family. Going back to childhood, I was fortunate to have parents and grandparents who supported my path in the arts. They took me to gallery openings and museum shows and purchased tons of art supplies for me. Today, it is my wife Marla and my son Liam who give me the greatest joy in life and who inspire me everyday to be a better human.

Website: https://www.bruceblackart.com

Instagram: @bruceblackart