197 JM Brodrick — Invest in Yourself First

Join our next FASO Show Live!https://artists.boldbrush.com/p/the-faso-showLearn the magic of marketing  with us here at BoldBrush!boldbrushshow.com--For today's episode we sat down with JM Brodrick, a wildlife painter originally from Detroit, Michigan, who trained early under her Finnish grandmother and now creates large, ethereal acrylic works that often get mistaken for oils. She explains her deep connection to wildlife—especially birds and white animals—and how she merges realism with abstraction, inspired by double-negative film accidents and her dislike of traditional, detailed backgrounds. JM describes her years in Fairbanks, Alaska, where she balanced single motherhood, a full-time career in commercial insurance, and work as a composite artist for law enforcement, all while steadily pursuing her art on evenings and weekends. She talks about the fear and liberation of going full-time in 2005, emphasizing how competitions, self-criticism, and painting faster pushed her to continually “up her game.” As business advice, she recommends watching the market while staying true to your voice, using an 80/20 balance between gallery-friendly work and more experimental competition pieces, and always investing in archival, professional materials. For artists who want to go full-time, her core guidance is to never give up on yourself, build strong drawing and color foundations, learn from “failed” paintings, be disciplined with time, and accept that a job along the way can be part of what ultimately makes you a better, more resilient artist. Finally, JM tells us about her upcoming participation at an exhibition with the American Professional Artists League at the Salmagundi Club and an upcoming group show at Cole Gallery.JM's FASO website:jmbrodrick.com/JM's Instagram:instagram.com/j.m.brodrick/