John Bramblitt (’07)
Denton

Degree:
B.A.A.S. (English, creative writing, nonprofit studies) 

Definition of success:
Being able to do what you want to do.

Superhero I’d want to be:
Batman, because he has the utility belt. He’s just a regular guy who thinks up solutions to all the problems.

Advice to new students:
Have an open mind. 

What I do besides paint:
I’m learning to play the bass guitar (my studio has 11 speakers and two subwoofers), and I’m in the process of writing a book. 

Best reaction to my paintings:
People have cried in front of them. The first show I ever did, I didn’t let anyone know I was vision impaired until the end of the show. They went back and looked at my paintings again.

Favorite UNT memory:
The very first class I had was an English class, and I just knew that this college was going to be right for me. 

Advice to artists:
Use all your senses, not just your eyes. 

Question I’m asked the most:
How do I draw? 

Philosophy I live by:
I try to live in the moment. 

My favorite work:
Whatever I’m working on. I’m always trying to do something new in a painting.

Hardest part of painting:
Making sure I’m saying what I want to say with the painting, to make things as clear as possible. 

Day in the life of an artist

10 a.m.  I wake up and make coffee.

10:15 a.m.  I take the coffee pot to my studio and lock all the doors and turn off the phone, unless an interview or phone call has been scheduled.

I generally have four to six paintings going at a time so that I can go from one to another while waiting for parts to dry so that I can feel them. Sound is a big part of my painting process. The whole time I am in the studio, I am feeding CDs into the sound system which comprises speakers mounted around all of the walls, ceiling and floor so that the room pulses with more than 5,000 watts of sound.

Noon  When I come to a stopping point I will grab some lunch from the kitchen, usually leftovers, and bring it back to the studio to eat while I work on my correspondence.

4 p.m.  I work on my writing. When I am nearing a writing deadline for a particular project, I may extend the hours that I write.

6 p.m.  My wife, Jacqi, comes home from work so I stop work and turn my phone on, and hang out with her and my son, Jack.

7 p.m.  I cook dinner and we watch a movie together.

10 p.m.  I go back to the studio and paint until the point that I need to let the canvas dry so that I will be able to touch it to check what I have done. Once that point is reached I work on my correspondence, and then I concentrate on my writing.

3-4 a.m.  I finish up and go to bed.