Meet Brian Hoffman

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

Hi Brian, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
Seeking discomfort. Pursuing discomfort sets you on a faster path to growth. Deciding what information is worth absorbing and which should be filtered out.
To maintain a balanced passion, design your practice around deliberate play.
Open doors and create opportunities for people.
Empathy and active listening.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I was a strict traditional artist playing in many mediums which came easily for me. By the time I attended college, I used oil paints exclusively due to the feel and appearance. I enjoyed being naive and focusing on art and not the business side of it. I’d always think I’d figure it out in some shape or form. Becoming a professional, full-time Illustrator isn’t an easy thing to make happen despite trying hard and networking. At that time, I felt as if I needed to transfer my traditional background to Design and make a go at it. Between independent experimenting, classes, reading Design magazines, learning from people, and just being more aware of art in communication, I developed an “eye” knack for it. I never wanted to be a Designer. One job lead to another and I took steps back to move forward. I got my first full-time job as a Production Designer which taught me the technical side of Design, PDFs, Printing, etc. It was invaluable education and made me well-rounded and confident in being able to design myself. Years compounded on years and I got better and better, pushed myself harder, expected more of my work, learned web design, and got to a point where I could direct creative.

My personal art runs parallel to the above professional route. Art took a long backseat to playing music in band for many years with moderate success but I missed creating visual work and felt a strong need to get ideas and thoughts out of my head for more therapeutic reasons. Churning out work helped me develop a small body of cohesive images which lead to a small, local group show. This was the catalyst and springboard to shake it up and make things happen. After that, I focused on building an Instagram presence and constantly networked with galleries, print houses, and other artists.

Wisdom is a sacred thing. When I was young, I never took risks and was afraid of failure. It wasn’t easy to put myself out there even though I had confidence in what I did. After many years, I’ve learned that failure means nothing and isn’t a reflection on you or your work. You just need to pursue and be the squeaky wheel. Sometimes doors open unexpectedly but it’s worth the effort.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Boston is a fun town full of culture. I’d say the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Isabella Stewart Garden Museum, The Worcester Art Museum, Boston Theatre District, The Paradise, House of Blues, MGM at Fenway, Roadrunner, The North End, The South End, Historic Faneuil Hall, Chinatown

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?
Without a doubt, I’d easily choose Sean Flynn, Director of Publications at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. I graduated Art School in Spring of 1996 with a BFA in Illustration. I was fortunate enough to meet Sean who coincidentally taught a Graphic Design course at a local college which I enrolled in, not knowing he worked at the museum where I also took on various jobs after college. Being an oil painter, I didn’t care for or understand the world of Graphic Design and Sean was extremely helpful and knowledgeable in showing me the ropes of design fundamentals, typography, photography, and printing.

Website: https://brianjhoffman.com

Instagram: @brianjayhoffman