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

Hi James, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Where I have had success, community has been an important factor. I believe in the power of being a good participant in communities, engaging with communities and supporting each other so that we all can thrive. I am lucky to have a community of people around me who offer different viewpoints, give good advice and who are great collaborators. These are folks who support and champion the work that I do just like I support their endeavors.

Besides my personal community, sometimes it is local community members who support success, particularly in public projects. People from the neighborhood have brought me cold drinks, snacks and words of encouragement while I’ve worked on murals. I have also benefitted from various local connections in creating community arts workshops with arts nonprofit Able ARTS Work. As the saying goes, if you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Making art was probably the first thing I was ever interested in. I started drawing when I was three years old and since then, art making has always been a part of my life. I loved to draw stories, make up designs and incorporate drawing into school projects any time I got the chance to. Eventually I went to school for it at California State University Long Beach where I earned a degree in Illustration. It was a great time of growth to learn about design, and explore the relationship between image and text. That education experience turned watercolor, the most difficult medium for me, into one of my most dependable. CSULB also gave me the opportunity to dip my toe into art education. In a class called Art and Social Action, I traveled to Cambodia to teach art to children.

A lesson I have learned over time is that there is an incredible breadth of art opportunities and diverse ways that art can serve us in our lives. I’m lucky to have a career that lets me engage with art in multiple ways at the same time. I create designs and illustrations for clients to help them authentically communicate visually. I am able to create personal artworks in ink and watercolor and exhibit them. My work explores my interests in place, people and how people use objects to empower themselves. I have been excited about opportunities in recent years to take my art to public spaces thanks to mural commissions I’ve completed.

Another piece to this mix is being a teaching artist. I taught art classes for adults with disabilities and have since expanded to teaching art workshops to people of all ages, with and without disabilities, with arts nonprofit Able ARTS Work. Creating workshops and teaching in the community has been fun and challenging!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The beauty of the LA area is in its diversity, but to experience it you have to take the time to move around. If I’m showing a friend favorite spots, we would be jumping around seeing art, eating great food, and checking out live entertainment.

I’m a member at the LA County Museum of Art so we will definitely be there as well as some of my other favorites like the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, the California African American Museum in Exposition Park and the Hammer in Westwood. There are so many good museums around LA. I would also throw in something more offbeat like the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. Speaking of Culver City we would gallery hop there, probably eat at Father’s Office and then make it to both Band of Vices Galleries in West Adams. Giant Robot in Sawtelle Japantown would have to fit in somewhere too.

There are plenty of places to get great food of every type in LA, but as a donut connoisseur, a donut run to either Knead in Long Beach or DK’s in Santa Monica is mandatory. For drinks we’ll be looking at Brouwerij West in San Pedro or Monkish in Torrance.

As far as live entertainment goes, we would do music at Sam’s First by LAX and live comedy at the Comedy Chateau in the Valley. I think all of this would be a good start!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Of course I give a major shoutout to my family and friends who are important support systems for me. I’d like to also mention the Arts Council for Long Beach, Artist Magnet and Munzón Gallery who are all doing great things to support the arts and artists.

Website: www.JamesMakesArt.com

Instagram: @JamesMakesArt

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