Meet Zach Brunner | Queer Illustrator

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

Hi Zach, 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?
I have been publishing my personal illustrations on instagram for about 5 or 6 years. With each new series, I keep trying to get closer to the heart of what it means to be queer, showcasing queer love, normalizing queer life. Translating the world of entertainment and pop culture through a queer lens. Instagram has been an interesting tool because I get instant feedback on my work regarding whether or not people like it. My recent series of boyfriends in quarantine seem to touch on something that my other work has not. The series carries a narrative that connects many queer people and our struggles during the covid lockdowns. Exploring that subject matter has been really rewarding and challenging. I still feel like I have more to explore, and more ways to push my art to portray even more of the queer experience. I’ve never thought about giving up, because I feel like there is still so much more of our collective queer identity and my own identity to explore in my art, and I have no intention of stopping. I feel like im digging a bit deeper into myself in each of these pieces, and there’s something both scary and rewarding about putting it out into the world. As long as I feel like there’s more to explore, grow and learn through art, I’ll keep on going.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art mainly started as a reaction to growing up in comic book stores in the 90s, I was surrounded with highly sexualized artwork of female characters. Had huge boobs, tiny waists, skimpy outfits, the works. Walking through those comic shops as a child only seeing drawings of sexy women and masculine men, I assumed the gay feelings I had begun to experience were wrong, since everything in the world around me seemed to only cater to the straight population. As an adult, im adding my queer voice to that world of comics and pop culture, hoping that maybe kids today who see my art know that those gay feelings are valid, and there’s a place in this world for them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I only just moved to los Angeles 4 months ago so I am still learning my way around. I currently live in Echo Park so most of the things I do are in that area. My favorite things to do ive found so far- Drinks at Akbar
Drinks at The Eagle
Vegan Chicken sandwiches at Monty’s Burgers
Margaritas at Bar Flores
Hiking through Elysian Park
Strolling along the Los Angeles River in Atwater Village
Grabing coffee and perusing the books at Stories Coffee
Cauliflower wings and Mezcal Negronis at Sage Vegan restaurant
(Yes most of these include alcohol because like, what else would I do?)
And my favorite thing so far is not owning a car and just ubering or walking, thus mostly avoiding the horrendous traffic.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people I would love to recognize who have helped me on both my art journey and my personal journey. I would like to shoutout James Falciano (@jamesfalciano) Kitch Harris (@werkzine) Preston Nelson (@stonenelson) Zach Grear (@zachgrear) and Jerel Cardona (@Jerelcardona). All fantastic illustrators who both push and inspire me constantly.

Website: https://zacharyiswackary.com

Instagram: @zacharyiswackary