As a fine artist and businesswoman for nearly 30 years of work,
I finally had my big one person show at the Discover Portsmouth Center in 2009.
Denise Brown is a Portsmouth native, a local business owner/survivor, fine and commercial artist, and creator of Ted the Cat. She’s painted horses, created giraffes, done a few T-shirts in her time and quite a bit of photography. While not all of it is represented in her exhibition — a nearly 30-year retrospective at the Discover Portsmouth Center (DPC) — much of it was at the show.
“This show is an accumulation of a lifetime. I have been painting since the ’70s and up to today. This (exhibit) is of the bigger picture. It’s an artist’s life,” says Brown, founder owner of ad-cetera graphics.
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The show will include watercolors, acrylic, and photography. The subjects are primarily landscape and architecture of her beloved Seacoast, horses and other animals. It will include commentaries by the artist on her favorite places, her goals and the value of art.
“It is more than just paintings. It shows the development of an artist on the Seacoast,” she says.
By its nature the collection that spans decades reveals an artist’s evolution. It also explains the oft-heard response of artists, Brown among them to the question, “How long did that painting take you?” — “A lifetime.”
“It took me this long to be able to produce that painting to the level I’m at right now,” she says. “So whether it took me a few hours or a couple of weeks, it’s still a lifetime to get to this point …; Art is a process and learning experience. …; Yes, you can see that here.”
When asked what the most outstanding change to her work has been over time, she answers without hesitation. “My colors have gotten bolder.” She also feels that she’s mastered the medium of watercolor as well as her architectural skills with time.
Brown sees her two worlds as overlapping, the businesswoman and fine artist. Much of what she does for her firm is art, she says. It’s why she selected the field years ago as a student at the University of New Hampshire. She was so sure of her direction she designed her own major, a rare occurrence at the time.
Had she believed fine art could have supported her it might have been the choice. But she didn’t. She accepted that, but wasn’t buying into a life without a creative outlet.
Her major was commercial art, advertising and fine art. “I took every kind of art course I could take, mechanical drawing, architectural rendering, business courses and marketing, and fine art. I even took photography …; everything. I also worked at an ad agency in college and got eight credits for that as part of the self-designed major.”
Brown started working the commercial art field right out of college. She formed her own business in 1980, four years after graduation. Here’s where the survival part comes in, she operates the same business today she started back then. “I’ve seen many, many come and go. …; Mine has survived. It’s a commitment, perseverance, stay lean (attitude) in good and in bad times and stick to your budgets.”
One of her more recent commercial jobs is seen at the Discover Portsmouth Center, the beautiful, large, wall panels promoting the city’s historical, art and cultural organizations.
Throughout the years of commercial work Brown has kept her personal art going. She’s straddled the fine/commercial line with pet and house portraits and Christmas cards, she says. There have been a number of children’s books, including “Ted the Cat.” Brown was the only New England finalists in The 2006 Trail of Painted Ponies National Art Competition.
Her DPC exhibition will include more than 30 original photos from her Portsmouth Panorama, which when complete consists of 60 photos. Posters of the full 60 shot view will be available.
“I took the photos on top of the North Church steeple on the scaffolding, holding on to the lightning rod, when the steeple was being rebuilt, then put the photos together on the computer.
Since the 1980s Brown has consistently worked in the traditional fine art arena, creating her delicate watercolor and acrylic works.
“My heart is in my paintings. But I love computer graphics too. I’m an artist. I like to use all kinds of tools …; whether a computer, paint brush, a pencil or camera. …; It’s all part of me as an artist, designer and creator of what I see.”
And there’s more. Brown produces items and works craft shows a few times a year, (also available on her Web site, www.raccoonstudios.com). There’s “Ted the Cat” with all his paraphernalia, other children’s books, prints of her fine art, T-shirts, coffee mugs, magnets “I do it all. …; You have to have fun.” This year she plans on hitting the St. Martin’s Holiday Fair in Somersworth, (Oct. 25) and the Women’s Club Holiday Fair at Portsmouth’s Masonic Temple, (Nov. 15).
“I’m always looking for something new to do that’s different. I get bored …; every so often I have to recharge my batteries,” she says. “It’s great to go off on a tangent. You learn. …; It makes life interesting.”
Next? Well, a lot of the same. “I will probably always continue my graphics business to support my obsession of watercolor painting,” she says. “Artwork is something that gets into your system and continues throughout your life.”
