Growing up the son of two artists in Winlaw it was natural for Bryn Stevenson to be drawn to art.
“There was definitely lots of artistic influence,” said Stevenson. “But as a teenager I definitely rebeled against it. I didn’t want to do what my parents were doing. I was always really interested in lettering and fonts.”
Stevenson has gathered a lot of inspiration from the freedom of graffiti.
Recently, he worked as a mentor as part of the Colours of Nelson project, which created a vibrant mural underneith the bridge near Lakeside Park.
“There is some of it in the world that has a quality and a new freshness that inspires me somehow,” he said. “I would practice in school just drawing letters and it was the only art thing that really interested me then.”
Stevenson said that the Colours of Nelson project was a great learning experience.
“It was good to see all the support from the community,” he said. “The City was supportive and the Nelson City Police, but also there were lots of kids walking by and were really excited about it. Kids have a lot of really good fun energy and that helps when you’re painting.”
Even though Stevenson draws inspiration from graffiti, much of the work he shows and sells in Nelson is inspired by one of landscapes great painters.
“I saw Bob Ross about eight years ago for the first time,” he said. “We didn’t have cable or anything growing up, the first time I saw him I was just blown away by not only how wonderful and amazing he was, but also his style and speed of painting.”
Equipped with what Stevenson saw in Ross’ style he started to apply that to his paintings.
“The first oil painting I tried turned out pretty good, and I kept doing it and really enjoyed it,” he said. “I’ve been going fulltime for three or four years now.”
Stevenson’s paintings are largely inspired by the mountains and region he’s called home.
For more information visit Stevenson’s website at brynstevenson.com