Brooks shane salzwedel biography death

We also wanted to offer a static way to share looks into his artist studio. His answers to our questions were very informative and soulful. Please enjoy! The natural imagery in my work started from my imagination, particularly of forested places intertwined with personal events. Over time, I began incorporating real places inspired by hikes and trips.

Brooks Shane Salzwedel is a Califor-

Yes, I predominantly work from photos, often blending elements from different photos into a single piece and improvising the rest as I progress. I began experimenting with different processes during my last term at Art Center. It took a couple of years to perfect my technique, which has come to be known as The Brooks Salzwedel Technique.

I continuously explore different types of semi-transparent materials to achieve atmospheric quality, using wax, double-sided adhesive sheets, glues, paint mediums, acrylic, glass, and more. Nature has always held a significant place in my life. My connection to nature and urban development in my work stems from my father taking my brother and I camping before he died when I was five-years-old.

One of my few memories of him is camping with my family, fueling my deep connection to nature. There is an underlying environmental message in my work addressing pollutants from offshore drilling and corporate greed. My father died while working on a drill ship. A typhoon capsized the drill ship while in the South China Sea. The oil company my father worked for ignored warnings about the danger of leaving the ship at sea, leading to the death of 84 workers.

This tragedy often manifests in my work through a pollutant-like yellow ochre hue, oil derrick, broken fuselage, and more.