Hello there,

 

Thank you for taking the time to visit my online gallery. I hope you have enjoyed what you have seen so far.

 

Well, you opened this page wanting to get to know a little more about me… So here we go…

 

My name is Aislinn Brander, I was born in Reno, NV and raised in Modesto, CA. In my latter teen years, I moved back to the Reno area where I have been (except for a brief stint in Las Vegas) ever since. I now reside on the border of California and Nevada in a small town called Doyle.

 

Doyle?

Where the heck is Doyle?

 

Well, it is about half way between Reno and Susanville, CA, or more simply about an hour North of Reno. I moved out there because properties are cheaper and I needed land for my horses. So… we live a little on the outskirts. This seems to be the theme in most Artists’ life. We all live a little on the ‘out skirts’ from everyone else.

 

I began drawing from an extremely early age, truth be told, I can’t remember a time when I couldn’t draw. Mainly through my teenage years I worked in pencil and pen and ink. You’ll find very few paintings before the age of 13 that were done. When I was about 13, I began painting in acrylics.

 

 I would save my money from allowances and washing my Step Father’s car and I would buy a few bottles of cheap, acrylic paint and some cheap brushes. It was a real treat when I could buy a couple of small stretched canvases. I would paint them, cover them with Black and then paint a striking white horse on them.

 

That was, and still is one of my favorite recipes for a painting, take black paint, stroke vigorously and then… add on your white horse or rooster! Well, that would hang on the wall a few months before I got the itch to paint again, and I would simply paint over the other painting. I couldn’t always afford a new canvas.

 

Time passed and we moved to Reno… life matters took over and I didn’t paint for a long time, occasionally I would draw or work in pen and ink, but not too often. In my later teen years I moved in with an odd woman I had met through having horses. She was a little more on the ‘out skirts’ from the rest of us, but we hit it off and she really encouraged my artistic talents. It was through her eyes and her teaching that my art began to develop and grow and the use of color became re-introduced, as at the time I worked only in pen and ink.

 

She even took me to my first ‘show’ and it was at the Draft Horse Classic in Grass Valley, CA. I got a vendor’s booth it was there I was shown that people would PAY for my art. Up until then, I had given away my work. We broke even on the show from the art I sold. I sold several portraits and one person in the barn bought my sketch book that was full of all the draft horses I had quickly tried to capture.

 

It was then I wanted to make my life’s work be horses and art, not necessarily in that order. That changes, still does today. Well, at the time, other things were in motion, I met a guy and everything I knew changed and I moved to Las Vegas. I lived there for 3 years. During that time I didn’t draw very much, only a few times.

 

I moved back to Reno after that time and after a couple more challenging years, more people that supported me and my art came into my life. I then made art more of a priority n my life. Looking back, I wished I had done so sooner, but maybe I wasn’t ready to go down that colorful road.

 

The thing about horses, me and my art is that we are connected some magical way. I don’t paint or pursue my artistic career when they aren’t present in my life. The time during and after Las Vegas was devoid of horses… and oddly, I had no desire to draw or paint.

 

It really hit me that horses and art was the key purpose is my life when I lost my Mother in Early 2004. It was then that I turned my attention towards art and horses and with the help of the wonderful people in my life, I painted more in that time than ever before. Sometimes tragedy is powerful motivator. I miss my Mother dearly, but I think she would be proud. So every painting is in her honor.

 

Well, now… that is all history and the future only holds brightly painted canvases and fine art.  I have successfully sold my art on EBay and thanks to EBay, my art has found it’s way to collectors all over the world and in numerous homes across the US and Canada. Thank you to everyone who purchases an Original, a print, or even a T-shirt from café press! I still get all excited and my stomach does flip flops when a print sells, a T-shirt, or an original painting- it an amazing feeling!

 

It is my goal to be able to work full time as a professional artist. I know that in time that will become a reality, hopefully sooner rather than later. My other goals are to be able to provide people with wonderful memories of their horses and beloved pets through portraits and commissioned paintings.

 

Thank you again for visiting my website and I hope someday we’ll meet in person, maybe at an art or horse show?

 

I am proud to a Certified EBSQ artist and I am a juried member of Art 4 Critters. I have online galleries at Saatchi Gallery, myartspace.com and artmajeur.com

 

I am also proud to be on the Glory Of Horses Creation Team as both participating in the mural and creating a companion piece. Click on the link above to learn more about that project!

 

Thank you for Looking!