Crisp pines against a mountain range. Plum-peach clouds of a coastal sunset. Boulders tumbling into a stormy, gray ocean. David Brazier’s loose landscapes ignite something inside—perhaps it’s nostalgia, or wanderlust, or simply a desire to rest in the beauty of a wild place.
David is new to the Makers Collective artisan lineup, showcased this fall through the Indie Craft Parade: Shop Edition. At fifteen, the Greenville native is a bit of a wunderkind. When his older brother began dabbling in watercolors four years ago, David decided to experiment as well. But instead of formal training, his abilities and techniques have been acquired digitally.
“He just started painting,” says David’s mother, Rebekah. “And then kept painting, and kept painting, and kept painting.”
“I started watching YouTube tutorials,” David adds. “When I felt comfortable, I started to find my own stuff.”
Currently, his own stuff is a collection of impressionist landscapes, largely inspired by childhood road trips. The Braziers have embarked on two separate cross-country excursions, hitting all 48 contiguous states and exposing David and his three older siblings to a host of national scenery.
A scroll through his Instagram feed reveals forest scenes from the Pacific Northwest to marshland vistas along the Atlantic coast. He’s amassed quite the following, too, and utilizes the platform to connect and learn from artists he admires.
David’s preferred hues on the palette bleed into his personal style (an earthy green jacket is a near match to the trees in his Yosemite painting), but his faith influences his aesthetic as well (many of his pieces are named after worship songs). The young artist also seems older than his fifteen years—perhaps it’s his professionalism, quiet humility, or his passion for old-school TV shows.
While right now the paints have to wait until after he’s finished history class, David has plenty of time to grow. He hopes to venture into still life, take more lessons, and when he graduates, pursue art full-time. Whatever life entails for him—the future feels as wide as the open skies he so eloquently captures.
Photography by Will Crooks. For more of David’s work, visit @davidbrazierart on Instagram, or stop by Indie Craft Parade: The Shop Edition at 2909 Old Buncombe Rd, weekends through December 20.
