In his youth, Bryan Collins valued drawing as a refuge. He regarded art as a way to unravel the mysteries floating around his mind. Upon observing the work of M.C. Escher, Bryan realized the immensely profound ability for art to communicate with parts of the mind, otherwise untouchable. He began to study artists such as Van Gogh, Dr. Suess, Norman Rockwell, and Dali. In his early teens he dove deeply into the world of comic books. In his late teens he was captivated by the imagination of Tim Burton. Art was everything to Bryan, because it gave him a voice. Then, in his early twenties, Bryan took on an apprenticeship at a tattoo shop and thought he had reached his dream. However, the tattoo field proved to be restrictive and itchy for him. There were so many rules that began to make Bryan's art stiff, rigid, and lifeless. Everything he drew had to be interpretable as a tattoo. It wasn't allowing him to experiment with the pushing out of boundaries, so he left the field. Afterwards, a detour was taken from art and he chased a career in music. Bryan joined a band called Jeremiah's Grotto and began touring from a cramped 15 passenger van to play his bass guitar around the nation. This endeavor was so consuming that Bryan slowly drifted away from drawing and put his entire soul into audio. Circumstances made a sticky mess of the music and fate prevailed, bringing Bryan back to his first love of visual manifestations. He ran back to tattooing since it was a familiar way for him to bring home some cash while still getting to draw. After opening his own tattoo studio he was quickly reminded of why he left tattooing in the first place, so he sold the business. At this point, Bryan and his wife Rachel decided the best thing was for him to step out in faith and pursue art as a career. He put together a website and began sharing his art with the world. Bryan now exhibits coast to coast across the United States. He is a permanent artist at the Art Whino gallery in National Harbor, MD. Bryan is a resident artist at The Gallery Underground in Fort Collins, CO where he exhibits 1st and 3rd Fridays. He has been featured in multiple magazines such as Flash (81,82,87), Target Audience, and Literary Fever.
