Working primarily in watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media, I push familiar techniques into unfamiliar territory, letting chance, layered gesture, and deliberate mark-making collide. Some pieces begin as delicate washes that whisper; others arrive as bold, saturated fields that demand attention. Across scales and surfaces I pursue a single aim: to translate emotion into form and color so that an idea becomes something you feel in your chest.

My process is investigative and responsive. I test pigments, collage fragments of memory, and rework passages until the composition answers back. The resulting images are part map, part experiment,narratives held together by rhythm, contrast, and weight. I want my work to provoke questions rather than provide answers: to invite a double-take, a long look, and, finally, a personal conversation between viewer and piece.

The lineage I honour ranges from Degas’ observational intensity to Kandinsky’s faith in color as language, from Duchamp’s provocation to Rockwell’s storytelling warmth. Those influences sharpen my appetite for risk while reminding me that generosity,of color, of gesture, of idea, is what allows provocation to become invitation.

I offer originals as singular experiences and creating prints as an accessible way to bring these experiments into everyday spaces. Whether you encounter an original or a limited-edition print, my hope is the same: that the work nudges you to see, to feel, and to risk looking twice.

Areas of Expertise:

• Color
• Composition
• Drawing
• Storytelling

I usually work flat, as I like to stand to paint. I do tilt the paper to better control larger washes, runs and pooling. When working larger paintings, like acrylics or mixed media, I work on the floor <

Paper

I use a variety of papers, boards, watercolor blocks, but lately I been using "Arches 140 lb | 300 g/m2 | Cold Pressed (Grain Fin) 12x16 in, 100% cotton."

I tend to work on several paintings at once, typically three to five.

Color

I plan my color almost entirely by memory and stick to what is on my palette. I rarely change it up, but I also introduce inks and pre-mixed colors right into the painting. I also use a variety of household cleaning products, coffee grounds, salt, rice, and anything that adds to the work.

Value Distribution

I stick to three basic values, black, middle-tone, and light.

Planning

A vast majority of my paintings are not planned. And when they are, I start with a very light sketch and work the details with masking fluid, tape, and sheets of scrap paper. Unplanned paintings take a life of their own, and I work the problem when it is called for. I would say I spend 5% planning and 95% painting.

A typically landscape painting, 12 x 16 takes me about 3 hours, start to finish. I like to work quick, and if I can do a painting under an hour, it is usually a stronger painting. Paintings that are over-worked seem forced. (varies on subject). Sometimes I like to keep it randon with my The Studio Randomizer.

I have been using this layout since my university days. I used everything from old butcher trays to cheap mixing palettes to individual mixing containers for more complex spills and controlled pours.

Currently, I'm shifting between a ceramic palette and my old school palette, the John Pike Palette. The "Pike" palette is by far the best one I have used and gives me a good range of mixing areas.

The cover also is used for a mixing area and can be propped up for draining paint to the lower area. I double-up Thalo Green and Payne's Gray and leave an empty compartment under Burnt Umber. The free mix area is where the real color experiments happen, this is always changing and shifting.

In addition to my own mixes of inks and pigments, I use two types of watercolor brands. Two complementary watercolor lines offer everything a painter needs, whether you prize historical pedigree or modern pigment performance.

Windsor & Newton brings a storied legacy and reliably luminous single‑pigment colors that bloom beautifully in wet‑on‑wet work while holding subtlety on dry paper.

HORADAM delivers a contemporary, professional palette with an exceptionally broad color range and the consistency and pigment strength demanded by advanced practice and experimental techniques.

Jeff Bruzdzinski (BFA, Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts) is a painter and illustrator working in watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media. Syracuse-born and Santiago de Compostela‑based artist digs into the mundane scenes of our lives to uncover the surreal and absurd.

A graduate of Syracuse’s Illustration program, he trained with Murray Tinkleman, Bob Dacey, John Thompson, Roger DeMuth, and Jerome Witkin. His practice explores bold ideas through color, composition, and narrative-driven drawing.

Jeff’s work draws on a broad visual lineage, Degas, Duchamp, Dali, Ernst, Kandinsky, Rockwell, Klimt, Schiele, Pike, Homer, Matisse, and Chagall, blending experimentation with a clear commitment to storytelling.

Driven by a practice that balances precision and intuition, Jeff Bruzdzinski elevates organizational communications through strategic design, storytelling, and hands‑on creative leadership.