Before J. M. Brodrick begins a painting, she first determines the mood she wants to convey to the viewer. Next she chooses the music that reflects that mood, so she can listen to it while she paints the piece. Brodrick’s memory holds a vast catalog of classical music. Raised by her grandmother from Finland they often listened to opera while painting together. When she is painting, music always wafts through the air in her Bend studio.
Brodrick has studied painting since she was a child, and received her first scholarship at age 13. She eventually went on to study painting while spending summers with her Grandmother Anita Peterson in Helsinki Finland. Brodrick moved to Fairbanks Alaska in the mid 1970s where she met artist/teacher Franklin Jones who came up to Fairbanks every summer from Stockbridge Massachusetts.
“I learned so much from Franklin about painting and supporting/nurturing other artists,” says Brodrick. “He was a huge influence on me.”
Brodrick plays one color off another harmoniously in much the fashion a composer uses notes to form a symphony. She insists on maintaining a spontaneous approach to her work – painting what inspires her at the moment, moving between genres, and combining artistic styles.
Brodrick’s work has recently been included in the May 2017 editorial portion of American Art Collectors Magazine for The Art of the Horse. Brodrick states, “I am a working toward merging my need for realism with the beauty of pure abstract. Choosing art should be similar to how you choose your music; an escape from reality for a few moments, leaving you feeling better for having experienced it.”
Brodrick’s work is included in the permanent collections of Atlantic Richfield Corporation, The State of Alaska, The Embassy of the Russian Federation in Washington D.C., Global National Health Hospital in Tokyo Japan.
Brodrick is a member of The Bennington Art Center – Artist Collective in Bennington, Vermont, National Oil and Acrylic Painter’s Society, American Women Artists, The National Portrait Society.