© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Kenosha-based artist Jaime Brown enlivens the community with stunning works

Kenosha-Based artist Jamie Brown
Aliza Baran
/
Milwaukee Magazine
Kenosha-Based artist Jaime Brown in her studio.

As the warmer weather of spring approaches, a new season of showcases for local artists is also on the way. One artist is the Kenosha-based Jaime Brown, who primarily works on large-scale projects, murals and canvas. She will unveil a new collection at the Milwaukee Spring Gallery night in April. The gallery night brings a new opportunity for a talented and passionate artist who has already made a significant mark on the Milwaukee area through previous murals and canvases.

Jamie Brown's "Kindred" mural on downtown Milwaukee's 2nd Street skywalk
Mallory Cheng
/
WUWM
Jaime Brown's "Kindred" mural on downtown Milwaukee's 2nd Street skywalk

Brown explains how her inspiration for her murals is as unique as the project is. For instance, when Brown was designing her mural that adorns the 2nd Street skywalk in downtown Milwaukee called "Kindred," she was inspired by the concepts of unity in the neighborhood that she wanted to celebrate.

"My inspiration came from the whole entire atmosphere of this neighborhood — how it truly belongs to no one. But it belongs to everyone. And so I really wanted to honor the roots of Milwaukee," Brown says. Brown's work is also featured in other places around the area such as Bayview Printing Company.

Another project that Brown participated in was her live painting during last year's Milwaukee Night Market. With multitudes of people watching, for one of the murals she was painting, Brown embarked on a liberating artistic project. She reveals, "I [had] five hours to make this happen, start to finish. No plan, no map, no idea. 'I'm just going to freestyle it. Let's do it.' I've never done it, just like without any structure at all. So that was kind of my first time just living in the moment."

It resulted in a celebrated mural that was initially intended to be there temporarily but has remained all this time.

The mural will be there for a bit longer. During the upcoming spring gallery night, Brown will be painting over last year's mural. It's another instance for Brown to embrace her new mantra and approach to creating art and being an artist.

"This new collection is something wild and crazy, and unlike anything, I've ever done before. It basically just represents my new attitude of me. No longer trying to restrict myself with self-imposed boundaries," says Brown. "I think so often, as artists, we are under this false impression that we have to turn ourselves into this brand where we have a recognizable style and people can see your murals and know exactly right away who did it. I don't care about that anymore. I don't. I just really want to do what makes me happy."

Gallery Night MKE will be taking place April 21-22.

_

Mallory Cheng was a Lake Effect producer from 2021 to 2023.
Rob is All Things Considered Host and Digital Producer.
Related Content