Studio Notes
Studio Notes is where I share what surrounds the finished work: the ideas I’m carrying, the decisions I’m making, and the experiences that are still unfolding. Some notes begin with a material, a work in progress, what I’m reading or an idea that’s inspired me.
Featured note
What We Choose to Keep
By Brian Tolbert
Jerrell Gibbs's Come home with me sent me back to my own family memories, and to the question of who gets to keep our stories.
Read noteMore studio notes
8 notes in total
The Definition of Brian Tolbert
By Phresh Ingredient
Visual storyteller Phresh Ingredient’s portrait of me, from Pittsburgh and JENESIS to the self-portraits I made on scrap cardboard for a decade before anyone saw them.
Read note
Momma's Many Vices
By Brian Tolbert
Growing up in the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous, the many forms my mother's addiction took, and what her story means for my own search for balance.
Read note
Lonely in a Crowded Room
By Brian Tolbert
A prom photograph, an oil pastel sketch, and a book that finally gave me language for the emptiness I felt in my biggest moments.
Read note
Who You Gon Call?
By Brian Tolbert
A Rent-A-Center repossession, a neighborhood that showed up for my grandmother, and the Ghostbusters Big Wheel I lost along the way.
Read note
Inside the Dark Room with Brian Tolbert
By Brian Tolbert
Elile Kebede brings her cameras to my home studio for In Focus, and I share the story behind The Light Was Dim.
Read note
Black Art as Wellness: How I’ve Found Healing through Art
By Brian Tolbert
An essay I wrote at 14, a portrait of my mother, and why art has been the therapy my family couldn't afford.
Read note
A Month of Forever Incomplete: Quick Update
By Brian Tolbert
It's been a month since launching Forever Incomplete Art and collection 001.
Read note
Optional · Email updates
Let's talk art.
An occasional note from me when new work, Studio Notes, or events are posted. Entirely optional — everything is also on this site and in the RSS feed. Unsubscribe anytime.