Today we’d like to introduce you to Sterling Goller-Brown.
Hi Sterling, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was always interested in drawing and copying cartoons when I was a kid but I don’t remember being very remarkable at it. Art was always my favorite class through elementary school but after that I didn’t take another academic art class until college. As a preteen, I became super fascinated with graffiti and was exposed to it through going to the skatepark downtown which at the time was covered top to bottom in paintings. I would go to the park everyday to skate and would see all this crazy art and subconsciously it just engrained in me. Through that, the idea of painting big or larger than life became just part of the game. Once I got to college I began taking art classes because I didn’t want to study anything else and got a BFA in Painting. August of 2013 rolls around and a friend at the time and I decided to paint a mural of a giant tomato plant bursting through a brick wall for fun. This was right before Tomato Fest and strategic to piggyback off that for attention. To say it worked is an understatement because that project kicked off my entire career. I think we were paid $100 for it… From there, I started Eastside Murals, a company that has done a large percentage of the public works in Nashville. After ten years, I grew out of that company, set it aside and began my solo endeavors under the name Icy Hot Murals. I wanted to re-shift my focus back towards things I am actually excited about and not burn myself out. At this point, I am over two years into my second company and have no plans of stopping. I am currently enjoying focusing on branding and diving more into my own aesthetics for Icy Hot and have many new projects in the works!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. Doing anything creative for a living never is. It’s filled with self doubt and endless hours of hard work. If you want to work for yourself you really end up working twice or three times as hard than if you’re just working for someone else. Money can be a huge worry if you have no leads or the market is at a lull. I have done (and still do sometimes if I feel like it) countless jobs for free for the “exposure” or just because it is a passion project . I have gone months and months without a paycheck and nearly gone broke many times. Even if I’ve completed a job sometimes the client will just hold out to pay as long as they want. Often times, it’s also the largest paying corporate clients that take the longest to pay… I deal with the elements daily and have to work in extreme conditions a lot of the time. Hot or cold, rain or shine… Being a muralist is just a glorified contractor. It involves a lot of manual labor and energy expenditure. That being said I love it and I don’t get too bored. There’s always a new challenge and each project is a learning experience in itself. Creative differences can also be a major obstacle whether it’s with a client or a collaborating artist. This can make work conditions extremely tiresome as well. The challenges to painting murals are endless and each job presents its own variables to adapt to.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am known for large scale murals! Stylistically, I would maybe say I’m a chameleon. I am commissioned by different people to do many different things. The type of job or client dictates what I do since those are the things that pay the bills. I am a sign-painter as well as a muralist. Often times, I am just recreating lettering or logos for small business and that is dictated by their branding. Maybe they have a designer that created a bunch of graphics or a logo and I’m just translating that to the real space given. That being said typography is a big specialty for me as I really enjoy the study of letter structures and fonts. The rest of the time I am painting murals. I have to act as a filter for what the clients ideas are or what their vision is and try and work with them to make that happen. Often times I will try to influence and steer them in the right direction so that things work visually and don’t become convoluted. I get ideas from the client (if they have any) and combine them with my own to create a work of art specific to the space provided. I also specialize in form and color and am largely influenced by the graffiti/”street art” aesthetic. I am too ADHD to have one style and just stick to it but my personal works are mostly abstract. They have a lot of motion as well as very vibrant color schemes that often play with ideas of color theory and utilize the architecture of the building to create compositions. I would pride myself in the level of detail and quality that goes into every piece.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I don’t have a singular favorite memory but I would say that the memories of my childhood going to the skatepark are my favorite. Going to skate everyday downtown was a dream and I wish I could go back and re-live it. Skating as a kid shaped who I am. It made me independent and changed how I see the world. It taught me how to overcome things mentally and push myself. It teaches you how to overcome pain and how to be creative. Most people go though the world overlooking everything around them. As a skater you look at the world and see every little detail. Every curb to jump off of, every stair set, every hill to skate down, every wall to put some paint on…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.icyhotmurals.com
- Instagram: @icyhot_murals
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@IcyHotMurals-Sterling
