I’m Ari Brochin, the artist behind The Golden Canvas.

Art has always been a core element to my being, but it was two years ago when I realized how important it was. Making art really helped me when I needed it. I was at a low point in my life and art became a way for me to cope. So I started posting my art on social media, basically as a creative outlet. I chose the name, The Golden Canvas, because it suggests that the value of art to the artist is limitless and boundless. It was like The Golden Canvas was an alter ego for myself, a new identity built on my creative side. And at the time I really did rely on The Golden Canvas so heavily because it was during a time when, like everyone, my life suddenly changed dramatically. It was my junior year of college and I was suddenly stuck at home for quarantine in 2020. I was painting all the time and started posting my pieces on social media. And it just sort of caught on really quickly.

People liked my art so I started doing commissions and then suddenly I was running a business out of my apartment senior year. It was an amazing feeling, but I was nervous, because I wasn’t sure that art could be enough to sustain me in the real world. Although I had also just spent the last four years studying marketing and also knew that I was not made for a nine to five desk job. So when school did end I packed up all my stuff and went home to the woods in Vermont and made one of the scariest decisions I've ever made. I decided that it was going to have to be art. I was so nervous to do it full time, but it just felt so right.

So I stopped taking commissions and started to make art for myself, which was incredibly freeing and luckily came really naturally to me. I found myself making art about what I was passionate about and what I wanted to use my voice for… being objectified in our patriarchal society and mental health. Like so many people, I’ve struggled deeply with the beauty standards set by society. Feeling “not pretty enough” or “not girly enough.” For me, my art is an externalization of those feelings and I hope that through art other people who’ve experienced what I have can feel a little less alone. I think together we can change the mindset of society.

I recently moved from Vermont to Brooklyn and as we all know, it’s not easy being an independent artist especially in New York. I’ve been able to sustain myself off of selling my work, making commissions, collaborations with brands and side projects. I save money by practicing sustainability with my shipping materials. I use recycled boxes and materials to pack and ship my paintings. There are days where I feel like I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, and not in a good way. But then there are also days where I feel like I can cry from joy because I'm actually pursuing my childhood dreams. And to be honest, i don't know if i could have done it without social media.

My social media presence and ability to market myself has exponentially helped my brand. As soon as I started to take my Instagram and Tik-Tok seriously, other people noticed, and they wanted to follow me on my journey. I also know that I am not the only one pursuing art and content creation full time, so I am often giving tips and tricks as well as vulnerable insights and motivation to my followers to help them grow and succeed. This is what I love about the creative industry, everyone is willing and happy to help / support others.

For the future of The Golden Canvas, I plan to work with select non profits that are relative to what I'm painting or a collection I'm releasing. Art for me isn’t just about pursuing my passion and dreams - while that's a huge plus - it's also about giving back and helping others. Trying to make the world a more positive place, one paint stroke at a time.