About

CV

​

Shay Bredimus is a painter and tattoo artist based in Long Beach, CA who invented his own practice of “brush drawings”—a monochromatic combination of life drawing and oil painting and use of wet and dry mediums of tattoo ink, wax crayon, and semi-translucent drafting film.

 

Born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1979, Bredimus relocated to Arizona with his mother and brother after his parents separated. At 10 years old, he was struck by a car while walking his bike through a school crosswalk, forcing the handlebar into his brain, requiring air evacuation from the scene. Against all odds, he survived and began to lean into a visual language to be his primary mode of expression. Growing up in Arizona in the ’90s as a latchkey kid, he was drawn to gang culture to find a sense of belonging—a path that eventually led to tattooing at 14 years old but also led to juvenile detention and residential treatment centers. After being expelled from multiple high schools, he finally graduated from a last-chance charter school.

 

A turning point came when he had his criminal record expunged, giving him an opportunity to reinvent himself in a new location through moving to Seattle to get away from bad influences. After a heroic dose of psychedelics, his perspective shifted from dark to light, choosing to lean into creation rather than his self destructive past.

 

After returning to Arizona, he found mentorship in instructor Jim Garrison at Mesa Community College who guided him in academic figure drawing and oil painting. From there, he attended Emily Carr University, a conceptual school where he deepened his understanding of art theory. Still feeling like there was more left to learn, he pursued an intensive graduate program focused on skill and observation at the Laguna College of Art and Design. Unable to afford housing and having taken out loans, he lived out of his two door 2000 Honda Civic with a desire to be fully immersed in the art school experience.

 

His MFA show titled 12 Inch Scar, referring to his ear to ear post-surgical scar on his head, debuted his proprietary brush drawing technique and led to representation by Koplin Del Rio—launching several years as a professional painter. To fund his fine art practice, he continued tattooing. Eventually, his tattoo work and fine art began to merge, earning him recognition from both communities for the crossover. After many years of exhibitions and solo shows of brush drawings, he's chosen a deliberate transition to oil and color, shifting his personal narrative from sad and beautiful to creating work that is honest and redemptive.​

​

Contact

For art related inquiries, please email shaybredimus@gmail.com