Illustration

Birds, Nature, Landcscapes, Photography, and More!

brianleefritz

A quick recap of the mural progress so far. I sta

A quick recap of the mural progress so far.

I started this all on Wednesday of last week with a projector, chalk, and a vague idea of what I was doing.

The concept is a topographical map of Brighton Rec Area and the surrounding roads and neighborhoods. It's the closest mountain bike trail and where the owner of the shop coaches the local MTB team, so it has a lot of significance to this community.

If you've been following for a while, you know I'm a bit obsessed with topo maps. I think they're a really neat pattern and I've used them on everything from paintings to websites to biking jerseys.

All the lines are done in paint marker. I briefly considered brushing them in, but that was a silly idea. I'm here to paint a mural, not drive myself crazy!

Anyway, I'm going to be working on it today for as long as I can. I wanted to get it done by tomorrow for the local gravel group's winter get-together, but I don't think that's in the cards. I'm going to come really close though!

It's a good start, anyway! 😂

It's a good start, anyway! 😂

I never really wanted to work for somebody else.

I never really wanted to work for somebody else.

And believe me, I've tried!

I remember going to the library and devouring books on running your own business, only to go to work as a janitor at a retail shop. I've always wanted out.

I wanted to run a record store, then I wanted to start a collective of musicians, then I put all that ambition away for a while.

But I never really stopped working for myself on the side. Web design, commissions, occasional craft shows. And bit by bit, it started to come together.

I'm so thankful for the support I started getting in the last few years specifically. So many of you have seen what I'm trying to do here and gave me your time and effort and encouragement. And that means the world to me. It's because of so many beautiful people telling me to keep going that I've been able to make it this far, and that's what will bring me to the next level too. The next projects, the next endeavor.

Thank you.

The mural is humming along over here at Hammerhead

The mural is humming along over here at Hammerhead Bikes! Come out and see me today, I'll be there til about 3 or 4ish.

And remember, if you want a mural on your wall, either home or business, I got you! Message me today and we'll get you started!

Solid progress for the first day of painting! I'm

Solid progress for the first day of painting! I'm going back today to add more dark blue.

Can you recognize the map?

I proposed this mural idea to Bill, the owner of Hammerhead Bikes, early last year before the building had been renovated because I believe that public art is important. The world needs more murals because plain walls are boring. My art is a reaction to the boring nature of this post-industrial world that we live in.

So many things are boring because they work well enough. Why change things? And as a designer, I get that. But as an artist, it's the wrong mindset. We lost something with the mechanization and streamlining of our world and that thing is HUMANITY.

And that's what I'm trying to bring back with every single brushstroke I make. Good enough isn't good enough! It should be BEAUTIFUL and we should settle for no less.

That means ornamentation, that means decoration, that means frills and silly things that make use happy. Because that's the point. Happiness, not efficiency. Feeling, not cost-cutting. Connection, not commodities.

By the way, I'm scheduling murals for February and March, so if you have an inside wall in your home or business that needs some love, let me know! I have a million ideas to make this world more beautiful and I just need a couple people to say yes.

You have one life, why not make it beautiful?

Hey there! I'm Brian Fritz and I make nature art w

Hey there! I'm Brian Fritz and I make nature art with a modern twist. I believe that original art can and should be accessible to everyone and that it's worth your time to collect.

The way I see it, your home is a reflection of yourself and your inner state. But if you know this, you can surround yourself with beautiful and inspiring things like artwork to reflect back at you.

Not only does this work on a personal level, but it also shows your friends and visitors who you are on a deeper level. The difference in atmosphere and mood from a "Live Laugh Love" plaque on the wall and a handmade original painting is night and day. There is no comparison and your friends all know this too.

So if you're looking to class up your home or you're just tired of looking at the same old worn out prints and posters, you've come to the right place. Welcome.

Please, come and stay a while.

Join the Flock! Link is in my bio. I don't show

Hey there! I'm Brian Fritz and I make nature art w

Hey there! I'm Brian Fritz and I make nature art with a modern twist. I believe that original art can and should be accessible to everyone and that it's worth your time to collect.

The way I see it, your home is a reflection of yourself and your inner state. But if you know this, you can surround yourself with beautiful and inspiring things like artwork to reflect back at you.

Not only does this work on a personal level, but it also shows your friends and visitors who you are on a deeper level. The difference in atmosphere and mood from a "Live Laugh Love" plaque on the wall and a handmade original painting is night and day. There is no comparison and your friends all know this too.

So if you're looking to class up your home or you're just tired of looking at the same old worn out prints and posters, you've come to the right place. Welcome.

Please, come and stay a while.

SERIOUS GOOSE 8x10, matted Carved with @flexcut.

SERIOUS GOOSE

8x10, matted

Carved with @flexcut.tools on Battleship Gray lino

This block has been rolling around in my head for a little while now. I have the Silly Geese and they're a crowd favorite, so I figured it was about time to make a serious goose. For contrast.

And can you name a more serious goose than a Canada Goose? I sure can't. I saw a video the other day of a Canada Goose taking down a Red Tail Hawk!

Fearless. Focused. Relentless.

That's why I love them. I know a lot of people hate them, but I respect a bird who stands up for itself.

Also considering versions of this with "COBRA CHICKEN" and/or devil horns and red eyes. Thoughts?

Off the North Country Trail, Overlooking Lake Supe

Off the North Country Trail, Overlooking Lake Superior. Munising, MI, July 2021

Have you ever took a trip for one reason and ended up finding an even better story along the way?

Lately my mind has been on a trip that Grace and I took in late July 2021. We decided that as Michiganders who had never really visited the UP, we should get on that.

We heard something about a kayak tour along Pictured Rocks and under Lovers Leap arch and that was enough to draw us up to Munising.

Am I any good at kayaking? No. That's not the point! 🤣

Long story short, the waves were too choppy to go that far out, so we kayaked to Grand Island instead. And I'm glad we did because I didn't have the full 13ish miles in me anyway!

And while that was supposedly the main attraction for us, what I really remember is the waterfalls and the hiking. The views and the climbs and the overlooks. That was the real treat, looking back. I have a healthy respect for Lake Superior and I'm content to mostly just watch it from the shore!

Happy National Bird Day! It's time for a giveaway.

Happy National Bird Day!
It's time for a giveaway.

I have a 8x10 print of this barred owl painting that I call HYPNOTIZE and it could be yours if you...

1. Follow me
2. Join the flock (link in my bio)
3. Comment that you're in the flock and tag a friend who doesn't already follow me

Bonus: you get two entries if you tell me your favorite bird.

Why do you love birds? For me, it's about their colors and shapes and how they act as characters in our silly little stories about the world around us.

The way I see it, birdwatching is a gateway to empathy and caring about the world around us. First you watch the birds, you give them names, you tell stories about them. Then you start putting in plants to attract more birds. Then you learn about native and invasive plants. And the next thing you know, you have a pair of loppers in your hands at a trail day and you can name all the trees in the forest and identify the birds by their calls. You might even spot one of these majestic creatures 🦉

It's a slippery slope my friends. Be careful! 🤣

Happy New Year! As my first post of 2026, I'd like

Happy New Year!
As my first post of 2026, I'd like to take this time to reintroduce myself and reaffirm a few promises about what you're getting when you interact with me as an artist.

My name is Brian Fritz and I'm an artist out of Southeast Michigan. I make vibrant, colorful art that celebrates the beautiful nature and wildlife and landscapes of our state. I make big work, I make small work, I'm a painter, I'm a printmaker. But most of all, I make emotional work that makes you feel things.

We live in very isolating times and it's very easy to fall into rabbit holes and mental spirals and to forget that other people care. I care. Very, very much so. And I aim to show that in both my work and the way that I run my business. Art can bring us together. Let me show you how!

I am against apathy. We have too much and I'm tired of it. I give a flock and if you're here, so do you. This is a huge reason why I started my Affirmations series. And yes, I make a LOT of bird puns.

My work is for people who find peace in nature. I celebrate the connections we have to the natural world and the stories we tell with wildlife and the way they act as symbols for us as people. Have you ever seen a little bird on a tree outside your window and wondered what it's thinking? What it's feeling? Then you're in the right place.

I make work that is vulnerable and you need to be a little vulnerable to get it. You can't enter this space with your armor on. You just won't get the full experience. My art comes with a certain air of honesty and candidness that just cannot be met with cynicism. Think of it as a salve for your emotional callousness.

And finally but most importantly, I believe strongly in honesty and clarity in everything I do. For me, that means that every caption, every comment, every message, every email, and every single brushstroke comes from my hands and my hands alone. Specifically, I'm taking about AI. A robot will NEVER write words for me or have any hand in my creative process. Ever. Creativity was meant for humans and outsourcing that to the machine is the same as selling your soul. Everything comes though me and it's always me talking to you. (Cont'd...)

One last painting before 2026. This is number 82 o

One last painting before 2026. This is number 82 of 83 I did this year.

I know a lot of people are posting retrospectives and sharing their favorite stuff from the year, but I really don't want to go that far back on my camera roll and assemble that whole thing, so I'm choosing to look ahead.

Or a bit behind in this one, I guess. It's a small 8x10 acrylic on panel based on a picture I took in 2023 on a trip to Zion National Park with Grace. This was day three of the trip and we decided to hike the north side of the park, The Kolob Canyons.

It was a beautiful day of hiking the trails and there was hardly anyone else out there because that side of the park is so remote. Like I always say, if you're willing to endure just a little more, you can have these whole beautiful spaces to yourself.

We'll talk more about 2026 later, but if you'd like to know my plans, you should join the flock. That's my email newsletter where I send you pretty birds every Thursday. The link is in my bio, or just comment and ask 😁

This was my favorite painting I made this year.

This was my favorite painting I made this year.

There were a lot of contenders for the crown: the lion, the wolves, Reynard the Fox... I made a lot of cool things this year if I do say so myself!

But this one is special for two reasons: first, it's one of my biggest paintings and I had a TON of fun making it. But second and just as important is the home where it lives now. The wonderful and super talented photographer @jocelynandersonphotography picked this one up at the Kensington Art Fair in May. I admire her work so much and it means the world to me that someone who loves that park like I do decided that she had to have this in her home.

Oh. Right. The title! Symphony II. 36x36 acrylic on canvas.

(Do you like this one? I have a sandhill crane for you in sunset colors.)

Really missing that painting weather right about n

Really missing that painting weather right about now.

It's currently 32 degrees and raining outside. My car windshield is covered with a quarter inch of ice. The ground has literally no traction anymore. I doubt I'll be going outside to do anything today, let alone painting.

And I have plenty of things to paint from photos taken during the nice months of the year, but it's almost like finding the inspiration is more fun than actually using it.

Actually, can we go on a little side rant here? I think that's kind of what's behind generative AI: coming up with the ideas is a hundred thousand times easier than executing those ideas. So it only makes sense from that perspective to cut out the middle part that's not as fun and skip right to the end product.

The problem is that the time spent on execution is what gives the end product meaning.

Not to say that a painting that took a hundred hours is inherently more valuable than one that took ten hours. It's more about the fact that somebody put some skin in the game and spent their own time and resources to make something to share with the world. There is little to no value in the image itself! All the value of art is in the experience, in the story, in the human-to-human relationships made.

It's more than paint on canvas, but even just paint on canvas is still more than artificial pixels on a screen. If you couldn't be bothered to make it, why should anybody bother to see it?

Anyway, most of these plein air paintings are available, just let me know if one of them speaks to you.

And happy belated Christmas! Hope you had a great day ❄

Swipe to see the process! Sunlight Through the Ta

Swipe to see the process!

Sunlight Through the Tall Pines
8x10 acrylic on canvas

I took this picture the last time Grace and I visited the arboretum. About a week later, we were back in Ann Arbor, but across the street at the women's hospital giving birth to our little Hazel.

What I particularly like about this scene is the light streaming through the pines. Thus the name. I wanted to challenge myself to capture the way it changes the colors and tones as it forces it's way though the needles. I was drawn to the extreme contrasts that my phone camera just couldn't handle.

What do you think of this one? Can you see it on your wall? Do you know where this is at the @matthaeinichols arboretum? Let me know in the comments!

Have you ever seen hundreds of Sandhill Cranes com

Have you ever seen hundreds of Sandhill Cranes coming in for a landing with a gorgeous sunset in the background?

I visited the Haehnle Sanctuary in Jackson a few weeks back. Which is nothing out of the ordinary, I stop by there any time I’m in Jackson. But this time the parking lot was packed. I’ve never seen more than one or two other cars there. So I grabbed my binoculars (which are of course always in my car) and went to investigate.

As it turns out, I had stumbled upon one of the most beautiful sights in birding: the migration of the sandhill cranes at sunset. Watching these living dinosaurs descend into the wetland with the intense pink and violet of the sunset behind them was a sight to behold. I’ll get around to painting it someday.

So this is one of many, many pieces celebrating the sandhill crane. I call it “Sandhill in the Swamp.” I made it for an upcoming class with @sandhillwine and used it as an experiment in a little simpler and cleaner style of linocut. But I liked it so much that I couldn’t resist doing a quick edition of 11 for you all to enjoy.

I'll toss a link in my stories, or you can comment or message me for said link.

Sandhill in the Swamp
4x6" print on 8x10" paper, hand-colored with alcohol marker and colored pencil.

Just dotting my eyes over here... 😂 A little p

Just dotting my eyes over here... 😂

A little peek into the process of making my latest print, Sandhill in the Swamp. I made the block for a class, but I couldn't resist printing up a small batch to share with you.

I colored the crest and the eye in with alcohol marker and put the bird's pupil in with a micron pen. Why? Because I knew I could do it better that way and I can't expect my students to be able to make such a small and controlled cut. The most important thing about this block is that it can be carved easily by someone with little to not experience. That's a huge lesson that I've learned while teaching.

Maybe I'll release the cranes...tomorrow? 🤷
You should join my email list, The Flock, to find out!

Inking a new block is always so exciting! The thr

Inking a new block is always so exciting!

The thrill of discovering whether or not your vision is going to come to life. The pivotal moment where you see if this image you had in your head makes any sense.

Sandhill Crane prints will be on my website soon. Comment with any bird emoji and I will personally send you a link.

I made this one for an upcoming class at @sandhillwine, so if you want to make this design yourself, let me know and ill get you a class link.

What do you think of the block? Do you want to see more videos of the printmaking process, or just the final product?

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