“I paint because I need to. I paint what my hand wants to paint.”
Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1979, Brooke Major is an American artist who divides her time between Normandy, France and the North Georgia mountains.
Her life and work are rooted in two lifelong passions — art and horses — which intersect directly in her studio practice. In Normandy, she breeds and trains show-jumping horses that serve as models and inspiration for her paintings.
Major is known for her signature monochromatic oil paintings, created exclusively with shades of white and beige. Rather than relying on traditional brushstrokes, she builds thick layers of oil paint using palette knives, sculpting the surface to create three-dimensional textures that interact with light and shadow. This approach challenges the boundaries between painting and sculpture.
Her subject matter also includes architecture and landscape, particularly European motifs such as cathedral archways, country estates and Norman stone buildings — a reflection of the many years she has spent working in France. Despite the range of themes, all of Major’s work is unified by her commitment to monochrome.
By removing color, she asks viewers to concentrate on form, texture and light itself. Each mark becomes a sculpted element, allowing her subjects to subtly emerge from the surface.
Major has exhibited in both Europe and the United States, continuing to develop her unique visual language through an active studio practice. Her work remains firmly grounded in materiality, personal experience and the subjects that surround her every day.
More of Brooke’s work can be seen in her personal website https://brooke-major.com/en/
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