Brian

I felt it important to include Brian Smith among The Artists That Move Me, though this photo is from earlier than the rest of the project. One of my first ever ‘portrait sessions’ in 2016 just days after Brian retired from teaching acting at the University of Calgary’s School of Creative and Performing Arts, where I did my BFA a long way back.

Brian was the first person to get through to me that failing at art was not only okay, but an expected part of the process. I sat with him and told him I didn’t think acting was my art form anymore, that I was scared because my path was leading somewhere else. I was distraught and, with his ever-calm demeanour, he assured me that so long as I continued to look inward and be true to what I found, that the path would eventually become clear. 

He has been one of the biggest male influences of my life, and ushered me through one of the most harrowing moments of my life. One where I can clearly see my path forever having changed course.