Brino Ism is a contemporary fine artist with a career spanning more than five decades and a wide range of mediums from acrylics to spray paint. He has been painting/ teaching, fine arts, assemblage, satire, graffiti, graphic design and murals / street art. Raised in southern Louisiana, he was influenced by the French Impressionist movement through time spent with artists in the French Quarter, where the vibrant energy of the area shaped his early appreciation for light, color, and atmosphere.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Brino attended Louisiana State University and Louisiana Tech University, where the abstract impressionist movement as well as the influence of grafitti took him to a new level. After college, he pursued a practical path in the arts, working as a graphic designer, event designer, muralist, sign painter, and T-shirt printer. He participated in local and national art shows, earned features in newspapers, and exhibited in university and gallery events. In the 1980s, he owned and operated a design firm in Baton Rouge, where his company handled high-profile projects including the U.S. National Hot Air Balloon Championship, a Mardi Gras Ball in Washington, D.C., and the Baton Rouge Blues Festival, among others.
In the 1990s, Brino relocated to Hollywood, California, and opened a gallery on Melrose Avenue called XX/O. The space became a gathering point for emerging artists, poets, and bands, contributing to the Los Angeles underground art scene. At the same time, he worked in the film industry for companies such as MTV, HBO Comedy, 20th Century Fox, and various smaller production firms, contributing to theatre sets, prop design, and art placement. His own artwork appeared in television shows and movies, including a McDonald’s commercial where one of his paintings was featured and later purchased by the company.
From 2000 to 2015, Brino settled in Northern California, where his artistic practice evolved into a more lifestyle-oriented approach. He lived off-grid for periods and traveled internationally with Dr. Patch Adams’ clown troupe, performing in orphanages, children’s hospitals, and street venues. He taught urban art and graffiti classes at a teen center in Santa Rosa, where he developed the “Wanted Happy” brand—a sticker series that has since appeared in numerous countries around the world. He also served as an art teacher and mural instructor at a juvenile detention center in Sonoma County for nine years, while continuing to paint and exhibit locally. During this period, he opened Studio ISM a gallery in Santa Rosa’s SOFA Arts District and and at the same time co-founded the band, Jug Dealers, which performed at festivals, toured regionally, and released an album before he returned his focus to solo artistic pursuits.
Since 2015, Brino has embraced a nomadic lifestyle, customizing a vintage travel trailer and documenting his journeys in the short documentary series “Adventures of a Happy Hobo” on YouTube. He has traveled extensively, most recently spending time in Mexico, where he connected with local artists, musicians, and communities in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. His work, including a mural and his recent series painted there, are exhibited at Galeria Studio Cerrillo, currently the only gallery representing him. His primary focus now is a watercolor series inspired by the locations he visits, capturing the light, atmosphere, and character of each place through translucent layers and organic shapes detailed with a thousand brush strokes. His current series called “Postcards from the Edge” it includes works from San Cristóbal and Acapulco in Mexico, as well as Roatán in Honduras (as of 2026), with additional locations planned. Visiting the website, brinoism.com for current events and locations.
Brino maintains an active presence across social media platforms under handles such as @brinoism, #brinoism, and Brino Ism. His work is available through brinoism.com as museum-quality giclée prints, archival greeting cards, posters, and original pieces. He is currently available for artist-in-residence opportunities, murals, art classes, and commissions.