Gregory Lynn Broadnax with the pen name Artist Greggy is one Creative with a beautiful heart that shines even from afar. It’s okay to be talented, gifted or super skilled in the world of Art, but most importantly, we are always thrilled by those who do not only possess great Art but combines it with kindness, love and everything beautiful, in between.

Not only does Artist Greggy believe Art can be used as a correcting tool to revive our world, he also goes all out to uplift and support other Creatives doing amazing things.

Our interview with him gives more glimpses of his beautiful world.

Enjoy and Stay Inspired:

Please can we meet Artist Greggy?
Oh my goodness if I had the chance to meet in person all of my fellow creatives who have created this awesome vehicle called Hello ICON Magazine…until that day, here’s a little snapshot of who I am.
What does Art mean to you?
To me, art is life. I could not imagine a single day going by without thinking about or creating art in some form or another. Ever since I was a young child, art has always been a refuge for me, a place where I could retreat to when the world seemed to be out of control or unforgiving. Art is manifest in everything that I see and do. Creating art and enjoying the art of other creatives helps me to relax and focus my spiritual awareness of the world around me. One of the most exciting phases of my growth as an artist has been my discovery of digital art and how I could merge it with my traditional drawings and paintings. This has greatly broadened my range of creativity and allowed me to explore my own artistic potential.
Can you remember the first Artwork you created and what inspired it?
I do not have any recollection of when I created my first Artwork as I have been creating art ever since I was a child. It would be safe to state that more than likely nature has been one of the greatest inspirations for my earliest artworks, since I have always been entranced by the richness and beauty of the great outdoors. Even now, most of my art creations contain imaginary landscapes and settings that I love to visualize as existing somewhere out there.
Have you ever held back your gifts at some point, perhaps through self-doubt? Have you ever felt it ‘boxed’ by someone else or an experience? How did you manage times like this and how do you best face challenges?
When I was much younger, I began noticing that my drawings and sketches were being noticed by others. I mistakenly began to compare my art creations to the art that I saw in books and magazines, which probably did allow a certain element of self-doubt to creep in. I remember gazing at the art in magazines and books and wishing that someday I would be able to draw like that or paint such beautiful pieces of art. This was before I became aware that my own art had any significant value or was worthy enough to attract much interest or attention from others. I used to give my drawings and sketches away simply because someone said that they liked it or thought it looked cool. At that time in my life, I had not yet made the connection between what creating art meant to me on a personal level and what it might be inspiring in other people’s imaginations. Now that I have spent the better part of my life creating art and have a much clearer concept of the role that art plays in all our lives, it has become easier for me to understand how all art is an undefinable concept that can’t be measured or compared. This in return removes the feeling that doing or creating art can ever be considered as something of a challenge to me.

Your words carry so much life within each line, what are the major inspirations behind your works?
Thanks, I really appreciate that affirmation. It’s kind of funny because when I think back to when I first started writing on Instagram, I think I was trying too hard to “sound” like a poet, almost as if I felt a need to rhyme my words or use some sort of clever sounding rhythmic approach to writing poetry. Little did I realize at the time that I was more of a casual writer than I was an accomplished poet. I don’t consider myself a writer of poetry, but rather I can best describe my writings as me trying to describe or explain my personal life experiences as short stories. Once I was able to understand the difference between being a writer and being a poet, I was able to find my comfort zone so to speak. That allowed me to begin adding my visual artworks into the creative process as a complement to my writings. The major inspirations behind both my writings and my artworks probably come from my own life experiences, along with also having the gift of having a robust imagination.

At the center of many of your awe-inspiring words is God. How would you best describe your works as a writer?
Writing for me has always come from a desire to describe life from my point of view, without having a need to judge or minimize someone else’s experience as to how they view life. As I have grown and matured, especially over the last several years, I have developed a strong and intimate relationship with God on a personal level and it’s only natural for that to reflect in my writings. I have always desired to acknowledge and give thanks to God for the many gifts that I have been blessed with and one of the best ways that I think that I can do that is by joyfully sharing with others the creativity that I’ve been blessed with. Writing allows me to give a more direct testimony as to how God is the focus and foundation of everything that I create.

Balancing work time and rest time is a struggle for many Creatives out there. Can you share few tips on how you try to balance work time, rest time and family time?
I have been living the “retired” life for the last 4-5 years now, so thankfully for me there is no need to balance work time or rest time since everything about time sort of blends together now. Plus, living the last few years with this global pandemic and the resulting chaos that came with it, has changed how we all view the concept of time anyway. My daughter is a grown woman and resides in another state, while I am currently living with one of my sisters and her family, so there really is no need for me to balance family time either. For me, just having the ability to wake up every day and write or create art at my leisure is a huge blessing that I can’t emphasize enough. One tip that I would offer, if possible, would be to try to find good quality time for whatever ignites your creative passion, whether that be writing, painting, drawing, or any of the other creative venues that you might be involved in, without feeling forced or constrained by the limitations of time, outside influences or any other distractions.

How was growing up like?
My childhood was spent growing up during the “turbulent 60’s”, that period of social upheaval here in the United States that was marked by the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, a popular presidential candidate in 1968, and the great civil rights activist and American Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr., who also was assassinated in 1968 as well. The resulting climate of chaos and racial strife during that turbulent decade had a lasting impact on my young mind and I began to use art as a creative safety net to retreat to since it was the one thing in life that I felt I had control of at that time. I had a scientific mindset when I was young, with the need to always take things apart to see what made them work, or I was forever building micro-habitats so that I could study up close the behavior of ants and other small insects. Once I became a teenager and became more in touch with my immediate surroundings, I had developed a huge appreciation for nature by then and my interests turned more towards drawing, sketching, painting, and creating my first artworks. The artist in me had just started rumbling awake, LOL.

Do you feel Creatives in developed countries are at advantage than those in developing countries?
To a certain degree, yes. Primarily because creatives in developed countries usually will have access to more resources, better equipment and materials, and typically can receive more financial support from the “establishment”. Of course I’m speaking as a layman, without being an expert on this subject. I would assume that in developing countries there may be a constant struggle to gain access to resources, quality materials, and even studio space. Plus developing countries tend to be ruled by oppressive regimes that restrict or clamp down on creative expression of any kind. The one promising outlook looking forward however, is the fact that technology has lessened the advantage that developed countries had over developing countries in both writing and in art creation, especially in the area of digital art. Technology has made it possible to create digital art without the need for purchasing canvasses, paints, or studio space. It also has helped writers as well by allowing for a much more efficient selling and delivery process of the finished product, which would help developing countries level the creative playing field even more.

Who are your ‘ICONS’ in the digital Art industry?
There are so many incredible digital artists out there that I admire and enjoy viewing their creations. Estherr Luntandila, Princess Karibo, Chelsea Nicole, and Yung Yemi are just a few of the talented artists that have captured my imagination. I can only hope and pray that one day I might possess the sheer talent, digital software programs, and equipment that they use to create such wonderful masterpieces like they do. Primarily, I’m a huge fan of any artist, no matter what the level of expertise or talent that they possess.

What does success mean to you?
Success to me is measured not in financial terms, or the accumulation of material wealth, but rather in the feeling of personal satisfaction or accomplishment that I receive at the completion of a particular task. I feel that my writings and even my artworks are a success if just one reader or viewer can relate in a positive way to what I created. Primarily I feel satisfied if I know that someone can sense or be encouraged by the presence of God in all my works.

Let’s go a little poetic: If poetry is a rainbow and you have a choice of one color in that palette, what would that be and why?
Without question that color would probably be Aqua, or any of the blue-green shades. Blue is my happy color and represents joy in my spirit, and green is my connection to nature, which always brings me a sense of calm and peace. I do feel spiritually connected to all of the earth colors so choosing just one color is almost an impossibility for me.

If you could do a collab as a writer with any other artist, what Art would that be?
That is probably a difficult question for me to contemplate as I personally rarely consider any of my writings to be collaboration worthy, LOL. I think that I have done just a few writing collaborations since I’ve been on Instagram. What I would like to do soon, however, would be to perhaps create a small illustration to complement or attach to another writer’s submission or post, or maybe even create a small collection of illustrations that will be freely available for any writer to use with their writings.

Please briefly tell us something we do not know about Artist Greggy.
Lol, I’m not sure what else there may be to know about me that isn’t already known. I’m pretty much an open book, what you see is what you get. I don’t hide behind falsehoods, untruths, or any other type of fakeness. Although I may have a different cultural identity, and in many instances a different religious or spiritual perspective than many of the people whom I follow and who follow me, I have learned to respectfully accept everyone in their humanity first. I will never force my beliefs on someone else or judge them for who they are or what they believe, although I am quick to share my views on what I consider to be right or wrong in society without being judgmental of others. Other than that, I’m just a regular fun loving dude, old fashioned to a certain degree, I see humor in every situation, and I love to make people laugh.

My full name is Gregory Lynn Broadnax, I am known as ArtistGreggy on Instagram and in my professional endeavors.
I am from the United States of America. I would like to acknowledge my complete thanks and gratitude to Hello ICON Magazine for giving me the opportunity to share a little bit of who I am. It is a great honor to be featured in such a relevant and vibrant part of todays art scene such as the Hello ICON Magazine. I look forward to following, learning from, and growing with this publication! All of you make me feel like I’m an important part of the family!

Massive Love Artist Greggy!
The ICONIC Team