Some artists begin with a pencil in their hand. Brett Morrison began with a pen, a piece of paper, and nowhere else to put what he was feeling.
During a stay in rehab, Brett had his television taken away. Frustrated, anxious, afraid, and bored, he picked up the only thing he had. A pen. He started drawing. His first subject was his roommate.
It wasn't a great drawing, but it started something.
From that moment, Brett kept drawing. What began as something to occupy his mind slowly became something much more important. Art became a way to quiet the noise, work through resentment, confront trauma, and release thoughts and emotions that he didn't always know how to express.
In the beginning, Brett says his work was "garbage." But he kept going.
And eventually, something changed.
He started seeing progress. Not just in his drawings, but in himself. He discovered something that seems simple, but can be difficult to believe when you're struggling: if you put effort into something, you can get better at it.
That realization became bigger than art.
Brett doesn't believe his purpose is to teach everyone how to become a professional artist. He isn't even trying to convince everyone to fall in love with art. What he wants people to experience is the transformation that can happen when you give yourself permission to try.
Because for Brett, that transformation became deeply personal.
The last several years haven't been easy. In fact, some of them have been among the most difficult years of his journey with addiction. From the outside, very little may have changed. But internally, art gave Brett somewhere to put the fear, anxiety, resentment, trauma, and sense of impending doom that could otherwise consume him.
Looking back, he can see that the moments that mattered most weren't necessarily about creating something perfect. They were the moments when he realized he was capable of doing something he once believed he couldn't.
One of those moments came through a piece he created early in his journey. It gave him confidence. Not because the piece was perfect, but because he had made it. He had taken an idea, put in the effort, and watched himself create something he didn't think was possible.
That feeling is what Brett wants to pass on.
At Trace, that's what makes Brett's story worth sharing.
We believe creativity isn't reserved for people who already consider themselves artists. It's not about having natural talent, knowing what you're doing, or creating something that belongs in a gallery. Sometimes it's simply about picking up a pen, a brush, a camera, a skateboard, or whatever gives you a way to express something that words can't.
Everyone starts somewhere.
Everyone is at a different point in their life. Everyone sees the world differently. And everyone carries something different with them.
Brett's approach is to meet people where they are.
He wants to understand what someone needs, what they're capable of seeing in themselves, and what might help them take that next step. His goal isn't to make everyone the same. It's to help people recognize something in themselves that they may not have recognized before.
Maybe it's artistic ability. Maybe it's patience. Maybe it's confidence. Maybe it's simply the realization that they can start something and get better.
Brett knows because he lived it.
He picked up a pen in a moment when he didn't know what else to do. Three years later, he hadn't just become a better artist. He had discovered a different way to process the world around him.
And that's the opportunity he wants to give to someone else.
You don't have to believe it will work.
You don't have to consider yourself an artist.
You don't even have to know where you're going.
Just keep an open mind. Put a little effort into it. Start somewhere.
You might be surprised by what you find in yourself.
This is Brett Morrison. This is his story. And this is why we're proud to have him as part of Trace.
