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    Home»Artist»Derrick Bullard: 24 Years of Paint and Persistence
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    Derrick Bullard: 24 Years of Paint and Persistence

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    Derrick Bullard started painting when he was just a teenager. He had ADD, lots of it, and not much that held his attention. But painting did. It gave him something to lock into—something that didn’t ask for neat answers or perfect focus, just time and presence. That was enough. And so he kept going. What began as a teenage coping mechanism became a lifelong rhythm. No art school. No dealer’s pressure. No critics to please. Just him and the paint, day after day.

    Now, two decades later, Bullard’s body of work is massive. He’s produced hundreds of paintings—maybe over a thousand already—with a personal goal of 2,500 before he’s done. There’s no big manifesto or mission statement behind it. It’s just what he does. The result is a raw, deeply personal archive of one man’s process, not shaped by trends or art-world noise. Just time, experience, and color on canvas.


    The Work of Derrick Bullard

    What is the difference between me and you?

    This oil painting is something of a turning point for Bullard. It’s not flashy. It’s not chasing attention. It’s more like a confession. A breath. A clearing of the throat. In this piece, Bullard strips everything back to ask one simple question—what separates one person from another? The answer isn’t clear, and that’s kind of the point.

    For Bullard, this painting is a mirror. It’s about standing still long enough to see who you really are and daring to share that. There’s something in the brushwork—unguarded, maybe even exposed. It’s not decoration. It’s declaration. This is the kind of painting that doesn’t tell you how to feel. It just asks you to stay with it. Let it settle in. The debut of this piece in Venice, Italy feels right. It carries that level of personal weight, but it also leaves space for others to find their own reflection in it.


    Rooster

    This one’s rough around the edges in the best way. Rooster isn’t just a painting—it’s survival made visible. Bullard began it in New Orleans and finished it in Atlanta. It’s painted over someone else’s discarded canvas, which feels symbolic. Like the artist picked up what someone threw away and made something out of it—because that’s exactly what he had to do during those months on the street.

    He was trading, bartering, living hand-to-mouth. The days weren’t easy, but they were full. He talks about how “you can live a whole lifetime in just 24 hours.” That’s not romanticizing struggle; that’s just calling it what it was. The Roosterbecame a personal totem of sorts—a reminder that each morning is a gift. That you’ve made it one more day. Visually, it’s simple: a rooster. But the weight behind it is anything but. It’s gratitude, exhaustion, resilience, and memory—all bound up in color and shape.


    12 Postcards

    These are small. Maybe the smallest things Bullard has ever painted. But they took years to finish. Not because they’re complicated, but because they required a different kind of patience. Working on something tiny, between bigger projects, forced him to slow down and adapt.

    Each postcard is a complete idea in itself—fully formed, fully present. It’s not about shrinking his process; it’s about distilling it. There’s a quietness here, but also a deep focus. Bullard didn’t rush them. He didn’t try to mass-produce. He let each one find its own pace.

    Seven of the twelve are now heading to Venice for their debut. It’s a big leap for such small pieces. But that’s the irony—these little paintings carry just as much emotional and artistic weight as anything full-sized. They’re proof that scale doesn’t define impact.


    Bullard’s art doesn’t come with a long explanation or slick packaging. It doesn’t need it. The work speaks for itself, and more than that, it shows up honestly. There’s no separation between the artist and the art. What you’re seeing is a record of someone trying to figure it all out, one painting at a time. That’s the difference. That’s the point.

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    Seraphina Calder
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