RICHMOND, Va. — Brie Hayden transforms ordinary antique bottles into extraordinary works of art from her apartment in Richmond's Fan District.
"I love the signs of wear and tear on them as a challenge as a visual artist," Hayden said. "I try to get a nice reflection on the glass coming in on one side of the bottle. Having the other side cast in shadow."
Her century-old subjects are always standing at attention, waiting to be immortalized through her hyperrealistic drawings.
"I am always on the hunt for different bottles," Hayden said. "I had no idea that I would ever get this into bottles. I never thought I'd start collecting bottles. But here we are. The old bottles have such unique texture in sort of their aged features."
While many might assume she works in digital photography, Hayden prefers a simpler approach when creating her mirror images.
"So this is hyperrealism. It's where you add so much detail to a piece that it almost looks like a photograph," Hayden said.
Hayden excels at capturing the tiniest of details. Old whiskey, apothecary and champagne bottles are her specialty.
"The most challenging part of working with bottles is probably the text work," Hayden said. "In a flattering sense a lot of people do think that these are photographs and when I tell them otherwise that helps bring them in and really look at the detail."
The James Madison University graduate didn't intend on becoming a full-time artist or bottle aficionado.
"If the glass has a little bit of a purple hue to it, it can indicate that it predates World War I," Hayden said.
This Northern Virginia native earned a degree in science. The self-taught artist started drawing only five years ago.
"I work at all times of the day," Hayden said. "So typically I'm working on a lot of pieces at one time. So all of the work takes several weeks to finish."
Hayden gives the antique glass new life. It is recycling at its finest.
"So yeah I do feel like I'm honoring not just the story of the bottle itself, but the memories that were made around them," Hayden said. "I think the fact that these bottles are still around that they kept them that meant that they were important to them at one point."
Hayden is gaining a loyal following. One of her fans is none other than Hollywood heavyweight Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
"He has his own tequila brand and he commissioned three different pieces from me," Hayden said. "And that just led to a whole flood of interest in my work."
Hayden learned to appreciate hyperrealism in Washington, D.C. She worked as a makeup artist at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.
"I was maintaining the wax figures which I loved," Hayden said. "I found it fascinating that you can do certain things with art to trick your eye into thinking that something is real."
But when COVID hit, the museum shut down. It left Hayden out of a job and wondering what was next. She took a leap of faith by drawing and hasn't looked back.
"I think social media has been everything for getting myself to a point where I'm full-time," Hayden said.
The 31-year-old's decision is paying off. Her canvases command between $750 and $3,000.
"So hours and hours can pass before I even realize how much time I've spent on working on the piece," Hayden said.
Patrons are lining up to commission their own canvases.
"These are all very unique and I also once I finish a piece featuring a bottle I won't revisit that bottle ever," Hayden said. "They are true one of a kind."
Each of her drawings are done free-hand. No tracing. No projection and no AI.
"Also I am able to highlight the fact that with these imperfections that you can still create something that's very beautiful," Hayden said. "And I think the contrast has really beautiful visual element to it."
A graphite pencil, an antique bottle and an artist overflowing with talent is a winning combination.
"I will say when a piece sells there is a little bit of sadness that goes into that because I've spent so much time with it," Hayden said.
Brie's bottles. Artwork that is good to the last drop.
"That is the benefit of realism once I've captured all the details of it's ready," Hayden said. "I haven't gotten tired of a bottle of a subject yet so we'll see where this continues to take me."
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
