INTERVIEW WITH BRANDON NAULA
Mei Bock, December 2024
Seeds of the League Scholar Brandon Naula is studying to be an artist and an adaptive skipper. His classrooms include Georgia Kung’s “Etching, Relief, Monoprint, Lithography, Silkscreen” class at the League, the J24 boat on the Hudson River, and City-As-School High School, where he is currently a senior. In our conversation, Brandon discusses his art journey, from meditative beginnings to current experiments, and his work to make sailing more accessible to people with disabilities.
Mei
What sparked your interest in art and how have you gone about pursuing it?
Brandon
The first time I really got into art was about two years ago. I was in Chelsea Market with one of my friends, in the downstairs area, and we were eating and hanging out. I told him how I felt like I was really struggling to just sit in the classroom, and I felt very overwhelmed at my old school. He had to go somewhere, and ended up giving me a sketch book and a pen. He did graffiti, but I had never been with that type of thing. I don’t know how to describe it, but I played around with the pen and felt like I knew lines.
Mei
What were you drawing at first?
Brandon
Mostly just lines and dots, I was playing around and I got into it. Then I started making faces with lines. And that ended up involving different types of shapes and then evolving later on. They are sort of like comics.
Rainbow, 2025. Monoprint.
Mei
Who are some of your influences?
Brandon
Rammellzee, an artist from Far Rockaway here in New York. I really love his art, it’s a mixture of graffiti and abstract art. Another is an Ecuadorian artist, Oswaldo Guayasamín. I like to say he’s kind of like Picasso. I discovered him about a year ago when I was in Ecuador at the museum. I would just search up artists in Ecuador and I found it in Google
Mei
Can you talk more about what printmaking techniques you’ve experimented with, how your art has changed, what are some future things you want to do?
Brandon
The first time I did printmaking I used blue because it is pretty simple and I like the color. I created the anatomy of the body by circling around, like an @ symbol. I first started the layout with a pencil, to get that sharp point. That got me into using different colors. I was like “okay, I have something here,” but I didn’t know how to use a different background. So, I experimented by using this roller, and putting my finger on the roller to stop it so it rolled halfway. Even though I didn’t really like the result, trying that helped me because I wanted to try different techniques. I ended up using a rubber scraper to get those lines. Just a lot of experimenting and trying.
Mei
Did you know what effect you were trying to create? Or you were just trying to see what the paint would do?
Brandon
It was both. I was trying to see different effects of what this can do, what I can continue on and experiment with. With the rubber scraper, I made a circle, and it got a weird, trippy effect.
Anatomy of silent, 2024. Monoprint.
Mei
What are you hoping to work on in the future?
Brandon
Going back to Rammellzee, I want to have an image on a great, abstract background. The background would be Aztec? Something very ancient.
Mei
What led you to want to pursue being an adaptive skipper and what your next steps are for that?
Brandon
Over the summer I worked as an adaptive intern, working one-on-one with the adaptive skippers. I met a guy who was part of the program, and we really bonded because he taught me a lot of things that I didn’t know, especially because nobody in the city does this. You wouldn’t expect somebody to be on the water here, because NYC is not very disability friendly. He told me a lot about how he grew up in Boston, sailed a lot when he was a kid, went to college and moved to NYC, where he heard about this new adaptive program. He had no idea what adaptive sailing was. I didn’t even know adaptive skipper was a thing until I met him and then we started talking. His name is Sam.
Mei
Shout out to Sam! What was the name of the program that you did?
Brandon
It’s Hudson River Community Sailing. There’s two locations here in Chelsea and Inwood. The Inwood one is more friendly because they have a ramp, so it’s more capable for people that have wheelchairs. I worked with him a lot and got out of my comfort zone because I’m in a boat for three hours. And I’m in the middle of the water, so I can’t really escape having a conversation.
Mei
How will you go about becoming an adaptive skipper?
Brandon
I’m taking classes every Tuesday. I have to take an exam and get a 90% to pass. It’s a two year process, where first I learn how to sail the J 24 boat. It’s helpful because you need to learn discipline. Setting up the boat is a whole entire process that takes 40 minutes. With the J24 you have to take this big sheet and put it on this big line. And then it’s just moving around a boat and it takes 40 minutes to set up. These boats race in Pier 66. The philosophy is they want to get people on the water.
Fathers of color, 2024. Monoprint.
Freedom of storm, 2024. Monoprint
Mei
Then, trying to tie it together, if you were to connect your interest in sailing with art…
Brandon
When I’m in the water, I have a very clear mindset. I’m not thinking about what’s happening on land, or what’s happening anywhere. I’m just very relaxed and calm, because I’m in nature. I don’t know how to describe it, but you don’t really think about anything. You’re back into your fourth grade self. When it comes to incorporating art, I try to use leaves and animals. So it’s more like going towards nature. When you’re in Chelsea, it’s a lot of skyscraper buildings, but I love Inwood because you’re in a different setting. You’re more in mother nature. When I incorporate art, it has helped me have a very clear mindset and become very open-minded on what I do.
Mei
Do you think the discipline thing ties in?
Brandon
100 percent.
Mei
Do you ever draw when you’re on the boat?
Brandon
I have. I was stuck for like three hours on a boat, so I did have a piece of pen and a paper. I always sneak it into my pocket.
You can keep up with Brandon’s work on Instagram @brandon01_n
