Stepping into Brian Major’s home studio in Blaine is like entering a creative, colorful world.
The space is a landscape awash in fantasy and science fiction, from various-sized sculptures and framed comic books to shelves full of finished model kits. The 62-year-old is recently retired, but several hours each day, he winds up in his studio working on something artistic.
“It’s a compulsion,” Major says. “I’m just a guy who likes to make things.”
Over the years, Major has balanced various day jobs with stints devoted entirely to art, including professionally-commissioned work in both the commercial and residential spheres. His skill set is varied and has included a focus on drawing, painting, and sculpting throughout the decades.
Brian Major’s Path to Putty
Major grew up in New Hampshire, but moved to Washington with his wife about 40 years ago. The couple yearned for a life free of East Coast influence, he says, and found the right vibe in Whatcom County. They’ve resided in the same Blaine home for the last 32 years.
During his childhood, a drawing of a U.S. figure skater was among the first things Major created that drew others’ attention. As a teenager, his love of comic books also flourished. He’s always been especially fond, he notes, of the Silver Surfer.
When Major was a younger artist, he began doing portraiture: first for friends and family members, and later for those he knew less well. He eventually moved on to recreations of historical and classical paintings to improve his painting skills by following the brushstrokes of the masters.
Over the years, Major has completed numerous commissioned murals on the walls of people’s homes. At one home on Mercer Island, he lived in a guest suite during the week for several months while completing a mural project.
His public-facing work has also included dozens of murals, including many performance-based chalk murals meant to fade with time. More long-lasting creations include a painted mural in Fall City, Washington’s Art Park, created with help from art students at Mount Si High School in 2011.
Major also produced art projects for the Bellevue Art Museum, as well as work for Bellevue’s Kemper Development Company, whose portfolio includes the Bellevue Square shopping mall complex.
When not devoted solely to art, Major’s career often focused on fabrication, from dental labs to car and truck accessories. He also spent a decade doing shipping and receiving work for Blaine’s Haggen grocery store.
Now retired from commercial art work and other jobs, Major focuses on the occasional private commission and whatever makes him personally happy. For roughly the last five years, the latter has been working with clay sculpture.
The change in medium occurred partially when Major’s eyesight worsened with age, leading to frustration with the eyestrain of painting. The melding of sculpture-based work with his love of comics led to appearances at local Comic-Con events and to the creation of sculptures for such events.
In his studio, a figure of Deadpool, crafted for a prior Bellingham Comic-Con event, stands not far from a sculpture of Mephisto and Marvel’s The Sandman. The latter sits in a Tonka truck and was previously wheeled around various Comic-Con events. Surrounding his workspace are also plenty of action figures and model kits, most of which Major has painted or customized in some way.
“I love collecting things like this,” he says, pointing at a shelf of figurines above his workspace. “It’s so much fun.”
Recent Brian Major Works
At the 2025 Pacific Nerdwest event in downtown Bellingham, Major brought some of his creations to the Hotel Leo ballroom for display. They included Hammerstein and Mongrol, two robot characters from the ABC Warriors comic book series.
The two figurines are the largest Major has ever built, with Hammerstein – a combination of clay, cardboard, and various scrap wire gathered from an electrical company’s refuse – standing over five feet tall.
“I really wanted it to be menacing to a kid,” he says. “I was imagining, if you’re ‘this tall’ and you’re looking up at that, what does that look like to you?”
Major says he put about 80 hours into Hammerstein, which he began building during the pandemic. Mongrol, shorter but no less impressive, is made primarily from foam and insulation. The robot’s head is an upside-down wig stand.
Major also recently participated in the Whatcom Artist Studio Tour, which invites art patrons into local artists’ studios. The tour allowed him to show off another new series, this one of sculpted Centaurs.
“They’re kind of virile,” he says of the mythical creatures. “They always had that larger-than-life, God-like quality in all the stories that I ever read. And I always thought that they were one of those subjects you could do a nice fantasy piece with.”
Major also plays guitar whenever the urge strikes, and has a small collection of instruments. Although he no longer does commercial work, Major says he’s still open for commissioned art.
But despite using the word “retirement,” Brian Major isn’t about to stop creating anytime soon. It’s unlikely he’d be able to.
“I am a maker,” he says. “I’ll always be creative. I’ll always create something.”
