At first glance Vanja Borcic didn’t strike me as unusual. As an average late twenty-something Iowan with piercing brown eyes, I never would have guessed he had fled from Bosnia as a child and in the Midwest developed an insatiable passion for art and philosophy. Borcic was born in Bihac, Bosnia. His parents and family fled war-torn Bosnia in 1996 as refugees. While growing up in Iowa, Borcic attended Hoover High School and then Grandview University for a bachelor’s in Graphic Design and Fine Arts.
“I came from an artistic family,” he admitted. Four of his uncles were artists, and as a young man he was surrounded by art. He would always draw on stuff, including the wall in his bedroom. When his parents discovered his passion for art, they encouraged him.
His apartment and studio are filled with art acquired from his friends and his own baffling creations. His paintings feature eerie other-worlds overflowing with bright warm colors and alien creatures he called Soullinks.
“I like to make up stuff,” he said about the Soullinks, describing them as “little white creatures.” These little white creatures appeared frequently in his works as a unifying theme of many of the paintings. His work featured other strange animal hybrids, existing in their own alien other-worlds.
As I toured his basement studio, I discovered finished paintings, half-finished paintings, and just-started paintings lying on tables, chairs, and a sofa. Various tubes of paint, brushes, and spray bottles were strewn about the room in a fashion one might expect from an artist as prolific as Borcic. He sat down at a drum set in the corner of the basement and starting playing a solo.
“I’m playing around,” he said. “That’s what artists do.” He said he uses various techniques to bring his visions into being, including painting acrylic on wood and painting on paper pasted to wood. He used this technique commonly and added varnish over the top of the acrylic to give the final images a sharp and finished look.
For creative media, Borcic said he preferred acrylic, watercolor, and Verithin pencils. I was astounded by the minute detail he achieved in his pencil and watercolor drawings. He revealed a life-sized drawing of a woman’s face that proved his mastery over the color pencil medium. Some of Borcic’s most impressive paintings were of women with beautifully crafted faces or full bodies in regal poses. He admitted that they were harder to sell, but he enjoyed the challenge of creating the images and expressing the natural beauty of women.
As the tour of the studio ended, Borcic brought me back upstairs to show me one of his favorite rifles. He said he supports the second amendment as he handed me the rifle to inspect.
Before saying goodbye, I asked him how he accomplishes his work and produces so many good paintings.
“I can feel what colors look good,” he said.
Borcic’s work has appeared in numerous art festivals, including Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Detroit, Columbus, and Chicago.
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