Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Theodoor Gabriella Grimes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Theodoor Gabriella, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the best or worst investment you’ve made (either in terms of time or money)? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)

When I think about my greatest investment, two different situations come to mind. When I was beginning my art career back in 2019, I applied for a $1000 grant for women and non-binary people. I won the grant, and the first thing I did was purchase a website for the first time in my life. Up until that point, I sold prints of my work on depop or directly through DMs. The website cost 1/3 of the grant money I received, and it felt like an enormous investment for me at the time when I had a long list of supplies and necessities to purchase. It ended up being a great way to spend my money, as having a site helped my art take off even faster. People were able to google me and find my site, and I began selling a lot more prints. This investment in my business paid off quickly in big ways, and I’m always grateful to who I was at the time for making that decision.

This year, I’ve felt similar financial strain to my first year as an artist. With AI being used more and more, companies have been hiring artists less. I’ve also been suppressed on Instagram for over 2 years, so it’s been harder bringing in new customers. I’ve spent a lot of time and money trying out new products and designs since the beginning of the year: coasters, stickers, magnets, etc! A huge amount of time and money have gone into making these products. I recently came out with a new crop top that my audience went crazy about. It felt like all the time and money I spent was worth it. I got paid back tenfold, finally able to work a little bit less and have the money to take care of my basic needs that have long been ignored. I’m grateful to myself for investing time, energy, and money back into what I love doing the most.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m an artist from the Bronx, NYC! I’ve always loved art and been interested in art, but it was always a hobby until I was 23 and about to graduate college. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and I didn’t want to go into the music field with my bachelor’s in music. In the prior year, I’d reconnected to my artistic spirit and began taking small commissions for mostly friends. I was homeless at the time, living with my mom and brother in a shelter. I asked them to give me a year to see how far I could get post-graduation. By the end of 2019, I was moved out, living with my partner, and getting huge jobs that paid for my new life. I had a Black trans artist grant a couple years ago that I funded, and I was able to give back to my community in ways I never thought possible!

Since December of 2023, a lot of my focus has shifted to personal commissions: I’ve painted many wonderful portraits of couples, friends, loved ones. I have an intense love for portraying others’ love, and because my work focuses on queer people, my clients can find a lot of affirmation in my work for them. People can safely tell me what characteristics they want accentuated or toned down to aid dysphoria, and align this portrait with their soul rather than simply their physical form.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

It is my mission to have my art positively impacting as many people as possible. I want people to have access to my art, to see it in their personal spaces and feel elated and safe. I started creating art featuring queer people of color because I didn’t get that representation growing up. I always felt like an outcast and a freak, and couldn’t comprehend that it was because I was so queer. Had I seen more loudly queer people in media, I would have had a much easier time understanding myself. I feel blessed that I can help other people process these same feelings in themselves through bold artwork. I want to bring fun, queer art to the people.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

You will fail a lot. Failure is part of the creative process. Like any other work in the world, there are going to be ups and downs and slow times. I’ve wanted to give up so many times, but there is nothing I would rather spend my life doing than creating. When things have been bad for me, I’ve considered moving on, to look for something more practical and not based in the arts. But I’ve spent most of my living in a way that didn’t make me happy or align with my goals and values as a human being. I simply cannot fathom struggling through this life while doing work that doesn’t make me happy. If I have to struggle, I will do so with my soul being seen and enriched by others. Creativity heals my spirit–it’s the world that we live in that denies the value of creativity while fully relying on it. I can never give up on creativity, and I’m aware this stubbornness will lead to harder times in my life, but this is part of my life’s story, and whenever my time on this earth ceases to be, I will be able to say to myself, “at least I have done what I love.”

Contact Info:

• Website: http://ggggrimes.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/ggggrimes
• Twitter: https://x.com/ggggrimes

Image Credits

Image of ggggrimes in black robe by Callum Grimes