We were lucky to catch up with Steve Griggs recently and have shared our conversation below.

Steve, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

My desire to be a full-time visual artist started very early in life. It is what I most wanted to do, but I didn’t know how to make it work. I believed the trope about ‘starving artists’ and didn’t think I could make a viable living from my art. I chose an alternative career path in design, which I thought would, at least, feed my creative desires. I maintained that career while my partner, Sue, and I raised children, bought a house, and did all the things associated with adulthood. The desire to become a full-time artist never left, however. I was always a hobbyist painter. I entered shows and won awards but I still didn’t know how to transition to full-time artist. Quite late in life Sue and I made the decision to take the risk and, rather than just me leaving my career to become a full-time artist, she also left her career to take on promoting and marketing my work. We’ve often asked ourselves if we should have taken the plunge much earlier in life. Truthfully, I don’t think so. The desire was there, but I don’t think I was confident enough in my work and hadn’t firmly established my painting style. The ups and downs of full-time art can be challenging. I don’t know if I would have been able to navigate those ups and downs any sooner. So, do I wish I had started my creative career sooner? No. I don’t think so. I know who I am as an artist. I know my work doesn’t look like other watercolor artists, I am confident in that now but, it took some time to gain that confidence. I know other artists who started much earlier in life and are quite successful. That was the perfect choice for them. It took me a while to find my artist voice and I’m not sure I would have been successful before I did. Every artist has to choose the best time for them to embark on a full-time art career. For me, the timing has been perfect.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a watercolor painter who paints with a very loose style. I went to art school and learned the fundamentals of traditional watercolor painting but, over time, I developed a style that is different from most watercolor painters. My style is quite intuitive and my paintings have a lot of life, movement, and emotion built into them. I try to create paintings that connect with people. I’m not interested in just painting a pretty scene, I want to paint something that the viewer looks at and feels a part of. I want them to remember a time or place that stirs emotion. Collectors regularly tell me they want to purchase a particular painting because it reminds them of a special time or place. I’ve even had them insist they know the exact location that inspired the painting. That may not be what I intended when I painted it, but if they develop a powerful connection with it, I’ve accomplished exactly what I intended! My paintings hang in homes and businesses around the world and one of the things I frequently hear from collectors is how they regularly see something different when they look at it. One of my favorite things to hear, is how the painting sets a tone or a mood for the collector whenever they look at it. As an artist, there is no greater compliment than knowing my work makes someone feel something even after they have looked at it over a long period of time.

When I first started showing my art to the public, it was by entering into local juried shows. My paintings would get into the show and I frequently won awards. Over time I began entering regional, national, and international paintings and won awards in those as well. Organizations began inviting me to teach my style and also asked me to jury their shows. My paintings were added to corporate collections, I’ve been commissioned to create a series of paintings for a national restaurant chain, and I’m now represented by several high end galleries. It has taken time to grow my presence as an artist but every time someone purchases a painting it is gratifying to know that people enjoy my art and want to display it in their home or business.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I truly do believe in the power of art to change the world. Lofty? Perhaps. Trite? I don’t think so. Art has the capacity to remind us of our humanity and to connect us to one another. This paragraph is on my website:

“I like to think of my paintings as a love letter to the people, places, and moments that make up the human experience. A single painting might speak a thousand different stories to a thousand different people. Nevertheless, a painting can remind us that, although our stories might differ, we are all connected. The experience of being human makes us one.”

That sums up my main goal in painting. If looking at one of my paintings causes someone to feel something, be reminded of a location, or feel connected to others, I’ve accomplished my goal.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I think any artist will tell you that creating art requires a great deal of resilience. Some people will love your work and others simply won’t understand it. This happens even within the artist community. I can enter a show one year and win ‘Best of Show’ from the juror and the next year, with a different juror, my painting might not even be selected to hang. Sometimes people look at my art and become absolutely overwhelmed with emotion. Other people will grimace and shake their heads. That is just the nature of creating art! A person who prefers realism probably won’t like my paintings that can border on abstraction. The point, however, isn’t to create art that appeals to everyone. That simply isn’t possible. It can be a bit daunting to hear someone say they don’t like my style or to enter a show and receive a ‘no thank you’ but, when that happens, I just pick up a paintbrush and do what I do because, as I said above, if my paintings cause someone to feel something, I’ve accomplished my goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://stevegriggswatercolor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevegriggswatercolor/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stevegriggswatercolor
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SteveGriggsWatercolor
• Other: Learn to Paint Podcast: https://www.learntopaintpodcast.com/podcast/episode59