Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Gratiot.
Robert, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My father had a real job, but he was also a serious painter. As a boy, I would watch him paint, and he would give me lessons. Painting was such a part of my family that, when I switched to an art major my senior year of college, my parents just said: “Bobby, just do the best you can at whatever you decide to do.” I was very lucky.
I went on to art school in Los Angeles and got an MFA in painting from Denver University. I didn’t really know how to do anything else and was too naive to be worried about money, so I just got part-time jobs and painted. For the last umpteen years, I have been teaching, (part-time), painting at the Art Students League in Denver, and painting. I feel very grateful to be doing both activities because I love them both. And I still don’t think I can do much else, except I did write a book that people think is actually pretty funny and pretty good. It is called “Reflections, The Art Of Robert Gratiot”. On the Amazon bestseller list, I think it is hovering at about 945,643.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has not always been a smooth road. Art is so subjective, and artists always have to deal with rejections. I know it sounds like an eye-rolling cliche, but many of us actually are pretty sensitive, and I am no exception. One of my many character defects is that I want everybody to like my art, and to like me, and that is never going to happen. You have to learn to paint for yourself!!
I have also been pestered with anxiety and depression since just about forever, and have been in recovery from alcohol addiction for over 12 years, which has really added to my happiness and serenity. I joke that: “Heck, if you are an artist, and you turn into an alcoholic, then people think that you are a REAL artist, and you can double your prices.”
We’d love to hear more about your art.
My business, and lifestyle, revolves around painting. I am best known for painterly photo-realistic images of reflective city doors and windows, in which one can see several layers of “reality” at the same time. I am also known for still life paintings of marbles or agates, or John Lennon glasses in cellophane, or trinkets thrown together in a seemingly random way, or candies in shiny wrappers, etc.. These are all done in acrylic paints.
I also do a lot of smaller work. Presently I am doing landscapes in oil on cigar boxes. I have done hundreds of pet portraits, and carved fish, done some inane tiles in ceramics which are kind of funny, and done a passel full of water-colors. I am most proud that I have been able to live my life as an artist, and that I have followed my heart in my work. I am also very touched that I have many people who believe that I have been a good teacher to them.
I think what might set me apart from others is that I have been pretty tenacious in my work, that I have always challenged myself and tried to enjoy what I am doing, and that I am still excited about doing my work even though I have been doing it for decades. Heck, maybe that all makes me the same as everybody else.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think Denver is a pretty good city in which to be an artist. It has an active arts scene, a lot of very good artists’ co-ops and alternative spaces. I also think that Denver’s rising housing prices might be a deterrent for some young people trying to start out in the arts.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.robgratiot.com
- Email: robgratiot@earthlink.net
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