Conversations with Mike Graves

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Graves.

Hi Mike, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My name is Mike Graves I’m a visual artist from Denver Colorado. I started drawing at an early age, I would copy comic book illustrations and skateboard graphics when I was in elementary school. When I was in high school, I was super into skateboarding and snowboarding. Around this time, I had friends who started doing graffiti. I was drawn to the free spirit, low-brow, aesthetic of skating and graffiti, especially the characters. I started to develop my style of illustrations working mostly with colored pencils and markers. After high school, I started painting with acrylics and spray paint.

I had my first show and 99 Since then, I’ve had shows all over the United States and multiple different countries. in 2003, I moved to Oahu and learned how to screen print I started a clothing company called Roane Clothing and sold clothes in Honolulu. I also started doing more freelance design work. In 2006 I moved back to Denver and began to concentrate more on gallery shows and larger mural work.

I started to get more recognition around the city and began to get more corporate jobs. I’ve done work for Multiple restaurants and bars, The Denver Art Museum, Jameson, Deep Eddy Vodka, Abstract, and New Amsterdam Vodka just to name a few. About seven years ago, I also began curating for festivals and curated for Abstract Gallery for two years. Most recently, I was asked to be the art Director for the Denver sister cities mural/art exchange program.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For me, the biggest challenge of being a working artist is remaining relevant. There tend to be constant ups and downs with the ever-changing of people in charge.

There’s always a new popular person or a new style coming into the scene. I think since I’ve been able to work in so many different art scenes, I’ve been able to make it. Being a successful artist for over 25 years truly is an honor and something I don’t take for granted.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My artwork is heavily cartoon/character based Art I’ve tried to develop a style that can be easily recognizable and also interchangeable. If I’m painting a person, animal, or imaginary creature most people who are familiar with my work will know it’s me.

It almost becomes like a scavenger hunt throughout the city for people to find my work. For this reason, that’s why I love doing public mural work, it’s free for anyone who wants to see it unlike a gallery or museum it’s easily accessible.

We all have different ways of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Defining success is a tough question. There are many parts to it, of course being able to support yourself monetarily is huge, but the main thing is growing as an artist.

For me that’s painting with people who inspire me, traveling, and painting with new people. The experience of painting with friends in new cities and being able to leave a mark has always been a dream of mine. Luckily, I made that happen multiple times and hopefully, I can continue to do that in the future. That would be a success for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: cartel.com
• Instagram: @_mike.graves_
• Facebook: Facebook.com/mike.graves.566