Meet Daniel Granitto

Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Granitto.

Hi Daniel, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Lakewood, just ten minutes north of where I live now (my parents still live in the house that I grew up in) and I have always had a real fondness for my suburban surroundings. Both of my parents are very artistically inclined, and my mom is also an art teacher, so the creative impulse is something that I was exposed to and encouraged to explore all throughout my upbringing. I attended Lakewood High School and spent a whole lot of time in Gwen Ahlers’ art room. She was really a phenomenal teacher and a constant source of encouragement. Her AP class played a key role in getting my portfolio ready for college.

Upon graduating in 2010, I headed out to Chicago to begin my undergraduate studies at SAIC (The School of the Art Institute of Chicago). My time at SAIC was highly formative. In some ways, I would say that my experience at the school was as much about discerning what kind of artist I didn’t want to become as it was about finding my own voice and direction. I encountered several professors along the way who served as my guiding lights while I navigated the vast and uncertain waters of creative possibility. In 2014, I finished school and decided to stay in Chicago, at least for another year or two.

When I look back at that time, it’s very clear to me that the two years immediately following graduation from SAIC were quite significant for me artistically. In a sense, they were as formative as my four years of formal study. I felt very uncertain about my artistic direction as I left the school and while I was experiencing a lot of pressure (self-imposed pressure, mostly) to start showing work and advancing my career, I decided that I would put all that on pause and just focus on doing work and rediscovering my original passions, interests and impulses. I felt a bit like a hermit during that season of life, I holed up in my studio and didn’t really share my work with hardly anyone. I was not on any social media either, which I think was very important, even necessary, during that time. Also (and, more importantly) I made the best decision of my life in 2015 and married my dear friend and the love of my life, Zilu. We knew that we wanted to have kids, but we were a bit intimidated at the prospect of becoming parents away from either of our families in big, noisy Chicago. It was that consideration that ultimately bought us back (back for me, Zilu is from Bei Jing) to Lakewood in May of 2016.

Fast forwarding and summarizing a little bit now, our time is Lakewood has been fantastic and we are so glad that we decided to come to start our own family here. The art community in Denver is wonderful: it’s just full of really open-handed, supportive folks and there are opportunities everywhere to make things happen. I showed a body of my work for the first time in the very beginning of 2018 and I was so proud of the works in that show. It definitely felt like all that “hermiting” had paid off. I should add that the show “Sad Magic” was hosted by Odessa ( powered by Kris and Corianne Wright) who are two friends that I got to know during my time at SAIC. They continue to do great things in the Colorado art sphere, so be on the lookout for all that they’ve got going on.

Since then I’ve had the privilege of showing in several venues in Denver and have made some really good friends. I have a beautiful new studio that was formerly our garage. On May 17th, Zilu and I celebrated the birth of our son Ezra. He is our third kid and all three of them are doing real well. Typically, I take care of the kids while Zilu does her job during the day, and then I work in the studio at night after the kiddos have conked out. It can certainly be exhausting at times, but on the whole, I feel very grateful to be able to pursue my painting practice while raising a family.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For starters, I imagine the road always looks a bit smoother in hindsight. That being said, I think my road has been a fairly smooth one. I have always been supported and encouraged by my parents. It was primarily because of their support and investment in my education that I was able to study at SAIC. Zilu, my wife, is just an incredible woman and if the road has been smooth, it is largely because of her good influence, her steady guidance, and her constant support. I’m sure that everyone encounters obstacles along the way, speaking for myself, I tend to be my own biggest setback. But when I go about trying to answer this question, I find that the obstacles seem quite natural and perhaps even intentional. It’s as if the difficulties and the easy-streaks are essentially one and the same. They are all just integral parts that make up the whole.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am primarily a painter, I make pictures. My work typically begins with something I see, something I encounter as I move through daily life. I take photos on my phone and camera constantly. I find inspiration everywhere, and it never ceases to surprise me how these moments can come about so suddenly and in places where you would least expect to find them. In my studio, I keep an ever-growing photo library of 4×6’s that I print out and organize in albums. When I need to get some direction or inspiration, I just go over to the shelf, grab one of the albums and start flipping through.

In terms of materials, I tend to use watercolor, gouache and colored pencil for my smaller works on paper. I like these materials for working fast, making quick and bold decisions. I experiment a lot on a small scale and many of the discoveries that I make in these smaller, faster pieces get translated into larger works later on.

For larger paintings (anything over 24 inches), I work in primarily in oils. I use a pretty simple system for oil painting, I like Gamblin paints, and I apply the paint directly without any mediums or additives. This being said, I am always learning more about oil paints, and I am certainly open to changing my process should I discover something better suited for my goals. Some recurring themes in my work are suburban homes, trees, tree houses and forts, small figures in big spaces, vast skies and windows.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
People have been pronouncing the Death Of Painting for ages and yet painting stubbornly, doggedly trudges on. I expect that I will still be painting pictures, but that’s probably all I should commit to saying.

Contact Info:

• Email: danielm.granitto@gmail.com
• Website: danielmgranitto.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielmgranitto_studio/

Image Credits
Justin LeVett