One of the biggest problems of being an artist is that I worry that I’m just being selfish because I pursue it with such passion.

So there is a lot of self-reflection in the days quiet. I explore colour and composition and the weird ideas floating around in my head and then ask? What is the point?

I was able to get one of the most exciting answers this week from a follower on Tik-Tok. 

Skylarsart8 commented, “Yes, artists make the first version of almost everything we use.”

I think that is a great answer and I hope that once and a while. I’m making the first version of something you’ve ever seen or come across.

I used to hide in my bedroom.

I would have gone out with my friends, but most of them had much more exciting things to do with their time than hang out with a teenager who had absolutely no clue what to do with himself and no confidence being in a crowd.

My bedroom was safe from the rest of the house. Being spotted meant being subjected to any type of cruelty if my parents weren’t adequately distracted.

I became a night owl. Listening to music and drawing was my escape. I would work on perfecting my anatomy, linework, or storytelling while exploring alternative music. The next day I’d awaken for school. Exhausted because I wasn’t getting enough sleep.

I was a bit obsessed with learning the craft.

I often showed up late, and I got pink slips and a horrible attendance record for my early morning classes. But my grades were good, so nobody made a big deal out of it.

I would hand in stacks of work to my art teacher, going way beyond the requirements of our assignments, which kept me in her good graces. If our small high school principal was looking for me, she’d say I was in the bathroom, knowing I would walk in late to her class. She was an angel.

I became an artist not because I wanted to. In fact, I’ve tried to stop many, many times. My wife, in-laws, and children all know it’s not an obsession – it’s sustenance.

As I get older, I accept it, and I’m grateful that it continues to give me a wonderful life.

I fell in love with Surrealism the first time I saw a Dali Painting on a T-shirt while walking down the street in Kensington in 1994. I was 16. As soon as I saw the shirt, I knew I had to purchase it.

I based all of my art studies on comic books and fantasy art until that time, so it makes sense that I would be attracted to what Dali was doing.

But, what he was doing was taking it to an entirely different level. He was doing art that didn’t seem to make any sense, yet the symbols and combinations of objects were making it more profound and worth exploring.

The Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus | Salvador Dali

Before art school, my response to this was to create surrealistic art based on my surroundings: toys, comic books, and computers. I didn’t realize that I was essentially working through Pop Surrealism. Oh, how I wish that I had a teacher point me towards those lowbrow artists of the ’70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.

Todd Schorr – Five O’Clock Shadows in Disney-Dali Land, 1996

Who knows what I would have done with myself. I had no idea that Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism existed, and I don’t think they did either. Once I discovered this movement, I felt that I had missed out on the most exciting art movement in existence, putting off what I wanted to explore to pursue the world of video game development, illustration and design.

Luckily there is a lot of overlap between pop culture, lowbrow, surrealism and modern design. So much in fact, that Pop Art is becoming the de facto art for collectors who want to buy things they immediately recognize

My current focus is on the Automatism inherent in Surrealism. I allow my subconscious to tell me what to paint. Sometimes I ask myself, “What is it asking for?” and wait for the answer.

I’m allowing inspiration to guide me. It serves a purpose by being opposed to my illustration work, a problem-solving practice.

I have no interest in solving any problem in this work, and I only wish to express what’s been lingering in my mind for so long.

The difference is that I’m interested in the emotional side of the subconscious, and I want to use my lessons from illustration and graphic design to simplify the compositions.

Herb and Dorothy Vogel were married in 1962, one year after they met.

They were both art collectors and collected over 4000 pieces of art during their lifetime. They liked to collect art from young artists doing things that they had never seen before.

I found it interesting how they viewed other collectors as competitors to what they wanted. I have a few collectors of my pieces that act the same way.

I also was impressed by how they collected artworks they didn’t understand, and they just grabbed the art that was exciting and interesting to them.

If you’ve ever thought about collecting original artwork from the artists but are nervous about the strange, weird or hard-to-understand gallery world, I highly recommend watching this documentary.

It will inspire you to work with what you have, collect what you love and meet some wonderful artists.

The dysfunctional family is a hard truth for many of us.

So we make new families with friends we can rely on.

If we are lucky.

With so many people feeling isolated, it’s hard for us to imagine relationships that go beyond courtesy. People are getting cagier, and less willing to share their experiences because trust is low for so many of us.

Isolation is becoming an epidemic.

The Sister’s series of works comes out of my own observation of that secret circle. The imagining of a friendship so strong that the bond can’t be broken. 

Until those in that bond are slighted, and our identity comes under question, does it mean it was all a fantasy?

The world is based on our perception of it. Are our intimate bonds just a perception too?

Nirvana, RATM, Tool, and many lesser-known rock bands entered my ears in the ’90s when I found alternative music. I imagined myself rocking out just like they did, in front of a stadium of screaming dancing fans.

But that’s where the fantasy ended, in my imagination.

That’s OK. I was busy drawing pictures and it’s a common fantasy of youth. Some pursue the music, but my attention was obviously on art. 

But I still indulge in the magic I sing:

• in the car
• while I’m working
• or when doing chores

and when I hit the hard notes, I still imagine the applause of the fans.

Music has had a massive influence on my art. In the studio, I play the tunes so loud the other artists in the building always know when I’m working. They are beautiful people for tolerating this invasive part of my process.

One of the great things about music is that every performance is unique, even when playing the same song—one song repeated by the artist repeatedly.

I began to ask if I could do the same thing. Can I replay my art over and over to create a new interpretation for myself and the viewer?

So I’ve started the Remix Prints. I am starting with an Image called DigiWhim. It was a digital piece exploring the fantasy in fashion, and now there are nine new versions of it.

Each will be a unique print, with only one version created. It’s the digital age, and I’m making sure, like music, that digital is a part of my process while still creating new things.

You can check them out here. 

I hope you enjoy them.

Your Friend in Art,

Michael Grills

An Embrace from another who cares for you is the best interruption to the day.

We create harmony by allowing ourselves into each other’s intimate personal space. A hug always tells somebody that another person wants them and loves them.

I explore closeness in my art. 

In moments of joy, sadness and support.

In this piece, I think of melancholy in both characters. The world is heavy around them, and this moment of embrace helps them manage. 

It’s a simple piece attempting to catch a full range of emotions for all involved.

I hope you like it and make sure you interrupt somebodies day… With a Hug.

Your Friend In Art,

Michael Grills

Mind if I drop some art babble on you?

When people talk to me about art, I’ve noticed that they sometimes get all choked up because they just don’t know what to say.

“I like it,” or “I don’t like it.” After that, many of us don’t know what else there is.

Nowadays, we don’t have art as part of our everyday chat, like movies. (Most people can break down what makes a great movie – script, editing, acting and directing.)

Here’s a little tidbit of artspeak that you can use to chat with somebody. It will be helpful if you talk to the artist you’re excited about or the gallery dealer who’s representing them. Of course, if you pick up a piece from the furniture store, don’t worry about it – Nobody there will care.

The word of the day: COMPOSITION.

Composition is the least controversial word in artspeak, and the artist and the collector can use it without causing any offence. Because, If there is a mark on a canvas, we can talk about how it fits into any composition.

That’s why we can love an abstract painting just as much as a landscape.

Ok, so how does it work?

It’s super simple.

• It’s how all the elements of the art come together to create the overall look. And the parts can be anything, but the easiest things to think about are shapes and colours, just like the movies – acting and script. 

So you could look at a piece and say, “I like how the artist uses shapes in space, but maybe, I don’t like it in a different piece.

So simple right?

Don’t worry about offending the artist when you talk this way because the artist is already obsessed with these things and knows that not everybody will like the same things. Knowing this will also help you work with the artist if you’re trying to get a commission from them, but their work is close but not exactly what you’re looking for.

For fun, try looking at the art in your home or office and decide what you like about the shapes. Comment aloud to yourself (your family might think you’re crazy, but we don’t really worry about that here). There are no wrong answers, and it will help you figure out how to state what you want in your art collection, and you may surprise yourself.

I’ve attached some examples here so you can check out the basics and try them on for size.

Your friend in art,

Michael Grills