Featured artist
Steve Griggs
Colorado, USA
- Sell original works
- Take commissions/assignments
- Offer workshops/classes
- Take commissions/assignments
- Offer workshops/classes
Specialty Categories
Painting/Drawing - Landscape
Overjoyed
Watercolor on Paper 10" x 14" $1280 |
Painting/Drawing - Seascape
On the Sideline
Watercolor on Paper 14" x 11" $1350 |
Painting/Drawing - Cityscape
Time for a Ride
Watercolor on Paper 11" x 11" $1150 |
Artist Statement
Often when we stand before nature, taking in the beauty and grandeur, we feel deeply connected to the magnificence of creation. What we view and feel in that moment is fleeting, however, and in the time it takes us to complete a breath cycle a leaf has fallen, the light has shifted, or a breeze has rearranged the foliage. Later, when we recall the experience, we don’t remember each leaf or twig or rock, but the essence of nature’s beauty lingers within our soul.
In the same vein, at any given moment, a city can be alive with feeling, movement, activity, and pulse. Things don’t stop. Life doesn’t stand still. When we recall an experience in the city, we recall the feelings we experienced but we can never capture a moment unchanged.
Whatever the subject, I don’t strive to paint static scenes. The goal is not to paint each leaf, twig, rock, or capture each building, person, or streetlight. My painting style uses movement and representation to create loose, moving, and evocative images. I paint to nudge the beauty, lingering within the soul, to life. I paint to evoke memory and feeling and meaning.
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.
Bio
Exhibitions and Awards
2021
22nd AIS National Juried Exhibition – Omaha, NE
Paint Grand Traverse: A Plein Air Affair – Traverse City, MI
American Impressionist Society: Small Works Showcase – Charleston, SC
Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition – Golden, CO
Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
Rhode Island Watercolor Society – Pawtucket, RI
Merit Award - Berkley Arts Council ‘Watercolor Expressions’ – Martinsburg, WV
2020
M Graham Merchandise Award - Rocky Mountain National Watermedia - Evergreen, CO
Best of Show - Mountainside Miniatures National Show - Arvada, CO
International Watercolor Exhibition Japan - ONLINE
Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition - Golden, CO
Michigan Watercolor Society State Exhibition - ONLINE
Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition - Central City, CO
2019
Painted Toe Society Award – Rocky Mountain National Watermedia – Evergreen, CO
Honorable Mention – Paint Grand Traverse: A Plein Air Affair – Traverse City, MI
1st Place - Boulder Plein Air Festival – Boulder, CO
Honorable Mention – Boulder Plein Air Festival – Boulder, CO
1st Place - Colorado Watercolor Society – Centennial, CO
2018
Rome Chelsi Award – Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition – Evergreen, CO
1st Place – Mountainside Miniatures National Show – Lakewood, CO
1st Place – Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
Colorado Watercolor Society Award – Gilpin Arts Association Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
People’s Choice Award - Art at the Center Winter Exhibition – Nederland, CO
National Watercolor Society International Exhibition – San Pedro, CA
Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition – Colorado Springs, CO
Best of Parker Artist Guild – Parker, CO
Valdosta National – Valdosta, GA
Colorado Watercolor Society Member’s Exhibition – Lakewood, CO
2017
Best of Show – Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition – Golden, CO
1st Place – Mountainside Miniatures National Show – Lakewood, CO
2nd Place – Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
Good Things Come in Small Packages –Studio Channel Islands -Ventura, CA
ArtPrize Nine – Grand Rapids, MI
Amuse Yeux – Golden, CO
Publications
Brown, Kerrie Lee, Arts Spotlight – Watercolorist Steve Griggs, Denver Life, May 2021, p. 36-37.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Add Animals to Create a Narrative” - The Artist Magazine, March 2021, p. 40-43.
Griggs, Steve, “Go Figure,” Watercolor Artist Magazine, Spring 2021, p. 72
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Perpetual Motion” - The Artist Magazine, Summer 2020, p. 422 - 45.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Tell a Compelling Story” - The Artist Magazine, March 2020 p. 56 - 59.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Unwrap the Gift of Colour,” The Artist Magazine, February 2020 p. 36-39.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Setting the Stage”, Watercolor Artist Magazine, October 2019 p. 60-63.
Agricola, Kim, “Show Preview Rocky Mountain Watermedia,” Southwest Art p. 52
Parks, John A., “Power of Suggestion”, Watercolor Artist Magazine, August 2018 p. 38-45.
Shoemaker, Will, “A Splash of Color to Cover Arts Center’s Walls” Gunnison Times, May 31, 2018 p. B2.
Juror
Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition – October 2021
Littleton Fine Arts Guild - Annual Members Show - March 2021
Arvada Fine Arts Guild - Fall Members Show- October 20202
Heritage Fine Arts Guild – This is Colorado Statewide Juried Exhibition – December 2019
Gilpin Arts Association - Annual Juried Exhibition – June 2019
Palateers Art Club – Members Show – October 2018
‘Splash of Colorado’ – Colorado Watercolor Society Western Slope Chapter – June 2018
Education
Art Center College of Design – Attended– 1986
Michigan State University – BA in Studio Art – 1984
Often when we stand before nature, taking in the beauty and grandeur, we feel deeply connected to the magnificence of creation. What we view and feel in that moment is fleeting, however, and in the time it takes us to complete a breath cycle a leaf has fallen, the light has shifted, or a breeze has rearranged the foliage. Later, when we recall the experience, we don’t remember each leaf or twig or rock, but the essence of nature’s beauty lingers within our soul.
In the same vein, at any given moment, a city can be alive with feeling, movement, activity, and pulse. Things don’t stop. Life doesn’t stand still. When we recall an experience in the city, we recall the feelings we experienced but we can never capture a moment unchanged.
Whatever the subject, I don’t strive to paint static scenes. The goal is not to paint each leaf, twig, rock, or capture each building, person, or streetlight. My painting style uses movement and representation to create loose, moving, and evocative images. I paint to nudge the beauty, lingering within the soul, to life. I paint to evoke memory and feeling and meaning.
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.
Bio
Exhibitions and Awards
2021
22nd AIS National Juried Exhibition – Omaha, NE
Paint Grand Traverse: A Plein Air Affair – Traverse City, MI
American Impressionist Society: Small Works Showcase – Charleston, SC
Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition – Golden, CO
Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
Rhode Island Watercolor Society – Pawtucket, RI
Merit Award - Berkley Arts Council ‘Watercolor Expressions’ – Martinsburg, WV
2020
M Graham Merchandise Award - Rocky Mountain National Watermedia - Evergreen, CO
Best of Show - Mountainside Miniatures National Show - Arvada, CO
International Watercolor Exhibition Japan - ONLINE
Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition - Golden, CO
Michigan Watercolor Society State Exhibition - ONLINE
Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition - Central City, CO
2019
Painted Toe Society Award – Rocky Mountain National Watermedia – Evergreen, CO
Honorable Mention – Paint Grand Traverse: A Plein Air Affair – Traverse City, MI
1st Place - Boulder Plein Air Festival – Boulder, CO
Honorable Mention – Boulder Plein Air Festival – Boulder, CO
1st Place - Colorado Watercolor Society – Centennial, CO
2018
Rome Chelsi Award – Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition – Evergreen, CO
1st Place – Mountainside Miniatures National Show – Lakewood, CO
1st Place – Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
Colorado Watercolor Society Award – Gilpin Arts Association Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
People’s Choice Award - Art at the Center Winter Exhibition – Nederland, CO
National Watercolor Society International Exhibition – San Pedro, CA
Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition – Colorado Springs, CO
Best of Parker Artist Guild – Parker, CO
Valdosta National – Valdosta, GA
Colorado Watercolor Society Member’s Exhibition – Lakewood, CO
2017
Best of Show – Colorado Watercolor Society State Exhibition – Golden, CO
1st Place – Mountainside Miniatures National Show – Lakewood, CO
2nd Place – Gilpin Arts Association Annual Juried Exhibition – Central City, CO
Good Things Come in Small Packages –Studio Channel Islands -Ventura, CA
ArtPrize Nine – Grand Rapids, MI
Amuse Yeux – Golden, CO
Publications
Brown, Kerrie Lee, Arts Spotlight – Watercolorist Steve Griggs, Denver Life, May 2021, p. 36-37.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Add Animals to Create a Narrative” - The Artist Magazine, March 2021, p. 40-43.
Griggs, Steve, “Go Figure,” Watercolor Artist Magazine, Spring 2021, p. 72
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Perpetual Motion” - The Artist Magazine, Summer 2020, p. 422 - 45.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Tell a Compelling Story” - The Artist Magazine, March 2020 p. 56 - 59.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Unwrap the Gift of Colour,” The Artist Magazine, February 2020 p. 36-39.
Griggs, Steve & Sue Martin, “Setting the Stage”, Watercolor Artist Magazine, October 2019 p. 60-63.
Agricola, Kim, “Show Preview Rocky Mountain Watermedia,” Southwest Art p. 52
Parks, John A., “Power of Suggestion”, Watercolor Artist Magazine, August 2018 p. 38-45.
Shoemaker, Will, “A Splash of Color to Cover Arts Center’s Walls” Gunnison Times, May 31, 2018 p. B2.
Juror
Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Exhibition – October 2021
Littleton Fine Arts Guild - Annual Members Show - March 2021
Arvada Fine Arts Guild - Fall Members Show- October 20202
Heritage Fine Arts Guild – This is Colorado Statewide Juried Exhibition – December 2019
Gilpin Arts Association - Annual Juried Exhibition – June 2019
Palateers Art Club – Members Show – October 2018
‘Splash of Colorado’ – Colorado Watercolor Society Western Slope Chapter – June 2018
Education
Art Center College of Design – Attended– 1986
Michigan State University – BA in Studio Art – 1984
Gallery Representation & Exhibition Schedule
I have gallery representation with Mirada Fine Art in Indian Hills, Colorado; Twisted Fish Gallery in Elk Rapids, Michigan; and J Petter Galleries in Douglas, Michigan.
Workshops/Classes Offered
Loose Watercolor Painting - Steve Griggs Style - online via ZOOM - Mondays from 5:00-6:30 pm MST January 17-February 21
https://www.stevegriggswatercolor.com/workshop/26559/online-loose-watercolor-painting-steve-griggs-style
Follow Along - Steve Griggs Style online via ZOOM Tuesdays 5:00 - 6:30 pm MST January 18-February 22
https://www.stevegriggswatercolor.com/workshop/26560/online-follow-along-steve-griggs-style
https://www.stevegriggswatercolor.com/workshop/26559/online-loose-watercolor-painting-steve-griggs-style
Follow Along - Steve Griggs Style online via ZOOM Tuesdays 5:00 - 6:30 pm MST January 18-February 22
https://www.stevegriggswatercolor.com/workshop/26560/online-follow-along-steve-griggs-style
