about the artist
Inspirational, imaginative, and innovative. Tom Grijalva is an artist who is constantly evolving and his body of creative work is hard to categorize without leaving something unmentioned. He grew up submerged in cultural rich Northern New Mexico where he was exposed to several different varieties of artists and mediums. Gaining inspiration from the surrounding landscapes and artisans, he very early showed talent in drawing and airbrushing.
Grijalva's career as an artist has been as versatile as it has been momentous, but like any other has been met with much turbulence. As a student Grijalva's very first entry into a city wide juried show was an enlightening experience and perhaps the catalyst that helped the artist discover and develop his "voice". Though he did not win any awards or accolades for his work, something extraordinarily contrary happened. Someone during the course of the show had turned Grijalva's drawing around so that it faced the wall. As disheartening as this may have seemed to have such a negative reaction to his art. Grijalva, with his unique outlook on life, realized that his work could make someone feel so strongly about his imagery at a personal level that they had to do more than just look. They had to get involved with it, interact with it, touch it.
Determined to use his talent to make a living for himself he found himself employment at the local T-shirt shoppe illustrating designs and creating text for print using computers and design techniques he was studying at the local university for high school credit. Grijalva's career quickly gained momentum shortly after graduating high school after the university recommended him to paint a series of murals at the public library. The murals spurred a full color write up in the local newspaper and an interview on a local television show. Using the notoriety from the project he decided to start his own business painting signs and billboards which he continued throuout college.
Fashion and trends at the time presented Grijalva with another earning opportunity to use his airbrushing skills in college embellishing classmates cars and clothing. A crowd outside of Grijalva's college dorm room, where he was airbrushing, caught the attention of the college newspaper editor who hired him immediately to create a weekly editorial cartoon as well as his own strip that he developed for the weekly paper. Again Grijalva's work was met with much controversy which of course only fueled his creativity, and solidified his position with the publication.
After earning his BFA in Visual Communications, Grijalva landed his dream internship with a software and video game developing company creating character sprites and video game graphics. It seemed to Grijalva that his career was heading down the correct path, and decided to take a chance by moving to Arizona to try to secure a design position in some of the new upstart software companies there. His ambition, determination, and portfolio was enough to get his foot in the doors, but his lack of programming experience hindered any chance of him landing a salaried position.
Grijalva found himself gaining employment wherever he could between freelance projects, seasonal positions, and even as a traveling photographer. Routine trips to the classified ads revealed a small ad looking for an artist's apprentice. Grijalva saw it as a learning opportunity with a lot of possibilities. The position turned out to be more of a production artist position, and Grijalva learned to sling paint at a feverish pace and developed the stamina to finish the most daunting of projects. It was exactly what he needed to reveal his true talent to himself as a painter. It sent him back to his roots, as he felt, back to working with more traditional mediums. It didn't take long before feeling creatively stifled and Grijalva decided to finally leave and create a line of artwork of his own.
Tom Grijalva has spent over twenty five years creating and experimenting with various mediums and techniques that has amassed into a collection of work that is eclectic and versatile as the artist himself. It is clear that Grijalva is inspired by many facets of his life and borrows techniques from his eclectic work experiences as well. His work is a true reflection of a traditional artist inspired by the modern technology and lifestyles of today. He aspires to one day have the skills of the great painting masters and tries to challenge himself to paint something he at first thought impossible.
Today Grijalva still creates paintings but at a much more relaxed pace for publication, reproduction, and private collectors. Now painting has become more of a hobby for the artist. His focus and passion is now on his family. Art has allowed him to be a good husband and attentive father. He shares his knowledge and encourages creativity with collaborative projects with his son including paintings, illustrative books, school theatre backdrops, and even classroom demonstrations. Painting or not, Tom Grijalva continues to inspire.
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I consider it a work in progress, and will be updating content as often as I can.
Feel free to contact me with any questions.
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