Meet Grant Smith | Artist, Illustrator, Creative Director, & Graphic Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Grant Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Grant, we’d love to hear more about your end-goal, professionally.
I’ve always wanted my work to connect with people on both a mental and emotional level, even if that’s simply capturing the most details within a given subject to bring it to life and make it feel as real as possible. Whether it’s through my traditional art or my work as a Creative Director and graphic designer, my goal has always been to put intention and meaning into the pieces I create, and I honestly can’t imagine myself hanging up my pencil or Wacom pen as long as I’m physically able to hold them in my hand.
If at the end of my life I can look back on the body of my work and be able to recall the passion, discipline, care and personal meaning I’ve attempted to infuse into my creations AND be able to feel that they have in some way positively impacted others, then I believe I can feel accomplished as an artist and creative. If I can make a living doing so, that’s a nice bonus.
Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
By day, I’m a Creative Director and oversee a team of graphic designers and video producers developing communications for my community. By night and weekend, I’m a traditional artist focused mostly on hyper-realism and mathematically inspired creations, with the occasional sculpture.
In the design world, I’m proud of the team culture I’ve nurtured and the systems I’ve developed, knowing that both of these areas help us to better serve our residents and create a team that genuinely cares for one another. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to create many campaigns and illustrations that are designed specifically with our community in mind, and there’s a altruistic side to knowing that the work I do isn’t done simply to help rich folks get richer, but instead to inform and educate my neighbors.
My traditional art is where my true passion lies, and I’m grateful that I’ve finally gotten to a point in my professional career that I can devote time to this part of my creative endeavors. A challenge for many artists is finding the time to create what they truly love when their “career” requires so much of it, and I’ve struggled over the years to find that balance. Only within these past few years would I say I’ve gotten to a point that I can protect my studio time, and work on those personal projects that aren’t deadline driven.
The biggest lessons that I would share is that something created for oneself has the opportunity to be so much more meaningful to the soul than art created for clients, and I encourage anyone with a creative passion to not be so distracted by all of the noise and gadgets and expectations that exist around them, and to force yourself to make the time for exploring your passion no matter what is happening in life. You are the only one that can really push yourself forward, and your life will be much more meaningful if there is creative passion in it.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
A place that’s near and dear to my heart is Wolverine Farms, a small makers-market/coffee/beer spot in downtown Fort Collins. I hosted an event called Foco Drink & Draw for many years there and met so many talented and amazing artists and creatives. The owners are extremely supportive of the artist community and feature many local creations and books and have created an inspiring atmosphere for anyone hoping to get their creative juices flowing.
The Downtown area is also a must see, especially when the holiday lights are glowing. It literally inspired the designs of downtown Disneyland, and the older buildings and beautiful murals from local artists are incredible.
I’d also say that our trails and parks are amazing for both families and for outdoor enthusiasts.
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve been inspired by so many artists over the years, but the artist that made me want to push myself into a better understanding of both the technical and symbolic side of art is without a doubt the talented M.C. Escher. His bridging of mathematics with art and his ability to see the world from such unique perspectives made we want to be a better artist and even inspired my SGS monogram on my traditional art. He passed away before I was born, but his work made a lasting impact on me.
Website: https://www.behance.net/gsmithcreative
Instagram: gsmithcreative
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gsmithcreative/