Meet Theo Greenbaum | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Theo Greenbaum and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Theo, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I think it was the only option for me to find actual fulfilment in life. That sounds really dramatic, but it’s true. I’ve had so many career paths it almost sounds fictional at this point. Back in college, I pursued so many different fields: historical linguistics, general biology, veterinary science, creative writing, microbiology. I actually did undergraduate research in species diversity of alkalophilic extremophile microbiota, and presented my findings at a university conference. For a while I was an intern at a morgue, performing autopsies and gathering evidence at scenes. I thought for sure I’d be in the medical field. But it just didn’t feel right to me as being my primary focus. I realized I was well into the age that someone needs to have a career picked, so I picked teaching. I got one semester into a teaching program and realized that I was completely unhappy. This entire time, I’d had art as a side passion, but I wanted to take a risk on myself and see what would happen if I made it something bigger. I wanted to know how it felt to embody “artist” as my primary title. I do want to acknowledge the enormous privilege I have in that I have a support system that believes in me. I’m finally being completely authentic with myself, and honoring myself is something I’m grateful for every day.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think what really helps set my art business apart from others actually has almost nothing to do with the art itself for the most part. I put a lot of time and care into my branding and brand aesthetic, and people really do notice that. Everything in my business, from my logo and business cards to my tablecloth and banners at markets is yellow and orange. I use the same font for everything…like actually everything. My business cards, my backing cards for pins, even the display signs – same font. All the shapes I use are rounded rectangles. My logo is a pill, and all of the signs for my display mimic that shape. My business cards are rounded. Even the font is rounded. Having a very strong sense of cohesion really makes a brand feel like there was care put into it and helps with brand recognition. People actually often compliment me on my branding, which isn’t a common compliment so I’m very proud of what I’ve done. It also helps my booth stand out at a market, since it’s bright yellow with orange flags.

In terms of my art itself, I really pride myself on clean, bold lines. It works for the kind of art I do. Every line needs a purpose!

It was definitely not easy to get where I am now. After deciding that I wanted to be more serious about art, my art needed to get to a higher level. Bad proportions, boring composition, and erratic light sources are fine when you’re just doodling, but not when you’re trying to be at a more professional level. I had to practice a lot. I also really struggled with the business side of an art business. Being the sole “employee” means I have to do inventory, set prices, maintain web shops, manage social media, balance the budget, find manufacturers, and figure out what’s popular in the market right now. It was difficult to realize that an art business isn’t just having fun and making art and magically getting money for it. It’s a business. Not my strong suit.

I think the biggest lesson I learned is that if you’re going to try and pursue an art business, you have to be ok with mistakes, and sometimes they’re costly. I’ve ordered prints from manufacturers that were poorly done and unsellable. I’ve sold at markets where I barely made my cost back because the clientele was absolutely not interested in my art style. I’ve put tons of effort into designs that I thought would sell, and it turns out I was totally wrong. I know it’s a privilege to be able to make mistakes, and they’re absolutely going to happen in this line of work.

I want the world to know that the art I make is meant to make people happy. I draw cute and colorful and fun designs because I want people to laugh and smile. There’s so much strife and negativity in the world, and I want to use my art to add just the tiniest scrap of positivity to the mix.

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?
The zoo. We’re going to the zoo, first thing. We are going to the zoo, buying ice cream, and watching the sea lions for half an hour. I know that basically every city has a zoo, but I really think the Denver Zoo is tops. It’s the perfect size, I love the focus on ecology, and it’s just a really nice place.

Denver has such a wealth of second-hand shops so we’d obviously have to spend a day on that. There’s this little used record/book/media store up in Arvada called Black & Read that is known for being absolutely chaotic but they have such a good selection at good prices. I’ve found some incredibly hard-to-find comics up there and it’s so fun to wade through the literal ocean of books they have. Wax Trax is also great for records. I got this record of early 20th century calliope tunes for like $2. And basically any antique store on Colfax is a good choice.

We are having several meals at Kokoro’s down on Colorado in University Hills. That place is such a gem. It’s super inexpensive and they have literally the best baked salmon I’ve ever had. I feel like Japanese food in America is often limited to ramen and sushi, but Kokoro’s is like Japanese homecooking. Onigiri, katsu, tsukemono – all my favorite comfort foods. Ajinoya Ramen is also a must…their tomato ramen is one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten. And we have to go to Star Thai in Lakewood for tom yum soup. And Pho Duy on Federal for their spicy vegetarian pho. And 7 Leguas on Colfax for their chicken mole. Can I just write a whole article about my favorite restaurants in Denver? There’s so many!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My mom. Literally she deserves an entire parade dedicated to her. She is a fantastic artist herself…her creative freedom is seriously on another level. I don’t understand how she can take newspaper clippings, burlap, and wax and somehow make an incredible piece of art. She infused art into my life at every opportunity. When I was a kid, she would make clothes for me, and would applique these amazing little scenes on capes just to make them extra cute. She always encouraged me to be an artsy little weirdo and gave me the tools and encouragement I needed to be myself. She’s a really wonderful person onto herself, and she is the perfect parent for me. Thanks, mom.

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