Today we’d like to introduce you to Pamela Grau.
Pamela, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My parents were both visual artists, so art was an important part of my life from the beginning. I was fortunate to receive a wonderful arts education, earning a degree in Art History and Studio Art from Mills College and later attending Art Center College of Design, where I focused on illustration.
I quickly discovered that I was not particularly good at following directions and ultimately found my own creative voice as a painter. I have been a professional exhibiting artist for more than four decades, and throughout much of that time I have also been deeply involved in arts leadership and community building.
I was a longtime member of the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art before moving to Ojai, California, where I joined Ojai Studio Artists. Over the years, I have taken on leadership roles within arts organizations and have served several terms as an Ojai Arts Commissioner.
My work in the arts community has focused on expanding access to the visual arts, creating opportunities for artists, developing educational programming, and building stronger connections between artists, cultural organizations, and the public. I believe that art is not only something we create and experience individually, but something that can bring people together, encourage curiosity, and strengthen a community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As artists, I think we are always struggling a little because we are constantly evolving, questioning ourselves, and growing, and growth is not always comfortable.
When I was younger, one of my greatest challenges was that I did not see, or perhaps did not want to follow, a clearly defined path. I was inventing myself and my work as I went along. At the same time, I was married and raising a family, and like so many artists, I often felt that there was never enough time, financial support, or emotional space to fully pursue my work.
I was constantly pulled between the desire to follow my own creative path and my very strong sense of responsibility to be a good parent. Looking back, I realize that tension was not separate from my development as an artist. It became part of it. I learned to keep creating, even when the circumstances were not ideal, and to trust that an artistic life does not have to follow a straight or predictable path.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have been a professional exhibiting artist for more than four decades, but I still think of myself as someone who is constantly learning, experimenting, and reinventing the way I work.
At heart, I am a painter. I am fascinated by color, texture, layers, and the surprises that happen when you allow a painting to evolve rather than trying to control every step. For many years my work was primarily large, heavily textured abstract painting. More recently, my work has moved between abstraction and recognizable imagery, particularly botanicals, birds, landscapes, and images inspired by travel and the natural world.
My process is very much my own. I combine traditional painting and drawing with collage, Gelli-printed papers, photography, and digital tools. I often describe the way I work as jazz. I improvise. I may begin with an idea, but I allow accidents, intuition, and discovery to change the direction of the piece. After more than forty years of painting, I have learned to trust that process.
I think what sets my work apart is that I am not particularly interested in staying within one medium, technique, or even one way of seeing. I am curious, and curiosity has probably been the most consistent thread throughout my career. I am willing to take something apart, try something unfamiliar, fail, change direction, and begin again.
What I am most proud of is not one particular painting or exhibition, although I have had many wonderful opportunities. I am most proud that I am still growing. My work today does not look like the work I made twenty or thirty years ago, and I hope the work I make ten years from now will surprise me as well.
At this point in my life, I am especially interested in beauty, joy, and our relationship to the natural world. I want my work to share my way of seeing: the strange flower, the unexpected color, the texture of an aging wall, the shape of a landscape remembered from a road trip. I want people to look a little longer and perhaps see something familiar in a new way.
For me, being an artist has never been about arriving at a destination. It has been about remaining curious enough to keep going.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My advice to someone starting out is to stay curious and keep making the work. Do not worry too much about finding your style or defining yourself too early. Your voice develops by working, experimenting, making mistakes, and paying attention to what keeps pulling you back into the studio.
Try not to compare your path with someone else’s. There is no single way to build a life as an artist. There will be periods when you have more time, money, confidence, or support, and periods when you have very little of any of those things. Keep going anyway.
Learn everything you can. Look at art, study art history, take classes, learn new tools, and spend time with other artists. Be generous with your community. Opportunities often grow out of relationships and participation, not just from sitting alone in the studio waiting to be discovered.
And do not be afraid to change. The work you are making today does not have to be the work you make for the rest of your life. I think one of the greatest gifts of being an artist is that we are allowed to keep reinventing ourselves.
Most importantly, protect your curiosity. After more than four decades of making art, I think curiosity may be more valuable than talent. It keeps you learning, experimenting, and excited about what might happen next.
Contact Info:
- Website: pamgrauprints.com, pamelagrau.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamelagrau/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamela.grau.3
