Curtis Griffin is the founder of Art of Austin! (UPDATED 10.6.2025) Below you can find my gallery and the interview but it is now a bit dated.
I first started Art of Austin back in 2010, when Austin’s art scene felt like just a handful of cool spaces and working artists scattered across the city. Since then, Austin has grown into so much more—a vibrant, ever-evolving community. I’ve watched generations of artists emerge, spaces rise and fade, and countless events come and go, yet the city’s creative spirit remains strong. While I’m now just outside the city limits (check out Art of Bastrop!), I still show work and support/highlight my fellow ATX artists.
Curtis Griffin
Fabian – How long have you been an Austin based artist and how did you find your way here?
Griffin – I had been in Austin since 2007. I was born in New Orleans and raised in rural Appalachia Virginia and still have family in both areas. I went to college in Philadelphia, bounced around a bit after, and then landed in Austin. I got to Texas as fast as I could as they say. I bought my first home and moved out to Bastrop a few years ago and love the change of pace after living Downtown for so long.
Fabian – So you are the founder of Art of Austin – what made you start AoA?
Griffin – I had been in Austin a few years and was starting to get really immersed in the art scene and was really excited about all the creative people I was finding here. I felt like I had finally found my tribe! So in 2010 I bought the domain, not really knowing what I was going to do with it. I continued to hang out at venues and got deeper in the local scene and in 2016, I launched the website, brand, and social. I have always just wanted Art of Austin to shine a spotlight on the incredible amount of dope artists here in Austin. The community and family that has grown around Art of Austin over the years has been a huge bonus!
Fabian – When did you realize that you were an artist?
Griffin – I have been drawing and painting since I was a child. It has been my primary focus and passion for as long as I can remember.
Fabian – Can you speak to your art training?
Griffin – I always had extremely supportive art instructors, even since kindergarten. After high school, I studied painting and early digital art a couple of formative years at a local community college and eventually transferred to Tyler School of Art at Temple University. I graduated with a BFA in Painting and Drawing with minors in Art History and Glassblowing.
But looking back to those early formative academic training days – Id say while it vastly accelerated my creative processes, it certainly did not map out path a clear path to artistic “success” or even making good paintings on any level. Now after painting for more than 35+ years, Ive found its just showing up in the studio, riding the waves of inspiration and self crushing doubt that are tied to creation, and for me, personally, staying consistent to one goal – just being a better painter. What a “better painter” has meant has also shifted a lot for me over the years – from technical skill, to making actual sales and getting commissions, to painting bigger walls, or hanging in prestigious venues like Austin City Hall. They all kind of tie together to equal a sum of me feeling satisfied in exploring painting, most likely, for the rest of my life and wherever that leads.
Fabian – Where do you find inspiration?
Griffin – The Most High. I listen to music or audiobooks about 80% of the day, so thats big input. I look at a lot of “modern” art and art history books, going to shows and seeing work in person is better. Keeping up with the artistic progression of the homies in Central Texas always continues to be a huge source of inspiration. Being in nature and recharging is a daily necessity, it balances all of the inputs.
Fabian – What is your work concerned with?
Griffin – My work is generally figurative with some underlying narrative. I work through a lot of series – its sort of a mental way for me to try new things or explore new content. Technically, I pay a lot attention to rendering, color, and composition. I try to keep the work modern and relevant – I feel modern art should always speak to the state of the time that it is created in in some way.
Fabian – What are your preferred medium(s)?
Griffin – Oil paint, Spray paint, Pixels – in that order. Mosaic has been creeping in there – really enjoying how pieces of glass almost physically represent digital pixels.
Fabian – Do you have any feelings towards Digital Art versus traditional mediums?
Griffin – I think digital work speeds up a lot of processes and if it works for your workflow, run with it – its like having every single tool at your fingertips instantly. Ive always been of the opinion of that artists should lean into technology and utilize its advantages to increase creative output as opposed to being luddites, but thats just me. I took 2020 off from painting on canvas and only made digital work that I then had printed as stretched Giclee canvas prints. I continued to get my paint fix with almost daily spray paint sessions (which kept me sane), but as far as available work, it was all digital.
But at the end of the day, digital is just not the same as paint on canvas. Or spray paint on wood. Or paint on anything. There is something optically different between light projecting through pixels on a display and the subtractive color mixing that occurs when your eye perceives physical paint on canvas. I got back to painting oil on canvas since moving to Bastrop and much more prefer actual paint. But my sketchbook has become 100% digital – I really dont draw a lot with pencil/charcoal on paper anymore, I find the digital process faster and more adaptable as applying it to my paintings.
Fabian – Who are some artists that you look to?
Griffin – A huge swath. I believe in studying art history and building on that. Otherwise you wont know who influences who and in the end, who you are replicating. There is nothing new under the sun. I am positive there is an artist out there right now on a similar frequency as you. Find them and learn from them.
Always Caravaggio, others Ive been looking at lately Zoey Frank, Joram Roukes, Lucio Carvalho, Ivana Besevic, Max Sansing, Leon Keer, David Chefetz, Sam Spratt, Jenny Saville, Claudio Picasso, John Phillip Osborne.
I also get some inspiration from all the local Austin artfam, you know who you are.
Fabian – If you could own 1 piece from a living artist, who would it be?
Griffin – Hana Choi
Fabian – Big question. What do you feel the role of art is in the world?
Griffin – I feel like I should say something profound and deep here but this is a big question, so lets break it down to 2 levels, personal experience and collective influence.
Art is empowering to an individual, giving them a voice to express themselves, which cultivates knowledge and spirit. On a larger scale, art and design has been integral to the evolution of humankind as a whole. You literally can not imagine a world without it. I dont think you get a lot bigger than that.
Fabian – What else do you enjoy besides making art?
Griffin – Making instrumental beats, mountain biking (aka #shredding), Quantum Mechanics and the actual nature of reality, freelance website development. Increased and deeper meditation is a 2026 resolution.
Fabian – Any final advice for all the artists reading out there?
Griffin – Fine tune your formula – find your balance to optimize your creative output. Go to events, galleries, museums, wherever and physically look at work, there is no comparison. Try not to compare your journey to others perceived successes. Listen to critique of your work with an open mind and try to learn from it. Dont be afraid to try new things, content or material wise. Stay persistent and true to your vision and doors will open for you when you need to knock. Being a creative is a lifelong journey if done properly – its not meant to be a mad sprint to the top of fame and fortune. I feel the point of me creating and painting all these years is just the constant pursuit of self actualization. ✅
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