Story on Grant Ensminger - Essay Example

Cool Dude on the Block: Grant Ensminger makes an entrance. Anyone who is interested in the creative arts side of life will have noticed a fresh facein Ventura lately. His name is Grant Ensminger, and at first sight he looks more like a pop star than a painter. There is something of the celebrity about him, from the designer shades and floppy hairstyle, to the tattoos and two day shadow. He looks too scruffy for the office and too well groomed for the street. Ensminger is an enigma, and quite possibly the biggest thing to hit Ventura in a very long time.

The look is part of his mystique. Another part is his studiously eclectic approach to both subject matter and medium of expression. Whether it is traditional painting, frescoes, children’s story books or fashion T-shirts, Ensminger takes the genre and stamps his own individual style onto it. The colors are exuberant, and there is plenty of postmodern irony and quotation from famous twentieth century artists. He mixes pop art Marilyn with Picasso-esque heads in profile, and sets them alongside frescos that look like upmarket graffiti.

This is an artist who claims no formal art school education, and seeks out his own role models as he carves out his own quirky journey of artistic discovery. A fascination with sharks when he started out, some three years ago, has given way to a link-up with local indie band Rey Fresco. Ensinger exhibits regularly in the area, and his work is certainly worth a look. If you turn up to see it there is every chance that you will meet the man himself and make contact with the epitome of Ventura cool.

ReferenceGrant Ensminger website. Available at: http://www.grantensminger.com/Grant/G._Ensminger.html