An Interview With Gradi Nitert
Written by Alexander Greco
I’ve had the distinct honor of talking with Gradi Nitert from the Netherlands about her artwork, which I’m wicked grateful for. Her art consistently amazes me, and I’m always discovering something new with her art and what she does. We’ve talked before, and this will be our second go at doing an article. She provides great insight about art, finding work as an artist and the sometimes tumultuous lives of artists, as well as the creativity and imagination connected to art and everyday life.
So, here is the conversation I’ve had with the wonderful Gradi Nitert of the Netherlands.
Gradi:
My name is Gradi Nitert, born in 1987 in Gorssel. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be an artist. So, it was very clear that from a young age, I lived with the goal of studying at an art academy. As a child and teenager, music also captivated me, both classical with the clarinet and rock with drums. But ultimately, when I could choose between the conservatory and the art academy, I chose the art academy.
Gradi’s art utilizes painting and collage, and is similar to a variety of styles, namely impressionism, surrealism, abstract and absurdist artwork. Her artwork varies significantly, though a lot of main themes include vivid color schemes, shapes, repetition of patterns, the tessellation of these patterns, overlapping architectures, and architectures as patterns—owls and their feathers, forming patterns with architectures of buildings, forming patterns with colors of shapes, moving across the picture—these seem to be general themes that run across her art, as well as classical portraits, animals and nature, seeming to be finding their way across the frozen storms of bright hues, rivers of brush strokes and pictographic collages.
Her work adapts a lot of surrealism, fluidly blurring the lines between reality and dream, though her art is a lot less jarring than traditional surrealism. A lot of her work still maintains cohesive structures, and orderly, regular structures and architecture, maintaining a cohesiveness between them all, while creating dream-like figures and environments.
Good art helps everyone sees something different. Impressionist, abstract and surreal art might be the best at that, with Gradi’s art being fantastic at containing tons of potential meaning for the viewer. I’ve looked through her art for hours—I think what she does is fascinating, she’s a phenomenal artist—it might not be possible to fully correlate every detail of what she’s made. Without imposing my own ideas, this is my understanding of Gradi’s art. We’re humans from a distant time—we’re the same humans who believed in elves living beyond the veil in Avalon, thought the Sun revolved around the Earth and went around thinking magic was a science. So, we see humans from a classical era, in the midst of modern architectures, cut and pasted together, and connected by these shapes of our imagination, piecing things together, and it makes me think of the interconnectedness of technology, buildings and computer systems, all held up by ancient life forces, with humans being these portraits merging happily with the absurd world we’re still attempting to understand, riding the waves around them, calmly navigating these architectures.
There’s a lot more to unpack with her art—I highly suggest going through her art yourself if you have the chance. She’s a great creative mind, you’ll find yourself amazed at some of the movement, detail and structure of her creations.
Gradi:
Over the years, I have always created work; I feel like I’ve had 100 side jobs, but always with the vision: I am going to become an artist. And now that is the case. It might look easy from the outside, but I have had to give up a lot for it.
Teaching turned out to be something I can do. I had to learn that too, but after 10 years, I learned it by doing it.
Falling down and getting back up. That is my faith, I think. Making mistakes, learning from them, and becoming very strong.
Making a picture book was also something on my bucket list, and I did this entirely by myself again.
It was exciting too, also a process of failure and learning. But I made it. Maybe I should be a bit prouder of the things I have done.
I have to ration my energy, and unfortunately, I often have to choose tasks that allow me to pay my bills. And then there is no energy left for making art. It is getting better, but I do not view these kinds of personal setbacks as inspiration at all. I draw much more from the positive things in life, however difficult they may sometimes be to see.
Nature, crazy characters or situations, old books, paper, new materials, stories.
Despite the creative capacity of Gradi’s work, it’s still difficult being an Artist. While many artists will find success selling prints of their work, most who study art and pursue it as a career will find a lot of their success from one of a few routes:
- Teaching
- Commissions
- Licensing
- Workshops
- Festivals
- Freelancing
- Online Support through Social Media and Fundraising
Despite how much art influences our world, a lot of artists have difficulty supporting themselves with their artwork alone, and lot of people question how art actually helps the world out. However, Art remains necessary to our culture, and support for creative minds remains paramount.
Gradi:
The most beautiful thing about making art is being in the moment, surrendering completely to the materials, the smell of paper and paint, the coincidences that arise, making something out of nothing. Creating. Wondering yourself, letting others wonder.
Put that fucking phone aside.
At the schools where I teach, the kids sit hunched over their phones during recess; it is sometimes an absurd sight. At the bus stop, at shops…
My studio displays all the fishing rods I have cast over the past 15 years.
In cupboards, I find an incredible number of projects that I have tried.
Webshops, printing, jewelry, workshops, graphic design, festival decor, murals, selling at markets… I’ve tried so much, cast so many lines, and on a few lines, I got a bite.
Gradi personally has found success a number of ways. She’s developed a few styles, artforms and creative ventures that develop economic viability as an artist. Beyond online success, she’s worked as a teacher, become a tattoo artist and has done commission work for the Hague (a very important institution, for those not familiar…) on top of regular commissions, festivals and workshops.
Gradi:
Some really fun jobs included: an illustration commission for the Peace Palace in The Hague, a very special place I would otherwise never come into contact with, but which is very magical to be there. Festival work, applying temporary tattoos, and decoration & entrance gates. Crazy projects like illustrating an entire city covered in Post-it notes, the Moustacherie I created where I generated moustaches with my machine. And something I also had a lot of fun with: creating CD covers for producers. I also always love the combination of music/sound and visual work.
And so I knew what worked and what didn’t, both financially and mentally. Because some things turned out not to suit me; there was too much friction for it to work well.
I think the quality of being flexible is also necessary as an artist. Allowing yourself the time to cast those lines, to make mistakes, to truly feel what you are good at—what makes your heart beat faster. It is tempting to fall into conformity; I, too, am sometimes drawn towards that. Instead of thinking about what *I* want to make, making what you think society, people, would want.
But in a world where everything has already been made, uniqueness is your superpower.
So staying true to yourself is the key, if you ask me. That is where you excel, and that is how people who also feel your work eventually come to you—with that dose of perseverance.
Reaching people like that is also a skill that not every artist has mastered.
It is something that is incredibly useful, but often does not align with most artists’ personalities. Here too, perseverance and discipline are necessary.
At the beginning of my career, I made posters for a local pub for years for a few tens of cash. It was great fun, but it didn’t pay the bills. I often had to scrape by, but I also knew that I mainly needed to show my work everywhere.
And connecting with many people. Vitamin “R,” an artist used to tell me (Relationship Vitamins). And she was more than right.
If your own creative endeavors go beyond acting only as a creative outlet, there are a number of ways to show your art, and potentially make a living from your creativity.
Art is often shown and sold through:
- Galleries
- Digital Galleries
- Workshops
- Creative Festivals
Additionally, many small businesses support local artists, either showing or commissioning art at or for their storefront. Commissions are everywhere, for those who look, make friends and network. Maintaining a professional demeanor, consistency and positive attitude are crucial. Take the time to master your own domain, your own creative voice, while being able to adapt to the needs of those around you.
A growing trend has been streaming live art creation, and social media has been used across a variety of methods to introduce art. There are currently a growing number of social media platforms specific to art:
- Cara
- ArtStation
- Behance
- DeviantArt
- Bluesky/Mastodon
In addition, traditional social media outlets that help artists include:
- TikTok
- Discord
Gradi:
Something I really don’t enjoy doing, which would probably help me a lot – going to entrepreneur gatherings much more often. A rotary event or something similar. But I find it difficult to exhibit my work this way. I did do it following my picture book, though; it brought me a tremendous amount of promotion and sales outlets. Other entrepreneurs were really supportive, which was super sweet. Now that I write it down like this, maybe I should do it a bit more often in the future after all…
As a tattoo artist, I am still just a beginner, but the learning curve is steep.
The contact with people is very nice there too, but in this field—because I want and need to become sooooo much better, it is still too new—it is also still very uncertain and nerve-wracking.
Anyway, no effort, no gain. Sometimes there is only one way, and that is just doing it. That is very often the case for me, so this one can be added to the list.
I do not have a teaching degree, so like many things, I had to learn this autodidactically. In the beginning, I really had to make progress to get a better grasp of it. I am still learning about teaching.
Because explaining something to someone is truly a skill in itself.
In this way, I have truly found a unique “language” for every pupil, student, and course participant to guide their process. It is very rewarding work; it gives me a really good feeling to be able to help someone else and, in doing so, give them a good feeling too. And it is often just like therapy, through conversations or obstacles that parallel obstacles in other areas of someone’s life.
Kunst Educatie Nederland is a wonderful employer; they offer cultural lessons in all shapes and sizes (visual arts (I often teach tattoo art), but also dance, music, food, etc., etc.)).
The great thing about this company is that, in my opinion, they have found a really cool way to introduce young people and young adults to culture.
They organize festival-style cultural days for schools. It really does feel like a festival, with music, theater, visual arts workshops, dance workshops, cooking classes, etc. The young people receive a card on which they have to collect stamps, often with two visual arts workshops and one theater or dance performance. When the card is full, they get fries at the end of the afternoon.
Brilliant. Young people aren’t keen on culture lessons, and this way they get a good introduction to it.
ZINKWIT is where I teach illustration and painting classes, a place where I have been working for quite a few years. I have known these groups for a long time, and I can help many people beautifully.
This is a private art school for young and old, great fun for motivated children and adults.
This is very different from the young people who often don’t feel like going to a lesson.
But both are fun. To see motivated students flourish.
But imagine having touched just one young person on such a festival day with your art or a cultural subject. That is fantastic, isn’t it?
Gradi’s art is highly unique, her adaptivity allows her to work with a variety of mediums, as well as creating tattoos for festivals and shops, while also working as a teacher, and making commissions for institutions such as the Hague—the headquarters for the UN Judicial Branch. We are going to talk with each other more in the future, this time, hoping to speak more about creativity.
Give her artwork a look, give her a follow on Instagram, and definitely consider her for any commissions you might need.
Gradi:
What helps me look ahead: less time on social media, making more connections with people. More peace brings more time to really zoom in, literally—including on nature, for example. Allow yourself time to marvel. But I also realize that I simply have a rich imagination—and can easily set it in motion. It is probably partly in my character, but it has also always been heavily encouraged by my parents. They saw it, and I was given all the space to develop it—just like my craft skills and materials, and music.
That is a privilege, and I am incredibly grateful for it.
Photographer: Robert Flierman
@Beelduit
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