Grow Love (she/they), an inspiring artist and educator from Denver, is the founder of Grow Love International and one of the creative forces behind Babe Walls. Whether it’s canvas work or large-scale mural installations, Grow Love’s artistry nourishes every space it inhabits. From intricate floral designs to portraiture, their use of vibrant colors reflects Grow Love's deep passion for creativity.
Founded in 2019, Babe Walls is a pioneering collective that offers a welcoming environment for women and non-binary individuals in the mural art scene. It serves as both a platform for established artists and a springboard for emerging talents seeking guidance on their artistic journey. By fostering collaborations between artists, Babe Walls not only showcases the diverse strengths and styles of its members but also celebrates the shared experience of femininity and the essential element of mentorship within the community.
This April, Grow Love will be hosting a 2-Day Immersive Mural Painting Workshop with Street Wise Arts. As part of their diverse educational services, this workshop is designed to guide participants through the entire process of mural creation, from initial concept development to the final installation.
Grow Love has met with intern Christine Stadnik to share more on their story.
Stay up to date with Grow Love’s work on their Instagram and Website.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Christine Stadnik
Tell us about yourself as an artist.
Grow Love
I primarily work in the mural field, but I also do canvas work. I use spray paint and acrylic. I went to school for painting. I graduated from the University of Denver with a Fine Arts Degree in Painting and Art History.
Spray paint became the go-to medium when I realized I wanted to start painting murals. I self-taught, I picked up things here and there from friends, but focused all of my energy to spray paint for a year. I put my brushes away and told myself that if I am going to learn this medium, I'm going to need to not go back to acrylic during that time. I'm obsessed with it, which is why I teach it. I think within the greater art world it is underappreciated.
My art history background inspires me to mix historical-type paintings with spray paint. I do this to share that you can do what the art masters of the past did even when utilizing this contemporary medium. This is one way in which I push myself as an artist.
I am also the founder and co-founder of Babe Walls. It’s been such a lifelong dream come true to have a community that really values and respects each other. It's inclusivity, it's a family, it's a sisterhood. I think it's one of those rare things that you can find in this life that we all collectively created together. I think collaboration is key to pushing yourself, your abilities, and the way you think. It creates a very vibrant and inspiring life to do that.
Christine Stadnik
Where did the name Grow Love originate from?
Grow Love
When I was diving into mural art, I knew I wanted to have a moniker, just like a lot of performers or writers have pseudonyms. I felt the need to do that to be able to distinguish my childlike self from my adult, working, and professional self. I wanted to have that healthy separation.
The time in which I was trying to come up with that moniker was really difficult. There was a lot of very dark, painful stuff that I was managing. I wanted something that would be transformative, a name that transmuted all of that pain. That is where Grow Love came from. My name is my beacon, my mission, and a prayer when people say it.
Christine Stadnik
Can you talk more about your experience with arts and education?
Grow Love
I was one of those kids in school who naturally had a knack for art and drawing. I also had incredible resources. My mom was a graphic designer, my dad a photographer, my grandfather a photographer, and both my grandmothers were artists in their own right whether it was painting, drawing, sculpting, quilt making, or dressmaking. Creativity was around me a lot growing up.
Having people who are artists outside of my family, usually my teachers in school, changed me. It also changed my confidence to see myself as an artist.
My high school art teachers were phenomenal. I went to Golden High School, which had a vast arts program.
I've been teaching art for a long time. I've taught many people how to oil paint before I got into mural work. I always loved being able to share knowledge. When I taught myself how to spray paint, which was so hard, it helped me realize I also wanted to teach it. In the world where spray paint comes [from], graffiti and street art, I experienced the knowledge being very gatekept. I took it upon myself to start teaching, and because people want to learn. We are in a renaissance of mural making and public art.
Christine Stadnik
Are there any upcoming projects that you would like to share?
Grow Love
This time of year, at least February, March, April, are usually proposals and planning stages. I can't tell you how many solo proposals that I've personally sent out.
But I've also sent out proposals with my team. I have a team called Tri Flora with Katie Casper and Talia Schwartz. We've been applying for bigger and bigger jobs. We found that when we apply as a team, we have better chances of getting those opportunities, and when we apply individually. There is a bias with female artists a lot of the time that we're somehow not capable. We've been applying for a ton of work; within the next couple of months we'll be finding out whether we got those jobs and then just squaring away our schedules. This is the calm before the storm.
Once April and May hit, it’s six months of pure mayhem. It's extremely all-encompassing. Something I've been working on is trying to manage burnout. Typically, I'm making a mural a week during the summertime or every other week or so. During this, I still have to run my business, do proposals and plan things. It can get really crazy.
Christine Stadnik
Is there anything else that you'd like to share that we haven't covered?
Grow Love
I have an upcoming collection of work I'm making for Cirrus. Cirrus is a social Cannabis Consumption Club opening in Denver at the end of 2024. Arend Richard, the founder of Cirrus, had this realization that if you can go to the bars and clubs where they serve alcohol, why can't you do that with cannabis?
He has asked me to help him decorate his club. I'm going to do this beautiful mural on the marquee and inside there will be a collection of 14 pieces that will be available for sale as well.
It's a huge undertaking because I have to fund this all myself. It will take months, but it is something that I'm really excited about. I signed up to be a founding member of the club because I think it’s a revolutionary idea, and I’m all about that. I don't really smoke a lot of weed, if at all. But I believe in this medicine and I believe in alternative spaces to alcohol consumption.