Photo by Gregg Goldman
PAINTING WHAT YOU LOVE Written by Craig Kaminer
You never know someone’s story until you ask, and after chasing Ted Collier with texts, emails and voicemail messages, this highly successful St. Louis-based artist opened up in a truly authentic and inspiring way. His checkered past -- as he calls it -- includes getting thrown out of quite a few of the 12 schools he attended, sobriety issues and losing everything he owned in his name in 2008 during the big recession. With nothing left to lose, he set out to do what he always loved -painting -- and recalls his childhood years always checking out the art supplies in each new school he attended. His wife, the now celebrated chef/restaurateur/entrepreneur Katie Collier of Katie’s Pizza & Pasta Osteria fame, had similar struggles despite her enormous talents, and together she and Ted pointed their compasses in the direction of their hearts. That winning formula, which is a similar refrain of some of the most successful creatives and chefs, led them to this place of feature stories, rave reviews and large followings on social media. The first work of art Ted ever sold was to Phyllis and Ken Langsdorff for $75, which led to pop-up shows, new tools and techniques, and ultimately landed on his signature shape -- series of 72 slmag.net
circles. “I always felt boxed in by right angles, but was attracted to the oval shape of eyes and Littlest Pet Shop toys and things that have made me happy since I was a kid.” With the courage he earned from selling a handful of pieces to serious collectors, he rented a small loft space from Artmart owner Keith Baizer, first painting on a small scale but soon growing the works in size. The bigger the images got, the faster they sold. Sales quickly doubled, then tripled and people started reselling his work for a profit. “I feared raising my prices, but eventually I did, and today most of the work sells for $10,000 - $20,000 or more in places like Atlanta, Miami, Bogota and Milan to private collectors and corporations. Former St. Louisan Ramsey Maune, who opened his eponymous gallery in Atlanta with his wife Heidi, represents Ted amidst both blue-chip and emerging artists. Heidi said, ”When I received a Ted Collier work from my now husband, Ramsey, for my birthday, I was hooked. His art has the capability of both energizing and grounding a space. Several years later, I thought I was opening another birthday present but
