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title: About 
description: "About Robert Grantham — Austin‑based calligrapher and painter blending Copperplate & Blackletter with contemporary abstraction. Layered, text‑driven paintings about hope, resilience, and memory." 
permalink: /about.html
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<main id="about" aria-label="About Robert Grantham">
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      <span class="tag">About the artist</span>
      <h1 id="about-hero-heading">Robert Grantham</h1>
      <p>
        Austin‑based calligrapher and painter blending Copperplate & Blackletter with
        contemporary abstraction. I build layered, text‑driven paintings about hope,
        resilience, and memory—handwritten lines woven into paint.
      </p>
      <div class="cta">
        <a class="button accent" href="/portfolio.html">View Portfolio</a>
        <a class="button ghost" href="#contact">Contact / Commissions</a>
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    </div>
    <div>
      <figure class="card">
        <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="900" src="/assets/images/edge-of-night-01.jpg" alt="Edge of Night — layered acrylic with calligraffiti elements" />
        <figcaption class="pad meta">Recent work — Edge of Night (12×16 acrylic on canvas)</figcaption>
      </figure>
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          <h2 id="artist-statement">Artist Statement</h2>
          <p>
            I work where disciplined letterforms meet gestural paint. Years of study in
            <em>Copperplate</em> and <em>Blackletter</em> inform each piece: grids, stroke order, and
            pressure‑release—then weathered with glazes, scumbles, and palimpsests of text.
            Phrases such as <em>misericordia</em>, <em>virtus</em>, and <em>resilientia</em> recur as anchors for
            grief, courage, and care. The ethos is simple: <strong>“Hope, written by hand.”</strong>
          </p><h2 id="materials-process">Materials &amp; Process</h2>
      <ul>
        <li><strong>Surfaces:</strong> Ampersand Gessobord (7/8" cradle), canvas, and reclaimed cardboard.</li>
        <li><strong>Media:</strong> Acrylics with layered glazes &amp; scumbles; occasional tempera and mixed‑media markers.</li>
        <li><strong>Lettering:</strong> Copperplate, Blackletter &amp; calligraffiti hybrids on sacred‑geometry grids.</li>
        <li><strong>Palette:</strong> Deep blues, bone‑white / plaster neutrals, and restrained metallics.</li>
      </ul>

      <h2 id="themes">Themes</h2>
      <p>
        Resilience—personal and communal—sits at the center. Magnolia motifs, Latin mottos,
        and German inscriptions function as talismans. I’m interested in how handwriting—our
        most human mark—carries memory across surfaces and years.
      </p>

      <h2 id="recent-activity">Recent Activity</h2>
      <ul>
        <li><em>Edge of Night</em> — 12×16 acrylic on canvas (2025).</li>
        <li><em>Furcht frisst Gerechtigkeit</em> — 12×16×7/8 acrylic on Ampersand Gessobord (2025).</li>
        <li><em>Resilience</em> — 8×10×5/8 acrylic on canvas (2025).</li>
        <li>Pop‑ups and community showings in Austin: Café Medici (Guadalupe); Pancakes &amp; Booze (Far Out Lounge, Oct 11); church/community venues including a December show at Northwest Hills UMC.</li>
      </ul>

      <h2 id="commissions">Commissions</h2>
      <p>
        I take a limited number of commissions each month—from compact calligraphy studies
        to larger statement works on Gessobord. If a word, motto, or concept matters to you,
        I’ll develop a layered design with script studies and a materials plan.
      </p>
      <ol>
        <li><strong>Conversation:</strong> your word(s), mood, palette, size, and budget.</li>
        <li><strong>Design packet:</strong> thumbnail sketches + lettering studies.</li>
        <li><strong>Production:</strong> layered ground, inscription, finishing, COA.</li>
      </ol>
      <p class="muted">Student / community discounts available when possible.</p>

      <h2 id="pricing">Pricing (guidance)</h2>
      <p>Pricing reflects square‑inch value, materials, and complexity. Typical ranges:</p>
      <ul>
        <li>8×10×5/8 canvas: ~$140–$160 (unframed)</li>
        <li>12×16×7/8 Gessobord: ~ $335 (unframed), depending on complexity</li>
        <li>Custom sizes &amp; framing quoted on request</li>
      </ul>

      <h2 id="care">Care</h2>
      <p>
        Acrylic works are sealed for surface protection. Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
        and dust with a soft, dry cloth. Cradled panels hang flush; canvas ships ready to
        hang unless noted.
      </p>
    </div>

    <aside class="stack" aria-label="Studio details" style="align-content:start;">
      <figure class="card">
        <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="900" src="/assets/images/lux-ex-tenebris-01.jpg" alt="Lux ex Tenebris — gilded detail" />
        <figcaption class="pad meta">Detail — Lux ex Tenebris</figcaption>
      </figure>
      <figure class="card">
        <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1200" height="900" src="/assets/images/resilience-01.jpg" alt="Resilience — grid and lettering study" />
        <figcaption class="pad meta">Resilience — grid study</figcaption>
      </figure>
    </aside>
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      <h2 id="contact-heading">Contact</h2>
      <p>For inquiries, commissions, or studio visits:</p>
      <ul class="list">
        <li>Email: <a href="mailto:robertgrantham40@gmail.com">robertgrantham40@gmail.com</a></li>
        <li>Phone: <a href="tel:+15122003563">512‑200‑3563</a></li>
        <li>Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/robertgranthamart" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@robertgranthamart</a></li>
        <li>Payments / tips: Venmo <code>@robert-grantham-6</code> · CashApp <code>$bobby198237</code></li>
      </ul>
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        <a class="button accent" href="/portfolio.html">See Available Work</a>
        <a class="button ghost" href="/portfolio.html#commissions">Start a Commission</a>
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