The halls of Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta campus are peppered with quite the melting pot of people: Aspiring writers, graphic design professors, budding advertising professionals, golf coaches…yes, you read that correctly. You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who says they want to go to this elite art school to play golf on the collegiate level; but SCAD does, in fact, boast several inter-collegiate teams. Two of the most successful programs are their golf teams—the SCAD Bee’s men’s and women’s golf teams both excel in their leagues. This marks the third year that artist and golf coach Wyatt Graff has led both teams. This athlete is also a summa cum laude graduate from the university with a BFA in illustration and an MFA in painting.
Wyatt’s work has taken center stage in homes, business and galleries. His use of layered Plexiglas in combination with bright colors, textures, and the concept of space, gives his work depth and multiple dimensions that have attracted new and old art lovers alike.
Balancing both loves in two presumably differing worlds may seem tough; but as CommonCreativ found out, it’s possible to have both a winning golf stroke and an equally powerful brush stroke.
CommonCreativ: How long have you been creating art?
Wyatt Graff: I’m the son of a professional watercolorist, so I’ve always been surrounded by art. In regards to my current style of layered Plexiglas, this is my eighth year working in this style.
CC: Which artists influence you?
WG: Frank Stella, Willem de Kooning, Morris Louis are some of the more historical influences. Julie Mehretu, Matthew Ritchie, Rocio Rodriguez, Frank Nitsche, Wendy White, Laura Bell, HENSE, Justine Hill, Julio Garcia and John Wood are all contemporary artists that have influenced me.
CC: Your works use Plexiglas and paint in layers. Where was this idea born?
WG: Growing up, I was heavily influenced by the process of painting watercolors. Two of the significant characteristics of watercolor are chance and layering. I took these two elements and tried to create work that was truly my own. In my current work, the layers of the painting can be rotated and reoriented to create multiple compositions. Being that the Plexiglas is transparent, the wall greatly influences the painting, as the color of the wall is the background color of the painting. As I’m creating the work, I’m not focused on the final composition. I’m focused on the composition and movement of each individual layer. Once all of the layers are completed, I then create the final composition by altering the order of the layers.
CC: Many artists have two lives: their bill-paying life and their art life. How do you balance both of these worlds?
WG: As a college golf coach, I have about eight extremely busy months consisting of 60-80 hours of golf practice and tournament travel every week. During the down time, my artwork is an excellent escape for me. I’m constantly thinking of new artistic approaches and ideas in anticipation of my down months, so when they come, it’s full bore into the art. I’d say that my creativity helps in my teaching of the golf swing and the game of golf. Whether it be conveying a golf concept or perhaps developing an unusual golf drill, the creativity allows me different modes of explanation.
CC: You lived in Savannah for a number of years earning your MFA at SCAD. How would you compare the Savannah art community to that in Atlanta?
WG: What diversity there is in Savannah’s art community comes from the influence of SCAD’s presence, and that’s a very good thing. However, the city of Atlanta, as a whole, is just so much more diverse in general, and that’s reflected in the art scene.
CC: How do you think the Atlanta art scene has embraced emerging styles and new visions in art?
WG: There is some outstanding work coming from Atlanta artists and there is some unique and new work being shown in the Atlanta galleries from both local artists and artists from other regions. I think that some local galleries have been quite courageous with some of the recent shows, and that’s what needs to continue to happen.
You can see more work by Wyatt Graff here.
