For Artie Sandstone, the artist and mind behind his namesake brand of creations, gaining the confidence to fully embrace and pursue his artistic endeavors has taken time to build. But, after nearly 20 years as an entrepreneur and leader in the biotech start-up sphere, Artie has recently dived headfirst into celebrating and sharing his artistic side with the community and the world.
“We all have different sides of ourselves, and it can take time to become comfortable with all of those facets,” says Artie. “But it’s okay to be different in art, in style and in life when you really believe in something. I’m very excited to more widely share my attitude, perspectives, optimism and realism in a unique way through my art.”
Artie Sandstone is the alias for Andy Sklawer, a Miami native who has been a perennial doodler since childhood—creating novel characters and filling sketchbooks with his drawings. He began to more seriously pursue art in college, where he also met his now wife, for whom he created a simple yet meaningful kangaroo drawing ahead of her time spent studying abroad in Australia. At the same time, Artie’s entrepreneurial nature likewise blossomed, and he leaned into this “business in his blood” to fuel his early career growing and leading biotech companies in founder and C-level roles.
Art continued to be a prominent passion project for Artie during these ventures and became his main focus over the past year as he opened a studio in Boulder with a showroom. Artie notes that his distinct background has resulted in a mindset that influences how he approaches his creations.
“As an entrepreneur and artist, I get excited when I see a blank canvas. To me, the white space represents endless opportunity and possibilities,” says Artie. “When I start a new art piece I sometimes have a concept in mind. But most of the time I’m showing up just with myself and what I’m thinking about and feeling in that moment. Then I just start going.”
Artie’s influences for his art are wide-ranging, yet all rooted in authentic feelings and perspectives on both large-scale and day-to-day events.
“I draw inspiration from what’s happening in my life at a given time, from interactions with my wife and daughters to global current events and everyday goings-on,” says Artie. “I want my pieces to tell interesting stories about how something is impacting me and making me feel.”
Artie refers to his style as contemporary pop art—pieces that reflect a reaction to what’s happening in the world around us and draw heavily from pop culture. Artie notes that he is also drawn to the idea of creating pieces that visually “pop,” using bright and eye-catching hues to bring energy and a positive vibe to his pieces.
As Artie’s art evolves, he continues to emphasize an open-minded attitude—staying receptive to new ideas and possibilities while allowing his creativity to dictate the best mediums to express his message of the moment. In fact, “Open Minded” is one of his cornerstone pieces, which he says reflects the way that he tries to live his life and inspire others’ attitudes as well.
“With an open mind, the opportunities in life are endless,” says Artie. “All of my pieces represent something of me at that moment in time. While I have some legacy favorites that express core ideologies, I often find that my latest piece that I’ve created is my favorite because of the newness and evolution that it represents.”
At the end of the day, Artie says that the goal of his art is pretty simple.
“When people see my art, I want them to stop, smile and wonder. I want people to feel joy, laughter and some sense of positivity. The world can feel like a dark place sometimes. But leaning into art can help make the world a bit brighter, and that’s what it’s all about.”
People eager to experience Artie’s creations in person will soon have the opportunity at Boulder’s Seidel City Contemporary Art Gallery. His art will be on display beginning with an opening on February 22 and then on exhibit through March 31.