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 Langsdorf for $75, which led to pop-up shows, new tools and techniques, and ultimately landed on his signature shape -- series of 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 was shocked and surprised to find that it was another Ted Collier work and a marriage proposal!  Ted had painted about two hundred sentences which said, ‘Will you marry me?’ Of course, I said yes!”

And William Shearburn, a top gallerist in St. Louis, said, “I love Ted. Although I don’t represent him, we have enjoyed a long-standing dialogue/conversation about art, business and life. I admire what Ted has accomplished through a lot of hard work. He has taken a simple, basic shape -- the circle -- that has been manifested for centuries in art and architecture and somehow made it his own. Ted is also a master of social media. He has an innate ability to connect with people, which comes through genuinely on his social media platforms. An all-around good guy.”

Ironically, Ted responds to the daily inundation of faux realism by reducing his environments to their essential forms and colors, in spite of his and Katie’s over 40,000 Instagram followers and almost as many Facebook friends. “We’re constantly bombarded with faux realism and direct marketing through social media and contemporary means of advertising. My work aims to provide the viewer with an escape or a sense of solitude by reducing one’s environment to its most essential geometries -- producing a universal language of shapes and hues that at their very core are organic forms embedded within the fabric of the world around us.”  

“As early as I can remember I felt at home drawing, painting and making sculptures out of found objects. I wish I would’ve followed and pursued my passion for art before I was given this second chance. Now looking back, I’m grateful that it happened because it was the beginning of my new life. There is always time to pursue a dream or an idea you fully believe in and are passionate about. Where you are now will become a memory when you get to where you want to be.”

Despite Ted’s busy schedule, enjoying his family and mentoring others just starting out are his top priorities. He said, “The reason I didn’t call you back earlier was that I was secretly hoping you would write about someone else, someone who needs the visibility more than me.”  At Sophisticated Living, we’re glad we finally connected.