Frank Grau originally planned to attend Harvard Medical School and specialize in neural surgery –– however, shaky hands resulting from his coffee addiction ensured he would never be able to afford the malpractice insurance. After encountering pictures of cave art, Frank realized he’d be better off pursuing a vocation at which even a caveman could succeed. This led to a career illustrating and designing for various commercial industries for 25+ years. 

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Upon being asked to explain the philosophy behind his work, Frank explained: 

 

“My art represents a vibrant, colorful love of the harmonious beauty which draws upon the sublime social awareness of nature’s roots within the subconsciousness of blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, and whatever other artsy-fartsy blather pretentious folk enjoy hearing. Truth of it is, my artwork really represents a way to keep Sugar-Frosted-Chocko-Cruncho-Snappy-Puffy-Fruity-Flakes on the breakfast table for the kiddies."

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How’s that for profundity?

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Being a good steward of the environment, Frank only draws on dead-tree material; he never draws on living trees. In fact, Frank has made even greater environmental strides when he moved to drawing on a Cintiq in order allow all of the dead-tree-products (like paper) to remain, well, dead. Nowadays, when he absolutely must use paper, he makes sure to use a recycling bin to keep the side gate to his home from swinging open. 

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On the personal side, Frank is a lifelong resident of Southern California and lives there with his wife, their four children, and at one point, a hermit crab that died faster than most sea-monkeys (somehow Frank managed to kill a creature that required less attention than a pet rock). The Grau home has thus since acquired a dog, a parakeet, four goldfish, and most recently a cat, none of which Frank has yet killed, though He’s come close to strangling the mutt.

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Frank really feels silly writing about himself in the third person and knows he’s fooling no one. He continues to illustrate and design for Storyland Studios while also noodling around with his own creator-owned projects.