Journal #1
My Father’s Influence on My Art
Introduction
My father, Grant Adams, loved art, music, especially jazz, and books. He was friends with many influential people in all three categories. Growing up I met people like famed actor Zero Mostel, Percy Heath of The Modern Jazz Quartet, and artist Rainy Bennett. These were not just acquaintances but good friends of my father’s. I thought it was normal to be around such people, now in retrospect I understand it was an exceptional time for me.
From as early as I can remember my father recognized something in me that I yet didn’t recognize in myself – a natural inclination toward art. He encouraged it in ways that shaped not only my path as an artist, but also the way I see the world. His belief in my creative potential gave me both the confidence and the curiosity to pursue a life built around visual expression.
Rainy Bennett and my Father early 50s
Rainy Bennett Untitled Watercolor Abstract 1942
Mentorship
My father was not just supportive; he was instrumental. He introduced me to the art world with a sense of wonder and reverence. His office in Manhattan was on the corner of 5th Avenue and East 54th Street. The Museum of Modern Art was just 2 blocks away and I remember vividly our visits there, where he didn’t simply point at paintings, he asked questions, started conversations, and helped me see beyond the canvas. We would stand in front of a piece by Cezanne or Picasso and he’d ask, “What do you think the artist was trying to say here?” Those moments planted the seeds of how I approach art today, not as something to be merely observed, but as something to be felt, thought about, questioned, and understood.
The Art Students League of NYC
Being friends with Rainy Bennett my father knew about the Art Students League because Rainy taught there in the early 60s. In 1969 my father encouraged me to enroll there. He went with me to support me by registering me and buying art supplies. I was 19 at the time. I remember feeling very nervous and scared. This was sacred ground for artists from all over the world. He knew that exposure to great teachers and other working artists would nurture my skills and sharpen my vision. I studied with the highly regarded figure artist Marshall Glazier and it was my first time seeing and drawing a nude. I was surrounded with amazing artists and felt completely out of place but as time wore on, I improved to the point that my pieces would sometimes end up on the Wall of Excellence. My father believed in training, in discipline, and in the power of surrounding oneself with inspiration. These are all values I carry into my own studio practice today.
The NYC Art Students League
Support
More than anything, my father gave me the gift of artistic identity. He treated my early sketches as something worth taking seriously. That recognition shaped how I see myself even now: as someone who was meant to make fine art, to interpret the world through color, line, and emotion.
I lost my father at 21 to cancer. Actor Andrew Garfield said about grief, “That wound is the only root to the gift.” Because of this, every time I pick up a brush or pencil, I feel his influence, not only in the encouragement he gave me but in the way he taught me to truly see. This blog post is a small way to honor his lasting presence in my work and in my heart.
Grant Adams
P.C. Adams Art