ST. LOUIS — St. Louis artist David Ruggeri believes in not giving up. Art is his passion.
“My first major was art,” he told 5 On Your Side.
But he didn’t make much money during the early days of his career.
“Years ago, I was selling drawings for $25,” he said.
So, he had to pivot.
“I listened to kind of everybody, right, and that I needed to have a real job,” he said.
Ruggeri stopped painting and went fishing.
“Hitchhiked to Alaska, I worked on a fishing boat and in a canary,” he explained.
But he eventually went back to college and got his degree, including a PhD, and is currently an associate professor at Mizzou.
“I teach the economics of health care,” he said.
But the steady job couldn’t keep him away from his love of art and he went back to it.
“I gotta give this a try because regret is going to be worse than the failure,” he explained.
Now, he puts graffiti on canvas.
“I never really painted on buildings or cars, I was always too afraid that I’d get caught and my mom would kill me,” he said.
He is 10 years into selling his art and he is getting recognition. He has works on display in cities nationwide. He has sold pieces for thousands of dollars and doesn’t take that for granted.
“It’s humbling when somebody gives me their hard-earned money because they like a piece so much they want to hang it in their house,” he said.
Ruggeri has not given up his fulltime teaching job at Mizzou.
“I do this at night and weekends,” he said.
But he’s OK with that because he still gets to do what he loves.
“I always tell my students, you have to follow your dreams and you have to do your passion,” he said.
If you want to learn more about his art or see his works on display, click here to visit his website.