♪ >> Spray paint art is like science.

>> Spray paint is wild and out of control.

>> So many different techniques and tools that you can use.

>> It's almost like you are relearning how to draw.

>> It's invigorating as an artist to always have something new to learn.

It keeps you captivated by it.

♪ >> I was programmed to do this.

That's the only way my brain works.

I cannot function in any other forms of society.

It has to be art.

My name is Erica.

I'm a muralist, an artist.

I'm also co-owner and co-founder of Chromatic Collective.

I think my whole life I've been an artist, since being a kid, making little books to give to my family members, things like that, always drawing.

What got me into the arts?

Geez.

I was born into it.

[ Laughter ] I've just been doing it, basically, my whole life.

Like, it was always my hobby.

It was always something that I made sure I had time to do.

And I played sports and stuff and all that goodness, but art was always my favorite thing, period.

♪ >> Without art, I would have a hard time just being happy in general.

My name is Rafael Caro.

I am a co-owner and co-founder of Chromatic Collective in the Broad Ripple neighborhood.

So when I first started doing art, I was really into comics and cartoons.

And so I was more into the illustrative cartoony style, but that evolved as I started growing up.

First time I picked up a spray can, we were skating a ditch, and my friend -- I mean, this is junior high.

And so my friend had his backpack full of spray paint that he took from his parents, and we were -- it was a rebellious act.

I didn't know anything about graffiti.

I didn't know what to do.

So was, like -- you know, just on the fly just picked the name of, like, my favorite music group at the time, and we go under the bridge.

We're starting to paint.

It was really hard to use, but there was some, like -- now to this day, I get this nostalgic feeling in, like, the feeling of just the wildness of it, the mixture of the summer day and the fumes and all of this like -- you know, it's kind of, like, a rebellious thing.

And that's what really got me excited.

♪ >> It's chromatic, so you can't really mess up.

We'll just keep doing this splash thing.

Yeah, but -- >> You've got to let that dry a little to modify it.

>> The bottom part?

Like, a straight line.

♪ >> Rewind!

I met Rafael, I think it was actually 2010.

>> It was through mutual friends.

We were at a skatepark, and, um, one of my friends said, hey, you should talk to so and so.

>> And she's, like, hey, I have a friend that's, like, really cute, first of all.

>> She's also a young parent like yourself.

>> And third of all, really, really loves art.

>> And so you guys would probably hit it off.

>> So a lot of our hangout times was literally just sitting at the round table and doodling together.

>> She took me to the Chicago Art Expo.

She took me into Herron School of Art.

>> I called him my arm candy, basically.

So if I had a show or an event to go to, I'd be like, hey, you are into this too.

Like, do you want to come with me?

>> It was weird.

It was almost like she was a mentor, a really close friend, and then as time moved on, we -- we -- you know, we got together romantically and -- >> Ahhh.

I know.

And we gotta mix it up again.

We gotta redo this.

We gotta do this.

We gotta redo this.

We gotta redo this.

All right.

Come on.

♪ We both had that passion of growing as artists; although, she was a little more advanced at the time, we were still really passionate about pushing ourselves to be better artists.

>> You say advanced, but, like, I don't think that's fair.

Because I had, like, traditional training and he did not.

So when I was drawing with him, I saw, like, freedom.

♪ >> So it all started back in 2019, I applied on a whim for this grant offered by the Indiana Arts Commission called the On-Ramp Creative Entrepreneur seminar, and it really helped me out a lot.

Because at that event, they gave you, like, $2,000 at the end.

I'm sitting there, like, brainstorming some ideas, and I'm, like, I really want to, like, open an art store.

Like, that's something I always talked about that I want to do, but what I really want to do -- like, low key, what I really want to do is organize a graffiti jam in Broad Ripple.

I organized, like, a small little jam here in Broad Ripple.

We had 11 painters, and we called it chromatic, which is basically a spectrum of color.

♪ >> Chromatic Collective.

>> Do you want to start?

>> Okay.

So Chromatic started as a graffiti jam.

And then when we had the opportunity to open a space, we're, like, workshopping, what can we call it?

What can we call it?

>> Yeah.

>> And it just kept coming back to chromatic.

And so I was, like, okay.

Let's do this.

Let's put that name here now.

This is Chromatic.

>> And it's like a great representation.

I mean, chromatic spectrum of colors, I mean, it has such a vast meaning to it, and that's kind of what we do here, is that we're not just one thing.

We're, like, so many different things and it's constantly growing too.

♪ >> I had this vision of creating a space that was open to the public.

So I wanted to create an atmosphere that was familiar to people.

So I leaned into this bodega aesthetic.

So when you come into our shop, we've got, like, a beverage cooler full of spray paint.

We've got a butcher counter, like, things that are, like, a normal person could walk in and be, like, this is a familiar setting to me.

I've definitely seen these things, and that kind of helps initiate the conversation, and also creating the space for artists to connect with other artists, you know, having the supplies that we carry.

>> Yeah, and everything we have supply here we, like, know about.

So all the tools that we have here in the shop is, like, stuff that we personally use.

So if anybody has got any concerns or any questions, we are always there to talk about it, or if, like, someone is coming in and they are curious about how to use certain tools, we'll do a little demo right there.

♪ >> My hope is that people understand and respect graffiti as a medium for artists.

It's more than just vandalism and not all of it is vandalism.

>> Exactly.

>> So one of the things that we do here, like, buy, selling spray paint and having the shows, is kind of showing people the legitimacy that comes with, like, using a spray can.

>> And it really wouldn't be possible without our whole crew.

We built this place together.

And so we've all been volunteering our time in -- in building it, in just keep elevating the space.

>> It's a chromatic thing.

♪ >> Oh, my gosh, a real goal?

>> To exist.

>> Yeah, to keep this up.

I really want to find, like, a warehouse space and, like, do something really big.

I mean we love it here and don't ever want to leave this place, but I want to, like, go to, like, the next level.

>> Bigger productions.

>> Yeah, exactly.

>> Bigger installations.

Bigger works of art, just big.

Big.

>> Big!