Hi! I’m Gabe Ratliff, owner of Ärtful. Art and music have been the constant thread running through my life for over thirty years. It started as a kid playing air drums to The Police until I eventually picked up real drumsticks at ten years old. By my senior year of high school, I was quad captain in the marching band and had the surreal honor of performing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in front of millions. From there, I spent years recording, touring, DJing, promoting shows, and playing iconic venues like Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Music was never just a hobby. It was an identity, a devotion, and a calling. But like many artists, I hit the wall between passion and practicality. I was broke, in debt, and exhausted from trying to “make it.” So I pivoted. I became a corporate creative for my day gig. 

For over fifteen years, I have worked in marketing, branding, design, and media production. I helped design platforms for companies like Adobe. I produced over 150 long-form educational shows at Craftsy alongside partners like Nikon and Sur La Table. I led creative campaigns, redesigned high-traffic websites, supported national retail brands, and helped three startups grow to acquisition. Eventually, I built my own creative agency, generating six figures and leading strategy, branding, and content for mission-driven companies. 

In 2019, I launched Ärtful—and started my purpose-driven work as the Artist Navigator —helping artists find their North Star and building a life that supports their work— without the burnout. Then in 2020, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Walking with him through his final months changed me forever. Loss has a way of clarifying what achievement never can. It forced me to confront the question that had quietly followed me for years: What am I really here to do? 

The answer became clear. I am here to help artists build thriving, purposeful businesses that integrate with their lives—not consume them. I am here to help you get unstuck, break through fear and inertia, and build momentum toward meaningful goals. I am here to help you create with joy, fulfillment, and freedom. Over the past seven years, I’ve guided artists, developed systems and processes to help them, and then tested and refined them so they achieve real, lasting results. 

I spent three years developing The Ärtful Life Planner, which is not just a productivity tool. It’s a clarity tool. A momentum tool. A companion for artists who want structure without rigidity, ambition without burnout, and success without sacrificing their soul. Artists and their creative lives are my artwork. Like a sculptor, I help chisel away distraction, doubt, shame, and fear—revealing the artist underneath who is ready to build something meaningful.