Growing up in Chicago, Kroutel attended The Art Institute of Chicago for studio art courses in painting and drawing and The University of Chicago for academic courses.  After an unsatisfying two year stint teaching Art and English in an area high school, he was motivated to move to Ann Arbor where he earned an MFA in painting at The University of Michigan.  He then taught in Detroit for three years at Marygrove College and at The Society of Arts and Crafts.  In 1966 he took a position at Ohio University where he was chair of painting, drawing and foundations for many years.

Nationally and internationally exhibited with over 30 solo exhibitions, Kroutel has been awarded three Ohio Arts Council Fellowships, an Arts Midwest NEA Fellowship and numerous prizes and awards.  Currently he is a Professor Emeritus of Art at Ohio University.

He and his wife, Patrice, a recognized painter, work in their his-and-her studio in the woods of Southeastern Ohio.