Thousands of years after the glaciers melt, we ride up the waters of Lake Chelan. The Stehekin River flows in at the top of the lake at Stehekin, still fed by mountain glaciers. We’re learning to fly fish. Beneath the water of the river are thousands of Kokanee Salmon, getting ready to spawn and die. They’re a brilliant orange. I’ve never seen so many fish … Continue reading Painting with soot and glacial water 水墨
It’s been a weird week. I’ve struggled with tears at unexpected moments. Just an accumulation of stuff. So I just focused on my work. Went into the studio relentlessly. Because I know it’s good for me. If I don’t have studio time, things just get darker. Making a mark on a page or canvas feels like I’m moving forward. I found two great sources of … Continue reading Is today the day art dies?
It’s a strange question to ask, ‘What do you like to rub all over yourself?’ but it’s a far better one than ‘What inspires you?’. There’s nothing like the word ‘inspire‘ to make your dick shrivel up like a cashew in Antarctic sea ice. It’s a dead word. The overuse of words like inspire and passion have made them carry almost the opposite of their … Continue reading What do you like to rub all over yourself?
When the corona virus starting locking down cities around the world, my studio became off-limits. I had to find a way to work without the studio. I throw some things in a box that slowly evolves into my travelling studio. After three months in hibernation, I drive. From Washington to Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. My travelling studio becomes my life. Here’s how to make art … Continue reading How to take your studio with you on the road.
There’s no greater compliment for an artist to have someone recommend your work. It says they like your work. It says they like your work enough to share your work with other people. Is an art recommendation really that important? Yes. It’s not like recommending a sofa or a brand of milk. They like your work enough to stake their own integrity on your art. … Continue reading How do you do an art commission for a client 18,000 miles away?
As the corona virus strangles the city of Seattle, the restaurants and cafes in Pioneer Square shut down. Preparing for the cytokine storm, shopfronts are boarded up. The streets deserted, feeling edgier than ever. To keep an eye on the streets, the Alliance for Pioneer Square reached out to local artists to pair up with local businesses and paint the hoardings that cover the shopfronts. … Continue reading How to create a mural 56 feet wide (18 m)
What you can do to help artists during COVID-19. Everyone is meeting their friends for drinks online. From our dining chairs in Seattle we look across the table through our laptop to our friends at the other side of the table in Summer Hill. We’re all drinking white negronis and it’s beautiful. Two hours in a heartbeat. People are working online, making startling discoveries about … Continue reading The show must go on. Online.
What the Australian bushfires taught me about making decisions in a time of coronavirus (COVID-19). I’m one of those people that likes to be prepared. I check the exits on a airplane. I feel under my seat to make sure there’s a life jacket there. So when the mountains burst into flames behind my house in November 2019, I planned to leave. I love my … Continue reading Too late to leave. Stay in place.
Sometimes art goes bad. Look at her face. The horror. This is not intentional. I wasn’t trying to create an image of a women who had been burnt in an accident. Or a woman trapped in a disfiguring face mask. I was trying to create a woman with attitude, cigarette in hand, giving the viewer a withering glance. I didn’t have the right colour papers … Continue reading What to do when things go horribly wrong (in art)
Taking risks sometimes pays dividends. The risk is worth the reward. Other times, they fail terribly. Like at my high school dance. Important lessons from risk-taking The school dance is beach themed. I thought it would be a good idea to make breasts out of coconuts and pink socks, wrap myself in a hibiscus tablecloth and apply red lipstick. I remember looking at myself in … Continue reading Suburban LA life for The Other Art Fair
Ray Monde 