Author: Artist Rafi Perez

Rafi is an award winning contemporary artist who creates emotionally charged works. He is best known for his use of texture and bold color palates in striking pieces that each has a story to tell. Rafi is a self taught artist who spent years refining his own techniques and creating a style that is all his own. He has a unique ability to absorb colors and emotions in a very abstract way and is somehow able to translate it into the high energy fine art for which he is known. "He is driven to communicate visual qualities of perhaps the external environment which offers us freedom and inspiration as we cope with awesome focal points in the vast open space surrounding our existence. He attempts to show the internal passion of human sensuality that brings quality to our senses stimulating and extending our consciousness elevating life as individuals or sharing space with others around us. Ultimately Rafi seems to convey simple sophistication and intellectual freedom as he uses the visual language to express the human potential." - Spiros Zachos (PO10TIAL Magazine)
Posted on by — 3 Comments

Pensacola Mural Is Finished!

It has been an interesting journey, full of hot, inferno like days, and epic downpours, but I am proud to announce that my mural, in beautiful downtown Pensacola, is finished!

If you are in Pensacola, you can see it at Marty Campbell Gallery, located at  114 Palafox Pl, Pensacola, FL 32502

Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez
Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez

I wanted to capture the beauty, and history of this amazing town. The aliveness in a flowing work of art, that expresses how awesome the people, and this town have been to me. So, thank you Pensacola, this is my gift to you, hope you like it.

Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez
Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez

This town has been so supportive of me and my art career, that I wanted to give something back to express my gratitude.

When the opportunity arose to do this mural, I thought long and hard about the message that I wanted to express.

Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez
Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez

If there is anything I have learned from this experience, it is that your mindset is everything. It has been overwhelming, amazing, problematic, fantastic, and enlightening. The weather and some of the politics involved, could have easily caused my mind to downward spiral, and it did for a few moments. Luckily, I’m too stubbornly positive.

So, the power behind staying positive, no matter what obstacles stood in my way, made all the difference. Staying in tune with why I was creating the mural in the first place, was more important than drama. It shows in the work, and shows me how important it is to stay tuned to love.

That is my message.

The other thing I’ve learned, is to never schedule a mural in the middle of a deadly Summer heat wave. Just sayin.

Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez
Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez

Toward the end of the project, I asked for quotes from the amazing people that have a connection with myself and Pensacola. They are hidden among the images in the Mural. The response was so positive that I ended up with way more quotes than I can fit into the design. All the quotes were so amazing that I’m saving unused quotes for future projects.

Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez
Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez

The quotes in the downtown Pensacola Mural:

Be brave. –Jamie Hullenbaugh

Love makes magic happen! -Brandi Rodeghero

This is going to be the kind of year you THINK it’s going to be”. – Daniel Grooms

Thank you God for another day! – Cherie

What would you do if you knew you could not fail. – Phyllis R.

In order to truly move forward, we must let go of the past. – Jessa

Listen with your heart, feel with your soul. – Cera M

Do you know why you’re the best? You’re the best because you’re …you. – Jim Billy Barnes

The only consistent thing in life is the inconsistencies. – Catawissa Mo

It’s best to be a first rate version of yourself than a second rate version of somebody else. – Jennifer

May we always be endlessly inspired by the stuff of life. – Klee Angelie

Make today so awesome yesterday gets jealous. – Amanda and Aaron

Make it better. – Terri

Breathe in, breath out, move on – Peggy Cole

Spend your life doing strange things with weird people. – Tiffany Patton

“Adapt. Improvise, Overcome.” –The Marines -Lorraine

You are beautiful. – Daniella M

Laughter is the sunshine of life. – Ruth Stone

Listen with your heart, feel with your soul. – Cera Mc

The world would be a pretty boring place if we were all poured out of the same mold. – Sharon Price

Do more than just exist. – Pearl P.

Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez
Downtown Pensacola Mural By Rafi Perez

Thank you so much to everyone that has supported me, I love you guys.

On to the next awesome project!

Posted on by — 39 Comments

With A Little Help From My Friends Like You. Please help.

Hello you awesome person you! As you know I’ve been working on a mural in beautiful downtown Pensacola, and I need your help.

mural 1I’ll be finishing the mural in the next few days, which is super exciting for me. I am aiming to get it done before Gallery Night on Friday, September 16th, and there is something special I would like to ask you.

The very last finishing touch of this mural is going to be small, positive quotes, throughout the design. Originally, I was thinking of using famous quotes, but I think there is something much more special that can be done with this piece.

mural

Please send me your special quote… please?

I would like you to send me short, special, positive quotes that either you say, heard, or read. It could be something that someone you know said, and it inspired you, or a mantra that you say to yourself that gets yourself going. It could be a famous quote as well, as long as it means something to you.

This mural will capture your quote for the world to see, for as long as it stands in downtown Pensacola.

I would love for as many Pensacolians as possible to submit their quote, but I hope to get responses from other cities, and all around the world.

Just send me your quote, the person that says it (leave it blank if you want it to be anonymous) and your city.

You can leave it in the comments, respond to this email if you are subscribed to me, or send me an email. You can also leave your quotes on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or any of my other social accounts.

Also, please share this with anyone that you think would be interested.

Please respond by September 15th, 2016 7:00pm.

Thank you! You are awesome! I’ll be posting pictures and stuff when it is done… or you can visit downtown Pensacola and see your quote. 🙂

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Tips for beginning artists No.1

These are 5 Tips For Beginning Artist. If you are an aspiring artist, or you know an aspiring artist that may benefit from this, feel free to share and enjoy.

Every Monday, I dedicate some of my daily efforts to giving back information that would have been valuable to me when starting my artist career. This is a very basic list of things that were extremely helpful in my perception and practice of art.

Rafi Was Here Studios
Rafi Was Here Studios

You want to grow up and be an artists? Here’s five tips that helped me become an artist.

Draw… A lot. Carry a sketchbook with you, and draw whenever you get a chance. The more you draw, the better you become at translating a mental image to paper.

Great art takes hard work… It takes a lot of work, so don’t allow yourself to get discouraged if something is not looking the way you want it to… Just keep trying, you only fail at it, if you give up.

Use a reference image. Take pictures of what you want to create, and reference them in your sketches. I usually have myself, or Klee model for what I am looking for. Take notice of lighting and shadows in your photo. For some of us, it helps to bring the fuzzy image in the mind to life.

Get used to rejection. You are going to get rejected. You are also going to have people say that either your work, or you suck. You’ll have thousands more praise you, but if you can’t handle the few that will reject your work, it may keep you from moving forward.

See if there is any genuine feedback and learn from it, but if not, just delete it. The biggest tool an artist has in his, or her arsenal is confidence, and confidence is something you can develop.

Be unique and be successful. So, copying what’s popular in art may bring success, but it’s only short term and really not worth it. Doing things your own way may take longer to gain success, but man is it worth it. Trust me, if you are creating what is popular, chances are you are doing something just for the money… That’s not going to help you grow, and you’ll stagnate as an artist.

Either way, choose what you love and stick with it, because what’s popular won’t last, but your uniqueness will.

Let me know what you guys think, or if you have anything to add.

Thank you guys! You are awesome!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Art Creations In Your Inbox – No. 1

Happy Sunday! This week has been an interesting one for us, full of website crashes, eye injuries, and a near-wet experience at the market. All that being said, the results are awesome. Our website is now a bazillion times better than it was, I took time to relax and gather my thoughts on what to create next, and we had more time to work on things in the studio. Plus, I decided that every Sunday I would post “Art Creations In Your Inbox” and show you what we’ve been working on.

The Patronus Charm By Rafi Perez

“Needless to say, I am a nerd. I love all things fantasy and sci-fi, so after Klee and I had a Harry Potter marathon, this piece is what came of it. It is called “The Patronus Charm” and is based on the concept that J.K Rowling had for the dementors and getting rid of them. Dementors are metaphors for depression, and the Patronus charm is what repells them by focusing on happy powerful thoughts. Yep, told you… nerd. Oh, and yeah… It glows in the dark. My plan is to create different patronus animals in the future, or by request.” -Rafi

Vertical Bar Pendants By Klee Angelie

605ce56e-d951-4fd6-abc2-d76ee880484d-1“These are my new favorite thing to make and wear, featuring rustic hammered texture on one side and stamping on the other. They are reversible and personal.” -Klee

My Guardian Power By Rafi Perez

“The beautiful Klee Angelie modeled for this piece. It represents my belief in guardian angels. Yep, when I was a kid, I felt like there was something that protected me, but instead of fluffy, fat little angels, I felt it was a bad ass.” -Rafi

Swan Lake By Klee Angelie

img_1387“This moonstone was especially cool to work with, because it has a black tourmaline inclusion on the backside that looks just like a swan.” -Klee

Autumn Sky By Rafi Perez

img_8378“There is something magical about Autumn. The changing colors of leaves, The brisk cool air, and the feeling that anything is possible, is why I love the Fall so much. This piece captures that for me.” -Rafi

Pyrite Ring By Klee Angelie

img_1064 “I’ve been experimenting with a style of raw and elegant looking ‘Claw Prong’ settings and I absolutely love how this Pyrite and Sterling ring turned out.” -Klee

Have an awesome week! You guys are great!

Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Pendulum By Rafi Perez

Recently, I sold a piece I created called “The Pendulum” to an amazing woman that I consider a dear friend. She told me, that the moment she laid eyes on it, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

the-pendulum-by-rafi-perez-1

This piece seemed to speak to her, the way it spoke to me when I created it.

It’s a portrait of Mother Earth and Father Time, in their relationship with the world and each other. His imagery is cloaked in the vastness of the universe, representing time and space. She is wrapped in the growth and beauty of the earth. She also dominates the scene, relaxed and supported by time as she basks in her sunshine.

the-pendulum-by-rafi-perez-2

This scene symbolizes our perception. That moment when time stands still, and nature surrounds us. We become part of that nature, and time lowers his head and relinquishes the illusion of control over our lives.

the-pendulum-by-rafi-perez-3

The piece is meant to introduce you to the decision we make every moment, of every day. You have a choice, to focus on time, or focus on the beauty that surrounds you. Focusing on the moment, is focusing on nature, causing time to slow down and fully experiencing the moment of right now.

the-pendulum-by-rafi-perez-2

Focusing on time or the lack there of, causes time to dominate, and the natural world gets lost in your thoughts.That’s when you loose your grip on right now.

The interesting thing is that time will always take a backseat to nature… If we just stop, listen, look, and choose.

-Rafi

 

Posted on by — 1 Comment

Ouch! My Eyes!

I injured myself last night.

You might be wondering if this injury occurred while I was rescuing a child from a burning building, or possibly fighting a ninja assassin… but no. It didn’t.

So, what happened?

img_8362

Well, my eyes were dry, I lazily decided to not take my contacts out of my eyes, and went to bed… You know, because it’s not like I need my eyes or anything like that.

I was woken up by a red hot spike in my eye, to which I responded with “Why God! Why!”

Then I ran to the bathroom to desperately take the dry, shriveled up blades of doom (that used to be my contacts) out of my eyes. I might as well have been trying to poke my own eyes out with a thorn bush. After what felt like an eternity, I managed to remove the assaulting ocular caps and…

“Why God! Why!”

eyeballs-432x250

It hurt even more. I blindly knocked things on to the floor desperately searching for eye drops. I fell to the ground and crawled desperately to the cabinet under the sink, blindly dragging myself to find the elixir of not hurting eyes.

Well, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration… But ouch.

So, I found the drops, took some Advil and put an ice pack on my eyes. Needless to say, not much art got created today… But, there is a bright side to this story…

I think I learned a valuable lesson… Don’t be too lazy to do things you should do, because not doing them may suck for you. If your gut is telling you to do something, chances are, you should do it… just saying. Especially when it comes to being an artist who uses the round things in his head sockets to create his livelihood.

Luckily, it’s healing, and I am so looking forward to going back into the studio in the next couple days. I have some awesome pieces in the works, so stay tuned!

Thanks for being awesome!

-Rafi

 

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Where do I sell My Art?

The start of my art career seems like such a distant memory. I’ve taken so many turns and had so many life changing events, that I’m not sure I would recognize the old fear filled version of myself that took that first step.

You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To | Get Creative!

The other day I was asked a seemingly simple question that I almost overlooked.

artist-question

It wasn’t until I remembered the beginning of my art career and the confusion that came with attempting to become a full-time artist.

I then decided to video my answer. You can watch the video by click this link  https://youtu.be/aJZa0eK_uS8

I started my art career in an unlikely place and figured it out as I went… I wish I could say it was an easy ride, but it wasn’t. I also, wouldn’t change a thing.

If you are an artist, and you are trying to figure out where to get started, I hope this video helps you out at least a little.

-Rafi

Posted on by — Leave a comment

My Saturday Night Art Party

I was asked yesterday if I was going to an event that we were invited to, called “Art Party is Dead.”

My answer was “no, I already have plans.”

Now, I’m sure “Art Party Is Dead” was a blast for everyone that went. I’m also sure that among the body painted performers and neon lighting, people were wondering where Klee and I were.img_8278

For the record, we are hermits, don’t drink all that much, and are socially awkward… But that doesn’t usually stop us from uncomfortably socializing and pretending to be normal.

Like I said before, we had plans…

We were having our own awesome art party with some very special guests to our studio.

There was music, art, imagination, wonder, good friends, pretty girls, good lookin’ dudes, and even some body paint… Lots of body paint… But probably not the kind of body paint you are thinking.

If you ever want to watch something great, give a paintbrush and some paint to a 1 year old and let them take over… It’s amazing, and scary all at the same time.

Also, watching a child paint seems to bring magic back into the world… Just sayin.

So if you are ever wondering what an awesome time looks like for an artists like me… It looks like this:

img_8280

img_1340

 

So, thank you for the invite, and I do apologize for not going (maybe next time), but as you can see… Awesomeness was to be had in my art studio.

Also, thank you to my special guests… Hope you enjoyed the visit 🙂

-Rafi

Posted on by — Leave a comment

You Just Wont Have Time For Boredom

Klee and I don’t watch much TV because honestly, some of those commercials are draining. Especially the drug commercials. I feel like any time we sit down to watch Supernatural, by the end of the constant stream of maladies and side effects being thrown at us, I am convinced that I’m dying… I’m not sure of what, but I’m sure I’m dying of something.

8-16-2010-2

So, we decided to have a little fun with it and created our own drug commercial. This week in our old video reboot, I present you with the drug STIMULEX which doesn’t allow you the unfortunate condition of boredom. Enjoy!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

New Glow In The Dark Series

 

glow-in-the-dark (1)

I’m so excited to introduce a series that has been a long time waiting. These pieces are the first of a series that I have planned out for the next few months, keep an eye out. These use a special pigment that holds a charge for several hours and is non toxic. Coming soon. Watch the video for more information.