Rafi’s Ramblings - Art, Jewelry, And Creations By Rafi Perez And Klee Angelie

Posted on April 16, 2017March 31, 2024 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

Happy Easter! My Favorite Memes.

Easter is upon us, for a lot of us, it’s about sacrificing sleep, Easter baskets, and egg laying rabbits.

For others, it is a day to give time to reflect on a great sacrifice made for humanity, and to pray that the impact of Easter continues to impact all for the better.

For the better… A lot of us have different ideas on what that means.

For me on this beautiful day, I will spread joy in appreciation for Easter in the form of Easter memes… Enjoy!

So, this next series of memes, just takes me back to my childhood. The whole ridiculousness of the frighting mall picture experience that many of us have had… these pictures crack me up.

Happy Easter you guys! I love you, be good to each other and remember to enjoy this amazing thing we call life.

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

What Will I Do With This Chair? Art Chair!

I was invited to create something new out of something old that will be something awesome for something that we all care about.

This old chair that you see pictured here will be converted into a work of art… maybe even one you can sit on. This is for “From Blue To Better Campaign” to prevent child abuse.

I recently did a mural for Child Abuse Awareness at the Graffiti Bridge, which if I’m honest with you, was a little outside of my comfort zone… but, it is for such a great campaign that I had to try it.

This is a little outside of my comfort zone as well, I’ve never created an “art chair” and of course my mind is trying to over think it with all kinds of elaborate plans, that are a bit ridiculous. That being said, what I have planned is going to blow you away… just sayin. Wish me luck, hope I can pull it off.

If you get a chance to be there, I will be putting the finishing touches on it on Thursday, 6pm, April 6th, 2017 at Beyond The Grape at the Cordova Mall, where you will be able to buy a raffle ticket and win the chair.

Here is More Info From Event:

“Wine Tasting And Live Painting Thursday April 6th 6-9pm in support of the From Blue To Better Campaign to prevent child abuse. What goes better with wine than a delicious pairing of live art. Join Rafi Was Here Studios – Artist Rafi Perez on Thursday April 6th from 6-9pm at Beyond the Grape at Cordova Mall, right across from Red Robin. He will paint one of our former conference room chairs to be raffled off that evening. His work will be displayed and we will have other art pieces from local artists available for raffle … It doesn’t get much better.

There will be complimentary wine tasting and a special 15% discount on bottles purchases that night. Munch on light hors d’oeuvres and enjoy a fun evening of Wine, Art and Food! Beyond The Grape will host a wine tasting with their range of specialty Florida fruit and infused wines as well as their monthly selections of the best traditional varietals from around the world. Enjoy a glass of wine at the antique tasting bar, or Pensacola’s favorite Wine Smoothies.

Posted on March 26, 2017March 26, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — 2 Comments

How To Take A Compliment #SBS

The other day, I was at the market and someone gave me a really nice compliment. I then preceded to get weird about it, which pretty much turned it into an awkward situation for the both of us.

Later on, I wondered why I didn’t just take the compliment and say thank you. It’s simple, there are no strings attached and you (and the person complimenting) feel good about the interaction.

I can get into the whole self esteem thing and all that jazz, but I wont. I’ll just say this, if someone is giving you a compliment, just take it… It feels better for everyone involved.

Sketchbook Sunday #SBS

Posted on March 25, 2017March 25, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

Become A Creative Failure To Succeed

Have you ever had someone tell you that you weren’t good enough, that you’ll never make it, or that you would fail? If you have, then welcome to the club, this is a good place to be so don’t fret.

I think we all have some of those people in our lives, that either verbally or quietly disapprove of what they consider our childish ambitions. The truth is that anything that is outside of the norm is considered childish most of the time.

It’s interesting to me that most artists that are revered today for ushering in a new era of art, were considered losers by the art establishments in their day. We usually write this off by saying that the artist was ahead of his time, but I think it has more to do with perseverance than anything else.

Today, we consider Vincent Van Gogh to be one of the greatest and most influential painters of all time, but that wasn’t the case when he was alive. Van Gogh’s work received little to no recognition during his lifetime. His paintings were often described as being too dark and lacking the bright liveliness seen in Impressionist paintings of the time.

The funny thing is that Monet’s Impressionist paintings were rejected before they became popular as well. His work and other Impressionists’ paintings were rejected by society and art exhibitions because it went against the traditional style and method of painting.

Claude Monet — Painting By Monet Rejected By The Paris Salon

Even Picasso was highly criticized by his peers quite often because some of his paintings diverged from the divergent artist movements that were happening already.

The fact is that each one of these artists embraced their craft and just kept creating despite what people were telling them. They painted what they painted because they wanted to, not because it was popular. Eventually, they had a large body of work that just could not be ignored.

Vincent Van Gogh died poor, having only sold one painting to a friend in his lifetime, but he also died young. I think had he lived longer he would have found fame like any other creative person that perseveres through what I call the dark years.

No matter what you want to do in your life, I think if you don’t give up, you’ll get there. If you keep going, creating, and moving forward there is no way you can truly fail. If you quit, it’s like closing a fairy tale book before getting to the end. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a happy ending, you just stopped reading before actually getting there.

Stephanie's Mermaid By Rafi Perez — One of my paintings, because… why not??

People around you are going to tell you that you will fail, and they’re right, but failure is a temporary stretch of road that can lead to a happy ending. But, you’ll never know if you don’t try.

Watch me talk about other creative geniuses who were considered losers in this video:

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

25% Off Your Next Piece Of Rafi Art

Hi! I’ve been thinking about you and feeling a great sense of gratitude. I wanted to say thank you by offering 25% off of anything in my store.

Simply use coupon code YOUAREAWESOME25

Thank you so much for believing in me and your unwavering support to my mission to spread love and joy in the world… one piece of art at a time.

GO TO MY ART STORE

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

New Art From Rafi And Klee 11

Hola you amazing person you!

As you can see, instead of “Art Creations For Your Inbox” I’ve decided to change it to “New Art From Rafi And Klee” because I think, it’s way more fun… and more accurate.

My art reception was last Thursday and it was a huge success! Thank you so much to everyone that came out to the reception and throughout the exhibition so far. It will continue running at Artel Gallery in Pensacola until April 7th.

We have some new creations to share with you this week, both Klee and I are super excited about it!

But before we get into that, here is an amazing quote I would like to share with you:

“The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.” Lucian Freud

I love this quote, because I love creating abstract work. It gives me an opportunity to share the way that I think and see the world. Try it sometime, take a look at a familiar object, detach yourself from the label or name of the object, then keep looking. Allow yourself to take it apart in your mind and turn it into blocks of color, textures, and shading. See the unknown in the familiar, and turn the world you think you know upside down.

Ok, as I promised here is the art and jewelry! Enjoy!

14k Gold Filled Quartz Crystal Lantern Necklace By Klee

“This beautiful double terminated clear quartz crystal sits pristine in it’s 14k yellow gold filled woven bezel. The design is reminiscent of cathedral windows and old world lanterns, centering on the beauty of the light that passes through the crystal. A modern interpretation of a beautiful relic from times gone by.“

-Klee Angelie

Window To The City original painting by artist Rafi

“Looking out the window at the world that surrounds me. I have a relationship with the city that looks back at me, the people that I recognize every day, going through the same routines. I know them, even though they will never know me, a silent child who dreams of joining the world outside.”

-Rafi Perez

Gold Filled Quartz Crystal Tassel Earrings By Klee

“These earrings feature gorgeous raw clear quartz crystal points wrapped in 14k yellow gold filled wire, with spiral back detailing and gold filled chain tassels to create movement and light play with the crystals. Fun and funky, elegant and earthy, these are awesome for dress up or casual wear.”

-Klee Angelie

The Recovery Of Bliss By Rafi

“Logic and reason dominates the scene. Everything must make sense, everything must be logical, yet the greatest power we have is to stop thinking and melt away the calculating mind. To sit in silence, soak in our surroundings, or travel in our imagination to a place that is blissful… None of this makes sense in our analytical world and yet, there it is.”

-Rafi Perez

Have an amazing week! You are awesome! Just remember, we may have names for the things we see in the world, but really, they are just blocks of color, texture, and shades. Look at the world differently, who knows, you may see the similar in a vastly different way.

Remember to stay endlessly inspired by the stuff of life!

-Love Rafi and Klee

Posted on March 13, 2017March 15, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

The Critic Doesn’t Count, THE MAN IN THE ARENA

It was about nine years ago, when I ran across this excerpt from a speech by Teddy Roosevelt. This speech changed my life and my point of view of people who criticized my ability to succeed.

pa-hay-okee2 — Klee and Rafi traveled the country and challenged their old way of living, despite the naysayers and critics saying it wasn’t possible.

I am working on a video that is about taking negative criticism, so I’ve been inspired to share it with you:

” It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. ”

— Theodore Roosevelt

UPDATE:

Here is the video I recently did about some of the negative critics I have had, and how I deal with them.

When you hold on to your vision, no one can ever stop you.

Stay endlessly inspired by the stuff of life. Love you. –Rafi

Posted on February 26, 2017February 26, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

Stephanie’s Mermaid By Rafi Perez

I had the honor of meeting with a wonderful person who wanted a statement piece for her new digs. Her story was inspiring, and right up my alley for the kind of commission I love to work on. I love it when people jump out of their comfort zone… It’s awesome.

She had reached out to me after a good friend recommended that she should own a “Rafi” piece in her new abode.

After a fantastic phone conversation where we talked about everything from having a positive mindset, to pushing past comfort zones, and I scheduled an appointment to meet in person.

I like meeting with someone, whenever possible, to get a feel for who they are. I have a series of questions that give me a little insight to who they are, and what they want.

After a great conversation, taking measurements, and staring at the space (I’m sure it looks weird as I attempt to visualize the piece and how it will interact with the other objects and colors in the room) I had what I needed to get started.

My notes are usually very simple, I use single words to evoke the conversation we had, the colors that mean something to the person, and my own intuition.

This is what I wrote:

Mermaid
Bright Light
Turquoise
Positive Energy
Inspire Others
Blue
Purple (Different Shades)
In tune with touch (Massage)
Fierce
Empowered
Create a piece that will be a magical and constant reminder of self development and self empowerment.

The end result was amazing, and the mermaid just came to life in the space, and in the energy of its new home.

I am very proud of this piece, and honored that I was given the opportunity to create her.

-Rafi

Posted on February 20, 2017February 20, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — 2 Comments

Taco Agave Large Painting

I just delivered and hung one of the largest paintings I have created thus far. I was commissioned by Taco Agave in downtown Pensacola for a piece in their new restaurant.

I’m telling you about this because this was a first for me. This piece is about 10ft wide and was a bit intimidating. Luckily, the excitement of creating something this large and difficult was overpowering, and I jumped in before I could talk myself out of working on it.

I wanted to stay true to the theme and style of the beautiful design that the restaurant has, which is rustic, with a little industrial thrown in. So, I decided on an abstract of an agave farm with the mountains in the background. The piece has a reflective, industrial silver under layer so it changes throughout the different times of day.

I am very proud of what I created and look forward to my next large commercial commission. If you are interested in seeing it for yourself and enjoying some delicious food, visit Taco Agave at 200 S Palafox St, Pensacola, FL 32502.

Below, you will also find pictures of me installing it, which by the way, was also intimidating. Luckily, I was so excited about seeing it in the space, that I didn’t realize it until later. I also had my friend Eric helping me, so it all went pretty smoothly.

Just wanted to share. Stay awesome my friends!

Taco Agave In Pensacola Art

Posted on January 28, 2017 by Artist Rafi Perez — Leave a comment

Art Carousel Horse By Rafi Perez

It’s not every day that I get to cross something off of my bucket list. As a kid, I remember being mesmerized by the the carousel horses at Six Flags Great America. This year, I was given a blank horse and asked to make it look beautiful.

“Do what you want with it, I trust you.” He said.

There is just something magical about them. When you are a kid, they can easily spark the imagination… Oh, who am I kidding, as an adult they spark my imagination. As an artist, I think it is such a great opportunity to tell a story using such familiar imagery.

Think about it, if you give a hundred artists the same blank horse, you will get a hundred different horses. Each one telling a unique story. A story that reflects the artists that created it.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get the opportunity to design another carousel horse, but the fact that there is one out in the world, with my signature on it is so exciting to me.

I just had to share it with you. Stay awesome!

Art Carousel Horse By Rafi Perez

Category: Rafi’s Ramblings

Happy Easter! My Favorite Memes.

What Will I Do With This Chair? Art Chair!

How To Take A Compliment #SBS

Become A Creative Failure To Succeed

25% Off Your Next Piece Of Rafi Art

New Art From Rafi And Klee 11

“The longer you look at an object, the more abstract it becomes, and, ironically, the more real.” Lucian Freud

14k Gold Filled Quartz Crystal Lantern Necklace By Klee

Window To The City original painting by artist Rafi

Gold Filled Quartz Crystal Tassel Earrings By Klee

The Recovery Of Bliss By Rafi

The Critic Doesn’t Count, THE MAN IN THE ARENA

Stephanie’s Mermaid By Rafi Perez

Taco Agave Large Painting

Art Carousel Horse By Rafi Perez

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