The date has been announced, we will be releasing 80 small art trees and 100 empowering happy magnets around downtown Pensacola on March 12th, 2018. Klee and I will go out in the cover of darkness and #INSPIREASMILE with art.
2018 Pensacola Art Hunt By Rafi And Klee
There is something special about the mystery and the covert nature of bringing joy to people that totally gets me pumped. It’s a very rogue and unexpected way to bring happiness and I hope people will be inspired to smile by the gesture.
In the past, I have left small art trees around town, this year in addition to the art I’ll also have small sketches that say empowering things, meant to brighten someones day.
2018 Pensacola Art Hunt By Rafi And Klee
After doing this art hunt for about four years, we realized it needed a name. We asked our awesome fans on YouTube for help and they did not disappoint.
#inspireasmile captures the essence of why we do these art hunts. Also, it helps us try and collaborate with artists who are interested in doing something similar in their town.
The idea is to spread around some happy, positive, empowering messages, and try to inspire a smile from the world. It seems sometimes, that the world could use it… I know I could use it sometimes.
If you are an artist, or just a person who wants to #INSPIREASMILE feel free to join the movement, use the hashtag, and send us pictures of your art hunt along with information on who you are, where you are, and why you did.
If you are in Pensacola, mark your calendars. Pieces will be hidden in plain sight and some will be a little harder to find, but all will be just for you! I’ll be making some more announcements and releasing clues leading up to and the day of.
“hey, did you ever finish that mural you were working on downtown?”
“Yes… Kinda… Well, I still have to varnish it.”
Mural Design By Rafi Perez
The mural is officially finished, and ready for your viewing pleasure, but I have to put the protective coating on it. I was going to wait until it got a bit cooler, but based on a recent text message I received, I think I’ll do it next week.
This is kinda how the message went:
James: Hey, I think someone kissed the mural.
Me: Haha, yes, she’s beautiful.
James: No, I mean someone put lipstick on the mural.
Me: What??
Now, I’m not worried about a little lipstick, in fact I’m kind of honored that someone would press their lips to my mural in adoration… but I should probably protect it sooner than later.
So, I’ll be out there around 10am on Friday, October 14th and rolling on the protective layer. The thing I am most looking forward to is the change in contrast that takes place when you varnish something. Deep colors get deeper, and light colors seem to glow, let’s just say, it’s going to look amazing.
To all my peeps in Pensacola, come see it after that date, it should be pretty amazeballs. To all my awesome interweb folks, I’ll take pictures.
I explain my reasoning behind the mural in this video, enjoy:
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
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
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
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
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
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
I am very excited to announce that we got approved for the mural in the heart of downtown Pensacola Florida. Some of you may already know the story of said mural, if not watch the video below… it was an “interesting” adventure… or a freakin nightmare, depends on how you look at it.
Because it is hotter outside than any human being should have to endure, I’ve spaced out my mural creation. If you are interested in watching paint dry, or would like to say “Hola!” (I love that) I’ve listed the dates I will be painting.
I am very excited about this mural, I see it as a gift to this town and the people that have been so supportive to me in my career. So, thank you so much, you guys and gals are AWESOME!
Mural painting dates:
*Tuesday, June 28, 10am-2pm
*Wednesday June 29, 10am-12pm
*Tuesday July 5, 10am-2pm
*Wednesday July 6, 10am-2pm
*Thursday July 7, 10am-2pm
*Wednesday July 13, 10am-2pm
*Friday July 15, 10am-1pm
*Saturday July 16, 9am-1pm
*Sunday July 17, 11am-2pm
*Tuesday July 19, 10am-12pm
*Thursday July 14, 10am-2pm
Marty Campbell Gallery is located at 114 Palafox Pl, Pensacola, FL 32502
Watch the video below for details on our adventure to get this mural done… Especially because I started painting it without approval… ooops!
Klee and I were interviewed on Business Radio X and had an amazing time. Watch the video to see my tips on what not to do during a radio interview. Below you’ll find the link to the full interview, and a clip of Rafi and Klee’s part of the program. You’ll also find links to all the guests.
“Empowerment” is a Food drive for Manna Food pantries. I will be doing a live painting along with some other very talented artist. The painting will be auctioned off to raise funds for MANNA.
Along with amazing live art creations by awesome artists (Mikaela Schelt and Nate Lyle), there will be art, live music and food. There will be a juried art show with the theme of Empowerment and how each unique artist perceives it.
Music starts at 2:30 and will continue until 10pm.
The last “Empowerment” show collected 680lbs of foods for families during the holidays. The goal this year is to raise 1000 lb of food.
This is an awesome show for a very good cause.
When: Saturday at 2:00pm – 10:00pm 67°F / 49°F Clear
Where: First City Art Center – 1060 N Guillemard St, Pensacola, Florida 32501
What: “Empowerment” For MANNA food pantries
How Much: $5 + a non-perishable food item
Why: Because it’s an awesome event for a good cause
They say that finding appreciation for things will bring you more happiness. So there you are, doing this life thing as best as you can, wondering if things will ever get better. You keep hearing people say “Be grateful for what you have” and you wish you could tell them to shove it up their happy little butts. I mean, if you could actually find SOMETHING to be grateful for, maybe you would be in more of a state of appreciation.
The truth is, we are always surrounded by things to be grateful for. The misconception is that it needs to be this huge profound thing, but it doesn’t… Just simple little things that often get overlooked are huge when you think about it. Here are six to get you started.
Pants
Imagine for a moment, a world where you are wearing a smelly fur diaper to cover your privates, that’s what it was like several years back. Or your junk was just out in the open flopping freely in the wind and attracting all manner of biting or stinging insects. Pants, they’re awesome, I can fall and bust my ass without having severe scrapes. Can you imagine how many times I would have to tell people “ahem, my eyes are up here.” Thank you pants!
Daylight
Imagine for a moment if there was no sun in our solar system… Oh yeah, you can’t because there would be no life on this planet. Thank you sun!
Toilets and Running Water
I know, you stop at a gas station and your bladder is ready to burst. You walk in, it is dirty and smells. “Oh, that toilet was disgusting… I had to hover.” Just be grateful that you didn’t have to dig a hole, or hover over a hole in a wooden shack that had a hefty collection of poo. People are not throwing buckets of poo out their windows and causing another black plague. Thank You Toilets! Thank You Running Water!
Internet
It used to take over a year to get information from one continent to another. Then it took a few weeks to send heartfelt telegraph messages like “John. Come soon. Stop.” You are reading this right now, on a platform that allows you to have all knowledge at your fingertips. You can communicate with several people all around the world in seconds. You can also enjoy hours upon hours of mindless fun. Thank You Internet.
Breathing
Yeah… This should be a no brainer. THANK YOU BREATHING, YOU ROCK!
Rafi and Klee Interviewed By Pensacola News Journal Eye On Art Mike Roberts
Last Saturday if you happened to come by the market you may have noticed that we were engaged in an intense conversation with someone in our booth. You may have been wondering if we were figuring out the cure to world hunger, or how to bring about world peace. Although those are on my bucket list, it wasn’t anything like that.
Pnj Rafi and Klee
We were actually talking about ourselves, Klee and I were being interviewed by Mike Roberts who writes for the Pensacola News Journal. “Mike Roberts Eye On Art” had his eye on us for next Saturday edition (Aug 29th).
So with much anticipation, I wait and hope I didn’t say anything ridiculous, which I tend to do when I get a little nervous. Honestly, I doubt that will be the case, Mike Roberts was really cool and easy going. Klee and I had a lot of fun answering some really thought provoking questions and showing him some of our more recent pieces.
This Friday (3-20-15) Klee and I will be doing Gallery Night in beautiful downtown Pensacola. If you ever find yourself in the Pensacola area on a Gallery Night, you are in for a treat.
Palafox Street is closed to traffic to allow for visitors to walk the streets enjoying music, food and entertainment. All the local businesses have their own form of entertainment that pours out into the street.
Government Street is also closed and that’s where you will find us, at “Artist Row”.
Time:5:00 PM TO 10:00 PM
Where:130 E. Government St.
Pensacola, FL 32502
Phone:850-434-6211
Seville Quarter invites over 70 award winning Local Artists & Vendors to showcase their skills, crafts & artwork in the street in front of the historical complex.
The Seville Quarter’s “Gallery Night Artists Row” has that “Arts Festival Feel” that we love so much. It is seriously a fun time.
One of the really cool things about Gallery Night is that every event is different. When Pensacon was doing their thing, we had all types of superheroes and storm troopers walking the streets.
During the running of the bulls, Seville Quarter had tough girls on roller skates previewing the run.
They recreate the “Running of the Bulls”. This annual event, made famous by author Earnest Hemingway, has participants chased by angry horned bulls. The Pensacola Roller Gurlz oblige all of us as the “Bulls”.
Klee and I also use the event as an opportunity to debut some of our creations. Mostly we get excited about the opportunity to hang out and have a good time. So if you find yourself in Pensacola this Friday or any other Gallery Night, come out and have some fun with us.
Upcoming Public & Virtual Events:
LIVE STREAM - Private Q&A April 5, 2023 at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Private live stream for our Rogues. https://wp.me/PdShEm-dR
PUBLIC LIVE STREAM - Q&A With Rafi And Klee April 12, 2023 at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Go live with Rafi and Klee! - https://youtube.com/live/e3ohxEdrG_o?feature=share
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