Welcome

Welcome to my portfolio site!!

Here’s a quick story about how I got into painting…About three years ago, I was going through a pretty rough time mental health wise. Everything was going great on paper, and that’s how I knew the state I was in was worthy of concern. These types of things are not foreign to me… like many other creative people, I’ve battled mental heath issues for as long as I can remember. In the past I would’ve channeled that energy into something involving creativity, but this time was different - I wasn’t… I hadn’t been…

Honestly, It all just kinda crept up on me.

After the new year ‘22 into ‘23, I had just entered my thirties, and I decided I was sick of feeling like shit and I was even more sick of not having any exciting projects to work on. My default had always been music, as I had grown up playing, gigging, and traveling in bands as well as writing songs, so I thought maybe I’d dive back into that… but it just didn’t feel right this time. I had always drawn and written, since I was a little kid, but that felt stale as well. I needed something fresh and new. I had hit a wall.

I decided then to try my hand at painting… as my grandfather used to do. As my parents have done. I bought a cheap watercolor set and some paper, and within 2 weeks I had done 8-10 pieces and was feeling somewhat rejuvenated. But still, even watercolor felt limiting to me. It wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I was having all these ideas and it just wasn’t the right medium to express them. So next I bought a set of acrylics, and right away it clicked... That was it, that was what i’d unknowingly been searching for. A creative rebirth if you will…

A few weeks after that, I had done the first piece of art in a decade that made me question where the hell it came from. It didn’t seem like it came from me, but there it was, I was sitting there looking at it. What a feeling… I was hooked and I haven’t looked back.

Now 2.5 years later I’ve done a few hundred pieces, and developed a daily art practice spanning multiple styles and genres. This portfolio is the culmination of the last few years of work, organized and categorized the way I see it, and with much much more to come. I write almost everyday as well, with plans to release numerous books in the coming years. I have a few different ideas that I’m actively working on - multiple art books, short story compilations, books of poetry, etc… and volumes of each… so stay tuned, ill be sharing more when the time is right…

Over the next 50 years or so I have some pretty grand visions and lofty goals, but for now I’ll keep the specifics to myself. I plan on posting all sort of things on this blog/website… philosophical essays, general thoughts on art and life, stories about specific pieces and the inspiration for those pieces, and anything else that comes to mind. In the meantime, here is my work so far - always evolving, always creating - thank you for looking, and welcome to the site! - RYAN ⚡️💥🔥🌟