We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ricky lee Gordon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ricky lee below.

Ricky lee, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

From very early on i was a doer and constantly have been building projects since i was 18. I have founded and successfully run a clothing company, gallery, artist residency, conceptual advertising agency and a school rejuvenation program all by the age of 27, I then decided to focus only on my own art and painting realizing I was a on a crusade to change the world and needed to start working inwards, That set me on the path for immense and beautiful shifts in my life, constant travel , adventure ,inspiring connections and friendships. This then led me to the teachings of Buddhism , meditation and taking up surfing, this then led me to move to Sri Lanka and build my dream artist refuge, studio and house on the beach just a short drive from a long left hand point surf break.
I called it Śūnyatā which in Buddhist teaching means; “form is emptiness and emptiness is form”, A simple place to create without the distractions and noise . I am now building another in Bali.

Ricky lee, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was painting and drawing from a very early age. Skateboarding led me onto Graffiti at age 15, And soon i was painting large scale murals which evolved into quitting the use of toxic aerosol spray cans and the use of a moniker painting Pseudonym , I started painting under my own name, and adopting tradition mural brush techniques . I travelled the world in my twenties painting large multi story buildings, researching the people and places i would paint making works that made sense to the environments in which i was painting, the anthesis of what graffiti culture was about,
I wanted to uplift and inspire

By age 30 having not studies art I decided to apply for a scholarship and received one to study classical painting and drawing at the Los Angeles Academy of art, this then allowed me to leave South Africa , a huge opportunity for me.
After one year of studies i started to get frustrated, I did learn an immense wealth of foundational skills and knowledge but i was being invited to travel and paint murals and wasn’t allowed to go as i was committed to a the curriculum of school, I was eager to experience life and be on the move again, After a few more years of travels from one exciting project to the next and living out of a suitcase i began to long from structure and a studio where i could forge my own ideas without compromise and consideration for the public space and appreciation. This led me to build Śūnyatā Sri Lanka in 2018

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Yes, to always continue the pursuit, allowing and the learning of a creative practice. To allow this to lead my life and then feed my life, this then in turn fuels the creative practice, Symbiotic

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The journey that allows for you to connect with your inner wisdom and self mastery, A true mastery is unobtainable, making art teaches us this humility but the listening and learning to better oneself is a gift that comes with the artistic practice.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rickyleegordon.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rickyleegordon/