We recently connected with Aerica Raven and have shared our conversation below.

Aerica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I grew up drawing my own stories. I remember pausing my favorite movies or letting a video game sit on the pause screen for hours just so I could replicate the characters. Those hours of observation are what taught me anatomy, form, color, and expression. I think obsessing over that kind of media also formed my love for figures, both human and otherwise.

When I was just starting out, I painted as an apprentice in a professional paint shop for theatre. There, master scenic artists taught me how to hold bigger brushes and consider the full scale of an artwork, not just the details. I still remind myself of those lessons almost every day I’m creating, small or large. For me, it’s the little details that can lead to folly. Whether you’re working on a 40′ drop for “The Music Man” or a 6″x6″ watercolor, an artist should always step back from the work. I still make the mistake of zooming in way too close on a detail–spending sometimes hours perfecting a small section–only to pull back and see that I really should have moved on a long time ago.

Aerica, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Aerica Raven, and I am a painter, maker, and general do’er. I specialize in murals and artistic interventions, as well as illustration, graphic design, and sculpture. As a business, I meet my clients’ needs as a problem-solver where I can pull from my diverse skillset to create innovative solutions. While I excel at working “within the box” on projects with strict goals, I really shine when given real creative freedom. My bold color choices, intentional design, and sense of humor make me stand out in the crowd.

I have been using both murals and artistic installations to transform and evolve spaces for over a decade, but in 2019 I really began combining the two when I designed my first “light dynamic painting”. These paintings use a minimal color palette and colored lighting to create artwork that transforms right in front of the viewer. It’s a little hard to describe, but essentially I paint layered images that disappear and reveal themselves based on different light frequencies (ie: colors). The effect is truly mesmerizing–a chimeric display of color and light. My largest light dynamic painting lives in Houston as a permanent 40′ installation.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The COVID shutdown forced a lot of artists to pivot, myself included. Events were suddenly canceled, projects pushed back, and no hint of when things might return to normal. The things I normally did for income–painting in homes, live-painting at festivals, working in public spaces–were also shut down. I really didn’t know what to do.

That was when my avid doodling habit became an illustration practice.

I went from painting murals for pediatric hospitals to painting “things no one asked for”. It was kind of a blessing, really. Much of my career has been creating art for places with very specific needs. Businesses needed logos, children’s spaces needed cute animals, someone most always had an idea in mind and I was the chameleon painter to do it. Creating “things no one asked for” forced me to make my own projects with my own constraints and really work my imagination. While I am grateful to be painting logos again, I really started to understand what I truly wanted to be making.

But man, selling that kind of work remains challenging for me. Compared to the service-based structure of murals, creating art for resale and markets has been a real challenge. Suddenly you got sales-tax, packaging and material costs, gallery fees, booth fees, inventory to account for–I thought my taxes were hard before! Still, I’m learning how to run my evolving business better every day. You gotta adapt to change, and I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t love it.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Support original art. Pay the extra cash to get a real mural instead of a vinyl wrap. Don’t be so quick to choose the straight-forward solution, and listen to what the artist might do instead. Too many artists feel pushed into doing repetitive work that lacks a unique voice. Art is all about creativity, so embrace the strange!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aerica-raven.com
• Instagram: @aerica.raven
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@aerica-raven