We recently connected with Rae Grand and have shared our conversation below.
Rae, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I travel to a lot of Music Festivals to live paint in front of thousands of people, and some of those people will ask me, “How do I do this?” I tell them how my experience led me to live painting. I tell them to start with a sketchbook. Bring your sketchbook everywhere and draw what interests you. Follow your interests. Ten years ago, I was dating a Mandolin player and was surrounded by musicians all the time. I would sit immersed in the lovely plucking of the banjos and guitars, and I would draw my friends playing. I really liked drawing the musicians because they would sit still long enough to capture, but move enough to make it challenging. The sketchbook drawings accompanied the music until I decided to bring out an easel for my drawings. This made it easier for the public to enjoy. Friends and listeners of the musicians would buy the illustrations. I started buying tickets to music festivals and I would bring my easel. I would carry my easel into the middle of the crowd and draw the band on the stage. Amazingly the scene would evolve right in front of the crowd surrounding me. I illustrated over 500 bands around the country. Now I apply to festivals that have live painting programs, something I didn’t see much of ten years ago. My live illustrations of the bands have faded away and now I do a lot more sci-fi fantasy, visionary painting, the subject matter is different than where I started but it’s where my craft and interest has led me to.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a muralist and live painter for music festivals. I’m also currently turning into a seamstress and story teller. I travel around the country painting murals in the duration of 3-5 days. I love live painting at festivals without knowing exactly what I am going to paint. It makes it much more theatrical to watch. I think it’s important for people to see humans creating art, in person, in a time of artificial intelligence. They’ll see the blank slate at the beginning of the weekend and watch the story slowly unfold, in real time. Going into a project, I will have a vague idea of what I am looking to create, but I like to leave a lot of the creative freedom up for interpretation upon arrival. I like to absorb the energy of the weekend and transmute it into my artwork, something you can’t plan for. Recently I started including my toddler in the process where I work with her drawings to create a wholesome collaboration. She adds a wonderful element of chaos into the process.
If I am not live painting, I am in my studio working on personal work, studying the human psyche and folklore. My paintings are a merge of psychedelic and sci-fi fantasy. I like to salvage framed artwork from the thrift store, flip it upside down or on it side and work with the texture to create a new image. I also like to thrift vintage items and pair them with my paintings to create one of a kind items. I am currently working on a children’s book and have goals of future publications.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had a pivotal change a few years back, I think we all did. The whole country shut down and we were left in isolation, with our thoughts and lack of income. This time was also a pivotal moment in my career because I had two more life changing things happen, I had a baby, and moved to a new town. I really enjoyed participating in my local community, I would live illustrate local bands, weddings, burlesque shows, drag, plays, film festivals, and even a town hall meeting. My business in live illustrating events was blooming. When I got pregnant my partner and I moved to the country, away from everything I had built for myself. Just a few months later, the whole world was put on halt. Luckily, call it divine timing, we had moved into a beautiful isolated swamp homestead with a studio. I stopped live illustrating, I had to, and started painting more from within. Since there weren’t any more events to attend, I joined tiktok which was a great creative outlet for me. I felt that live painting online was a passable, temporary replacement to painting at events in person. Now I am able to enjoy both worlds, online and in person. Learning the ropes of motherhood, as well, has been a substantial change, yet a beacon of inspiration in my work. I manage my time much differently and have never worked harder both physically, mentally, and spiritually. I love learning from my toddler and I am still very much in tune with my inner child. I believe it is my job, this lifetime, to inspire imagination and to encourage peering into the literary wonder of books.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn what it means to be an “adult” and a “mother”. Growing up we are told to put aside the hobbies that bring us joy and buckle up for the real world. After graduating high school my depression grew and I felt really incapable and inadequate. I looked into through hiking the Appalachian trail instead of going to school. Figuring out that I could have everything I need on my back to be ok was a ground breaking realization. A lot of my anxiety and fear melted away. Climbing to the top of the highest peaks of the east coast puts everything into perspective. When I became a mother I had to tune out a lot of societal pressure and listen to my own internal dialogue. Being able to listen to my inner dialogue has helped me navigate my career path as well. I believe that rekindling the connection to the inner child is the greatest fuel any of us can have. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.raegrand.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raegrand.art/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@raegrand/
- Tiktok: https://www.youtube.com/@raegrand/