We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ray Minn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ray thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I think there’s this myth that in order to be an artist, you need to start young and have an unbroken line of creativity. But I’ve always thought that society pays too much attention to the fear of outgrowing your “prime”. I’ve never believed in that. From my art journey, I’ve come to learn that dormant aspects of youth can reemerge no matter where you are and start a prime of life wherever you go.

I did art when I was very young, then broke from it when I began to focus more on my education. I had a ripe imagination, but it had to rest as exams and classes took priority. While I did do art, it was limited to small experimental watercolors that never quite scratched the itch of what I wanted to do and the world of drawing was beyond my comfort zone. Then one day I found a waterproof pen and did an artwork of an oasis village after a random burst of inspiration. After posting it online, it received thousands of likes and I was surprised to realize that there may be an audience for such work.

That miraculous moment was long after I stopped actively drawing. I once believed that I was too set in my ways to venture into fantasy artwork, but now, I do it every day. I don’t regret doing it long after my childhood passed. To me, the only “prime” we have is the present moment and all its possibilities. As Henry David Thoreau said: “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Since 2020, I have done drawings and paintings specializing in but not limited to fantasy and natural scenery. My main inspirations have come from comic book artists such as Jean Giraud and Philippe Druillet, classical Japanese woodblock artists like Hokusai and Hiroshi Yoshida, as well as from the fantasy worlds of the Elder Scrolls, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and Hayao Miyazaki’s landscapes. With my art, I hope to bring people’s imaginations to the physical world and capture scenes with ornate detailing, sweeping views, and vibrant color that still retains a delicate look. In a world where much fantasy art is dominated by digital art and more cinematic scenes, I want to create a more traditional, “storybook” approach with my craft, close to Art Nouveau and ligne-claire styling.

When doing business with me, I aspire to blend your vision with my style to create an elegant synthesis. I strive to be there as a resource for imaginative people who are too busy or don’t feel ready to do art themselves. We all have wild imaginations and sometimes life stresses take priority over those dreams, but everyone deserves to have their visions come alive and own art that is accessible and affordable. I aspire to be that guy for anyone interested, especially for writers, photographers, fantasy fans, and sci-fi fans.

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

I try to find a middle ground between the believable and the otherworldly. I feel like aesthetics in fantasy can often be over-the-top, and while I do respect that, I’ve always enjoyed a more subtle look. Like something that could exist in our world, but also exudes a sense of wonderment. A liminal zone like the hypnagogic veil between wakefulness and sleep. I always strive to translate these aesthetics to my commissions as well, helping people’s fantasies come alive while making sure they have a charming decoration for their homes.

Alongside that, I also want my art to introduce more unknown and “distant” facets of our world to more eyes, taking cues from psychedelia, ancient civilizations, lesser-known landscapes, and forgotten ruins. The collective imagination knows of the wonders of Greco-Roman architecture but less so the spectacular monuments left by Mesoamerican and Nubian civilizations. We know of the Taj Mahal but less so the soaring temples of Thanjavur and the Hindu-Buddhist sites across Southeast Asia. The volcanoes of Hawaii are famous but what about Mount Erebus in Antarctica? Or compare the Amazon to the gloomy temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest.

There is a big, beautiful world of wonders out there, and we are often only exposed to a few sides of it. I hope that even if in a small way, my art leads others towards appreciating more of it, and reconnect with the earth.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Recognize that art is not limited to celebrity names or the famous pieces you see in museums. In our modern age, we are blessed to appreciate artwork from many different artists. Consider commissioning a local artist to help them grow their craft, or visit local galleries. Leave comments, likes, tell artists what you think, and share their work. You never know how much of an impact those small gestures may have, and they mean a lot to smaller creators.

I think there’s this notion that art has to be big and bombastic or that artists also need to be “famous”. In my opinion, that limits our engagement with art, because talent and passion is independent from publicity. We all start small and even great names once began as seeds, no different from someone with no training picking up the brush for the first time.

There are many hidden gems out there and they might be closer than you think. You never know who you’ll meet and how their work may inspire you. One can look through the most renowned artworks as much as they want, but you may not find what truly sparks your interest until you meet the underdogs and diamonds in the rough waiting to be discovered.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.artstation.com/nicatorshields
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicatorshields/