When I first stumbled upon John Raymond's mesmerising artwork at a hotel in Bali, little did I know that fate would bring us together on my podcast for an intimate exploration of his world. Listen as we unravel the vibrant threads of John's life as an abstract expressionist painter, whose journey from visual communication design to crafting emotive masterpieces is as colourful as his canvases. John walks us through the nuances of his artistic process, explaining how his inner musings are reflected in the deliberate emptiness of his work. His story is not just about the paint and the canvas, but also the stereotypes and challenges he bravely navigated in Bandung's art scene to boldly claim his space as an artist.
As John shares the triumphs and trials of his first solo exhibition and the strategic embrace of social media, we reach a consensus: success is personal, intrinsic, and measured by the depths of connection forged with an audience. It's a heartfelt testimony to the journeys artists embark upon, often speaking a language not their own, yet one that resonates universally with those who witness their creations.
Join us, and be inspired by the tale of an artist who paints not just pictures, but poignant stories that linger long after the colours dry. Furthermore, watch the YouTube video (link below) for this episode where we cover behind-the-scenes footage of John creating a painting for me in the studio.
Find links to John's work here: Instagram: @johnraymondart Youtube: @johnraymondart ____________________________________
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel (link below) where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as my social media, so make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok or check out my website for my complete portfolio of work.
When I first stumbled upon John Raymond's mesmerising artwork at a hotel in Bali, little did I know that fate would bring us together on my podcast for an intimate exploration of his world. Listen as we unravel the vibrant threads of John's life as an abstract expressionist painter, whose journey from visual communication design to crafting emotive masterpieces is as colourful as his canvases. John walks us through the nuances of his artistic process, explaining how his inner musings are reflected in the deliberate emptiness of his work. His story is not just about the paint and the canvas, but also the stereotypes and challenges he bravely navigated in Bandung's art scene to boldly claim his space as an artist.
As John shares the triumphs and trials of his first solo exhibition and the strategic embrace of social media, we reach a consensus: success is personal, intrinsic, and measured by the depths of connection forged with an audience. It's a heartfelt testimony to the journeys artists embark upon, often speaking a language not their own, yet one that resonates universally with those who witness their creations.
Join us, and be inspired by the tale of an artist who paints not just pictures, but poignant stories that linger long after the colours dry. Furthermore, watch the YouTube video (link below) for this episode where we cover behind-the-scenes footage of John creating a painting for me in the studio.
Find links to John's work here: Instagram: @johnraymondart Youtube: @johnraymondart ____________________________________
Thank you for listening and for being a part of this incredible community. You can also watch this episode on my YouTube channel (link below) where I also share insights, photography tips and behind-the-scenes content on my channel as well as my social media, so make sure to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok or check out my website for my complete portfolio of work.
Today, I bring you a slightly different and special episode of the Mood Podcast. I had the privilege of having abstract artist and painter John Raymond in my studio for the last few days creating a painting just for me, and so I thought it would do his talents justice if we filmed it and would be a good opportunity also to showcase his expressionist process as we watch and learn through his art. I noticed John's work last year when I saw some of his art in a hotel here in Bali, and, after reaching out to him, I managed to convince him to come and visit the studio here and do a custom piece just for me. John is a fascinating character and an introvert at heart An asset, I think makes him and his artwork what it is today.
Speaker 1:
Since 2017, he's been exploring abstract expressionism. His painting technique combines brushstroke with acrylic paint, textures that are arranged by palette knife or sometimes directly by hand, without any tools. With a combination of these lines and colors, his intention is to bring the nuance of self-reflection combined with a sense of stillness. Through this episode, you'll hear us talk about how he came up with this specific concept for my painting, as well as his generic outlook on his art and his techniques when it comes to his personal and commercial work. For those listening, I do encourage to try and grab some clips of this on my YouTube channel if you're able, as it couples so well with the wonderful visuals that John's talents bring to our eyes. So please enjoy a little glimpse into the world of John Raymond. Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's really great to have you. So those people watching and listening to this will know that you've been with us now for two days in the studio painting a custom painting for me, which has been an absolute privilege certainly to watch and experience, and I can see the final painting now, which we'll put on the screen for people watching. At the end, before we kind of talk about your process, tell us a bit about you and how you started painting, how you started the style that you have, this abstract expressionist style. Just give us a bit of introduction and history about you.
Speaker 2:
I'm graduated from visual communication design, so a lot of my work now is influenced by that creative process when I studied in my college. But for now, along the way, I find my own technique. And when I worked at Graphic House Studio maybe earlier 2014, I think, in Bandung it was the first time I enjoyed the design thing, but at the end I didn't get any satisfaction from that. So I have to change my creative process and I think when I see several exhibitions, why I didn't try to make a painting based on my idea, not based on my kind brief or idea. So that's it. Maybe quit history about my life.
Speaker 1:
So you've been doing it for nine years.
Speaker 2:
A lot of story about that, but I've been the past six years, become a full-time artist at the Fine Art Are you familiar with the phrase in English struggling artist or starving artist?
Speaker 1:
Have you heard of that before?
Speaker 2:
Yes.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, yes. Were you a starving artist when you first started, or did you have success quite quickly?
Speaker 2:
I had much of struggling at the first time because I'm not graduated from Fine Art School, From visual communication. Design is much different from Art School and there's a stereotype that if you're not graduated from Fine Art School you are not qualified to help an exhibition. So it's quite struggling for the first time.
Speaker 1:
Is that specific to Indonesia that they have that requirement, or are you talking in the global art market, where it's very difficult to exhibit your work without having a recognized qualification?
Speaker 2:
In my city, bandung, especially. I don't know about global.
Speaker 1:
Do you think that's changing now or do you think it is still the same, where they have to be very strict on what qualifications you have?
Speaker 2:
It changes much now for now.
Speaker 1:
What is it about the painting, or the art of painting that you love so much?
Speaker 2:
First, the creative process. When I do research, I read a lot of topics and I learn about new techniques, about painting. I think I enjoy every part of that creative process. So I love and I want more. I want more to exploring new technique and new perspective to pouring out into the canvas.
Speaker 1:
So the way I understand your work is that you have commissioned work I like custom work for individuals or for commercial clients and you have your own personal work that you sell. Is the process different for each one?
Speaker 2:
Absolutely different approach. When clients come up to me and they give me a brief or story or some kind of that, I will interpret it into a different color, the psychology of color, the meaning of brush strokes when going up and going down, and I can play it with composition. But when I talk about exhibition or I just want to express myself into canvas, I didn't do research, I just express and be surprised what the result is.
Speaker 1:
So how do you, if you were to explain who you are rather than paint it? How would you explain and express yourself in words in the best English you can, if not a painter, if you're putting your personality on the campus, right, but I want you to tell me your personality to me.
Speaker 2:
My personality. There is a common composition when I do sketches from my study and when I'm younger, different style, but the common composition is I keep the emptiness part of the artwork. Usually the abstract painting is full of con-, full canvas and with texture, with the shaping, but it's full. But for me it's beautiful when you keep the emptiness, because later I realized that that's my personality, that I really enjoy myself in me time alone. So that's it. I think that's the common thing about my artwork.
Speaker 1:
Interesting. Yeah, that resonates with me as well the way you paint. I think that's why I've enjoyed your work so much. So, for those listening and watching, the history with us is that I went to a hotel in Bali about a year ago, stayed in the hotel for just one night, and when myself and my wife walked into the room that we were given, your artwork was on the walls and immediately I took to Australia.
Speaker 2:
This is fantastic.
Speaker 1:
Who is it? Luckily, your name was on it and started to research, and then I reached out to you. Maybe that's you know. We have something in common then. That's why people I mean, that's art, essentially you're connecting the viewer and the subject is connecting with the artist, right, yes, how did that style, how did your style evolve? How did you come up with the style? Was it from a lot of inspiration, a lot of works, a lot of other artists? Or was it just excuse the pun? Was it just blank canvas where you just okay, let's see what comes out?
Speaker 2:
Of course I do research and learn about from other artists. But when I met the canvas I just pouring the paint, shaping the with brush strokes and maybe little scratch splash. I think when I exploring that that I found that marbling and brush stroke is can describe and representing my idea into visual. So maybe I cannot say that I must define my art style like this or like that. Just do it, just enjoy the process. And I like when I make mistakes, a lot of mistakes, maybe. Just I didn't mean that part is full of paint but it pouring out there, I enjoy it.
Speaker 1:
So with abstract painting, can other people notice mistakes? I mean, I don't really know how to ask that question. What I mean is, because there isn't almost a defined plan or defined shape, or defined you know technical quality that someone like me could notice in your painting. Does that mean you just have more freedom to you? Worry less about me? I mean, take photography. It's clear to see mistakes, the bigger ones right, because you have an image and you can see if something is. You know the color grading is wrong or you know there's a distraction or the composition is wrong. You know some basic photography rules or concepts, unless that was the intent of the artist, of course. But I sense, with these types of things, how would you define a mistake? Is it just you intended to do something and then you did something different?
Speaker 2:
Mistakes means I didn't. I didn't satisfaction with my work when I brush and I didn't expect that, or too loud to chaos. I didn't like it. So maybe not often, but sometimes I make this one the new one.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, well, we talked about this earlier, didn't we? With some of the clients you have for the commission work. Because, you know, I'm sat here watching you do a painting from scratch and I'm thinking, what if I don't like it? I mean, do you ever worry about that if your client is not going to like your work or if you actually get a complaint at the end of it?
Speaker 2:
Overall my clients is satisfaction with my work, so maybe it made me more confident when I painting. But sometimes it can be 1% from my work client not satisfaction. So yeah, but it can be refined anyway.
Speaker 1:
How much do you work? I mean, are you always painting or do you need like emotional space between jobs? Do you do a painting and then have you know three, four days off, or does it not matter for your process?
Speaker 2:
Depends on projects and I must be professional when the commission projects comes. But when I prepare for exhibition I used to give my mid-time, because my artwork speaks about that too, so I don't need to be rushed that one or two days must have many paintings like that.
Speaker 1:
So tell us a little bit about this painting that you've done today and yesterday. What was your thought process? I know you talked about what you were thinking when you met me and when you came into this building. Tell us a little bit more detail about you know how you created this painting?
Speaker 2:
Before you told me that you like my style, like this. But when I came to this place, when I entered the door downstairs, I saw that you have a jewelry coffee shop and interesting interiors photographs also. And then my first opinion is this man is full of creativity and when I met you I learned about your personality that you have brave to take a step, that creative is your life. So I interpreted it with a circle means a personal, that both with idea and there is an imaginary portal that circle is come up with freely, idea there up, and then they abstract. More building is more free, more boldness. At the same time, that's like liquid and flexibility. I think I see that thing on you.
Speaker 1:
Interesting. It really is fascinating and I absolutely love it. So thank you so much for doing it for me and coming over to Bali. What is the next chapter for you? What does the future look like? What plans do you have for 2024?
Speaker 2:
Actually, I'm not an official, I just love what I do. But for the past two years my wife has an idea to make an art event. It's called the RA Life Movement. That's combined music and art that I love. Since I was a kid, I played and I learned guitar. So when I made this event, I combined with the start to play guitar and looking at it while I'm painting, do live painting. So this year will be our third event in Jakarta, maybe around October or November. I think that's the first idea came up from my wife, anita, when we had a problem after the pandemic. We had no exhibition and we had no proposal to exhibition from galleries. So we had to see the exhibition with me. Why we can't make our event our exhibition Right now. It's just our performance, that idea we documented. Well, we video and photograph and then we sent to several galleries and then from that I get over for exhibition in 2023, I think last year I got my first solo exhibition.
Speaker 1:
How do people become like you in the artist space? I mean, obviously I don't know your business inside out, but there is a relative success there, right? I don't know how successful you are or how not successful you are, but from what I can see, your paintings are sold quite well. How do artists who want to do, any painter or any artist, can you give us any advice as to how to become more successful, how to sell artwork, how to do exhibitions, how to become, how to kind of get your art into hotels or to other businesses.
Speaker 2:
Do it wholeheartedly and be consistent with your art. When you're consistent and publishing it on your social media or your website, we never know when the opportunities come, when people will see your artworks, will see your, maybe photograph, maybe your interior design, you name it. But when you're consistent, when you stick to your style, with your identity, I think that's the main foundation of my. You can tell it about success, but for me, besides the painting salt or recognizes, with a lot of people you satisfied with yourself, and I think the success for me is when my message from artwork is well delivered to art lovers or collectors. I think this is the ultimate success for me.
Speaker 1:
When other artists or your peers say that your art is good, is that what you mean? When other artists buy your work.
Speaker 2:
Other artists buy my work.
Speaker 1:
Is that what you mean?
Speaker 2:
I mean when I satisfied with my work that's the first and second one when my message or my meaning from the artwork is well delivered to audience, to collector, and they appreciate my failures, that is the ultimate success.
Speaker 1:
Well, I think that's a really nice and that was going to be my next question, actually how you define success, because we all have our own subjective definitions and perceptions of what we feel is success. But, I think with artists it's different, because we want to have that connection with the person that's viewing it, or buying it or experiencing it, and that connection comes from our ability to express who we are and what we're trying to say.
Speaker 1:
If we can't do that very well, it's very frustrating. Well, thank you so much. I really really do admire your work, I admire you and I'm very grateful that you've come on the podcast in English. I know that's very difficult for you, so I really do appreciate it for being so brave. Thank you again. I'm going to let that paint sit for what? Two days now, and then I'll frame it and then show you what it looks like. Thank you so much. It's a pleasure to have you.