Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Richard Clark.
Ryan, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am a Boston street artist. I did my art studies/schooling in Boston & NYC and saved up money and moved my small business to Los Angeles where I now currently work out of a collab studio (the Allied Studio LA).
I evolved from tagging buildings to painting for galleries to now fitting some of Hollywoods most beautiful in custom clothes.
Took me a while to understand my strengths in the arts, but now I specialize in illustrated design n mix media paint. I try to use my loves for traditional art forms that I learned in college, & combine them with modern clothing/ modern silhouettes for the fashion forward street kid.
I tend to work a lot in custom, but I also take the majority of my more popular sketches and fan art and put them online for sale. I try and keep a toe in street art at all times; its where I began & its where I feel my style fits best.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
The dance community has really always been the main inspiration. My mum was a dance teacher back in New England, and my sister was an incredible dancer. I have always been attracted to the glitter n glamour of the stage and styling/dressing for performance art.
I find dancers moves a lot like models. They know their angles and moves their bodies through a motion so gracefully and naturally. I use to take figure drawing courses in art school, and the way the models/dancers held poses opened my eyes to so much fashion. I started researching the NYC Ballroom scene, Voguing, contemporary dance, runways walks, the world of high fashion had its own dance influences, and for the first time I started moving my brand from all street art into something more mature n tasteful.
I think as a fashion designer, the one message you always want to get across is Beauty & Equality. I am a strong feminist & have always felt a sense of protection over the humans who have so lovinly represented my brand. I hope to reach an audience who wants to watch and promote the future of fashion. I hope by showcasing every color, every race, every gender through art, a collaborator with a movement strong enough to fight for these beliefs will grow.
The dance community really forced me to see a future in fashion for performance wear. It is now mainstream, and I couldn’t be happier to see powerful bodies of EQUALITY like Chelsea Corp, Aliya Janell, Anthony Nakhle, Taylor Dean, Yanis Marshall repping my brand in their movement.
Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
I am a dreamer by nature but a realist by lifestyle. You can dream all you want, but when you live in small city America, but you know the arts can really become a career, you have to expand your knowledge of where your work will impact the most and try to create in that environment.
I do feel my friends who mural walls don’t have the same stresses because through social media their work is being shown from one screen to another just by walking past a major wall in the city. Muralists visit the world, spreading their talent from city wall to city wall.
But, for me as a fashion designer, I felt the need to plug myself into the world of stylists, art directors, curators & costumers. LA was a place I felt honored and respected art highly & had many resources to showcase my personal God-given talent.
I feel the everyday person can elevate their awareness of art by simply starting to buy from your local artisans. Target may sell plastic bowls, but I guarantee you have someone in your community or even online who sell glass or clay pots; actions like this may feel small, but they drive sales to people who deserve them.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
I started as a ghost. As a career grew, so did clients. I created arsieandthefire.com as a showcase site where you can shop for some archived work. I tend to get a lot of traffic through email n DMs. New work is always shown on Instagram (@ry_gg_guy) – I paint live alot and like to answer questions about the art process.
Social media has really changed the world for freelance artists. I can proudly display my work, tag collaborators, sell on the spot, & get fan feedback. It’s so useful to engage with viewers who just have a love for the arts.
We do studio tours of my showroom on weekends so feel free to contact for a private showing.
Contact Info:
- Address: STUDIO TOURS : 407 E Pico Blvd Los Angeles CA 90015
- Website: arsieandthefire.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ry_gg_guy/
- Other: https://www.arsieandthefire.com/
Image Credit:
Ryan Richard Clarkf
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