Rising Stars: Meet Ravi Wilkie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ravi Wilkie.

Hi Ravi, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Growing up in an unstable household I began to use art as my own form of meditation at a really young age. When I was 13 I got my first job in Boulder Colorado, as an artist’s assistant, and have been working as a professional artist ever since. Before I graduated high school I studied art at Colorado University, and at 18, I left Colorado, and moved to New York City. There I got a job hand finishing at one of the top fine art frame shops in the industry, and began to master my craft.

After several years I ended up in showbiz where I managed the paint department at a scene shop in Brooklyn. There I spent most of my time painting backdrops and set pieces for film, theater, television and trade show events. This enabled me to hone my faux finishing and paint treatment skills. While living in NYC I also ended up doing a fair amount of freelance illustration and even a bit of tattooing.

During that time I met my wife, Elena and in 2013 we got married. Then we decided to move, and we started our new life in Redondo Beach, California in 2015. I landed a job at Poster Mountain, an art restoration shop, conserving and restoring original artwork and print media.

In 2020 when the pandemic hit we decided to move out of LA and head to the desert, where we settled in La Quinta. I worked part time as a chalk artist, but by that point I was really itching to do my own thing. I started getting more commission work, which began to grow really quickly and before long I was booked up with murals.

I was growing so fast that I needed help. Elena decided she also needed a change and she left her 25year career as a hairstylist. We were then able to focus on growing our business together and finding a new creative outlet for Elena. This gave way to making her own jewelry and me creating more art, so we sort of became an artist hub for each other and Wilkie Studios was born. Since then we have been busy painting murals, doing pop up festivals and finding more local shops to partner and grow with.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have definitely been bumps in the road. Practical struggles like moving across the country and starting over in a new city and facing all the challenges of finding a place where we felt at home.

But the biggest struggle for me has been living out on the edge and trusting myself while waiting for the next step to be revealed. It challenges the belief in my self-worth. But in the end, living your dream is worth all the pain and difficulty, and I couldn’t imagine living my life any other way.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Every piece of art tells its own story and as an artist it’s my job to allow that story to be revealed. That’s why I love restoration so much because I get to make an old story new again. Similarly, each medium and material tells a different story. They each have their own unique characteristics and behaviors.

I’m just so grateful that I’ve been able to create and be a professional artist my whole life. I’ve been lucky to have so many different types of experiences throughout my life, and I think that’s what sets me apart from others. Anything in the visual arts I’ve done, from finishing, illustration, faux finishing, restoration, tattooing, set design, and sculpting.

For me creating art is a lot more like witnessing the universe creating through you, rather than doing the creating yourself. Each subject I engage with in a creative process allows me to experience the world as the artwork that is being created thru me, and I experience that story on a deeply personal and spiritual level.

In my own work I draw a lot of inspiration from my dreams or visions I have through meditations. This allows me to connect with my clients in a deeper way so I can better create what they are envisioning and allow it to become real. One client said I looked inside her head and literally painted what she saw.

Here in the desert, roadrunners are quite popular and used as a mascot for many businesses and artwork throughout the community. I too have been inspired by their quirky characteristics and have received lots of special requests for roadrunner art, including the RDRNNR restaurant here in Old Town La Quinta. Some other client favorites are desert landscapes, flowers, and my use of colors and dreamy themes.

The thing I am most proud of is my marriage; without our life together, I would not be where I am today on all levels. The inspiration and support we provide each other allows us to be where we are, here together growing our business and growing as artists.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
That life is not guaranteed, so it’s important to be clear about your priorities in life. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, so do what you love and what your heart calls you to do today, and live life with no regrets.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tedooo.com/shop/64cbefd12b6596167bffbb66
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ravi_wilkie_art
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/raviwilkie
• Other: www.instagram.com/elenawilkiedesigns

Image Credits
Sandra Blume for the personal photo of us in NYC