Art is a way of life /  by Evan La Ruffa

Art is way of life... a lens for viewing the world.

We sometimes get tripped up in the result when the process, enjoying it, and learning something that will serve the next piece of art you make, is really what it's all about.

Noticing the light hitting the facade of a building in just the right way…

Layers of paint peeking out from one another in a multicolor tapestry from years of new coats…

A sticker high on a light pole with some hand-drawn art…

Listening to music while we think about what we want to make next…

Asking others what they are noticing…

It’s all about reading between the lines, connecting dots, and emoting.

Art is a teacher /  by Evan La Ruffa

Art is a teacher.

It brings us to the table to figure out what we can make. What we take to, what our limitations are, and what we have fun bringing to life.

I've thought about other methods of making this work, and am actually learning a new camera that should be a lot of fun.

But I also realize I don't want to belabor the process. I don't like tedium. I don't prefer an exacting, careful approach to art.

I like always looking for great shots I can turn into art.

I like being aware of my surroundings in an intimate way.

I like finding nooks and crannies.

I like taking photos in which all the elements of photography come into place and give me a great base to work with.

I like intuitively pushing toward a new piece of art without thinking about it too much.

I like letting my eyes and my emotions tell me what is good.

Here are 6 new works of art I have made since we arrived in Oaxaca on January 9th. I have included the print mockups as well as mockups of them in fun spaces - view them via my shop link at the bottom of this email.

These are available in an open, unsigned edition .... and are just $275 ea.

They will be printed on a thick aquarelle paper and will be produced by my trusted friends at Static Medium & Photo in Los Angeles.

Support me and an awesome LA-business with one purchase.

https://www.evanlaruffa.com/shop

Twice a day /  by Evan La Ruffa

In Oaxaca there are two supremely energetic, bright, colorful, and magical points in every day: just after sunrise and at golden hour in the evening.

The angle of the light blesses each colorful facade in a way that makes it glow with golden potential.

A visual bell-ringing for those with a twinkle in their eye…..

2024 Recap, Looking Ahead at 2025 /  by Evan La Ruffa

2024 was fun, different, tumultuous, exciting, new, familiar, and forward thinking.

I think if I had to encapsulate it, the vibe would be CHANGE.

We’re moving to Oaxaca for 5 months today, so the feels most pressing. But this was a year for growth.

In my work, in my art, in my marriage, and as a human being who is uncovering himself bit by bit.

This year, there was more nuance to my experience, and for someone who feels deeply and is in his head a lot, 2024 felt like a bit much, lol. A lot of self-reflection, a lot of work, more time idle than frantic, and a few struggles and major takeaways that I have noted.

In 2024, I was able to…

  • place my original art in 3 shows

  • Make hundreds of pieces of original art

  • Doubt myself more than ever

  • make art with a few hundred kids over various events

  • print 300 t-shirts in 3 hrs with a bunch of folks at The Prudential Building

  • work with a few artists on managing their projects

  • Fly to Atlanta for a day to see the GIANTS and Greg Mike shows, I also got to stroll the The Beltline in Atlanta earlier in the spring

  • Fail as a father at least once every day

  • Succeed as a father at least once every day

  • Donate art supplies to over 120 special needs students in Los Angeles

  • Challenge my self-perception in ways that was hard, but which I think will allow me to continue doing things I love that might feel risky, but which show me I am on the right track

  • Discover shooting photos at night for my artwork

  • Attend Frieze Art Fair at the Santa Monica Airport

  • Envision and Implement a 2-yr plan for IPaintMyMind that achieves scale through nationwide impact, something I never thought we’d be able to do

  • Begin couples therapy and find yet another amazing level of my relationship with Lindsey… though hard work, vulnerability, and consistency

  • Cry from sheer overload of inspiration and beauty various times, mostly when listening to music, predominantly the track Moon and Sunlight by Tobe Nwigwe

  • Do a bunch of therapy on my own

  • Stub my toe way too many times

  • Have tough, honest, as well as new and cathartic conversations with friends I love

  • Get back to meditating regularly which always makes me feel better, which annoys me, because I fall off the wagon and know meditation grounds me and makes me better, so I truly hope to stop falling off this important wagon

  • Learn ChatGPT, Sintra and a few other ai tools that will serve me very well

  • Buy a new camera to rock in Oaxaca in 2025

  • Set a few boundaries with my phone & social media to support my mental health

  • Hit King Spa more than usual

  • Hang with dear friends in St. Louis a handful of times

  • Let people help me

  • Have a massive realization about my emotional landscape and the stories I tell myself

  • Enjoy various trips to LA to watch my beloved LAFC (with Enzo) and buddies!

  • Further my understanding of my anxiety, how it shows up, and how I can do myself favors in keeping it at bay, or managing it better

  • Get a tattoo commemorating my favorite cheeseburger spot with my brother (in law) and bestie, Mark Glower

  • Learn a lot about real estate investing, might have to make a move!

  • Visit Northern Wisconsin with family

  • Acknowledge some of my real ones that I benefit so much from having them in my life

  • Work with 3 of my favorite artists on a massive 5 mural project at Sabin Elementary School for IPaintMyMind

  • Visit family and stay on the beach in Florida

  • Watch Enzo fully experience the cycle of failure, picking himself back up, giving his all, and feeling great about it - he made a mistake costing his team a goal in an important game, was distraught, then got back out there and led the team to victory. I was so proud of his resilience. The result was nice too, lol.

  • See Jean Baptiste live at The Salt Shed

  • Install work for a dear friend and client in their new offices in The Old Post Office building

  • Drink 71 Espresso Tonics and 800+ pour overs … that is a ballpark estimate

  • Hang one on with Mike Han

  • Donate over $100k worth of art to CPS schools via IPaintMyMind

  • Add various fitted New Era 5950 caps to my extensive (obsessive) collection

  • Give a grant to Rapbrary via IPMM, a nonprofit library and literary project founded by my buddy, Roy Kinsey, to buy banned books and initial capital to build the project up

  • Eat at an amazing Southside greasy spoon with Brian Flannery

  • Host IPMMs 1st teacher event in Los Angeles to kick off the 2024/25 school year

  • Go to Allegan, MI w the boys and family friends

  • Ask my kids if they have feedback for me as a parent… careful, this is pandora’s box, I am not sure I want all their feedback lol

  • Rekindle a bromance with my guy Loren Nunley and reconnect with some old friends

  • Get Lindsey and I’s saving and investing plan together

  • Manage and execute a massive custom mural project by Lisa Quine for PepsiCo in Dallas, TX

  • Visit Oaxaca to scout our trip and spend 3 days in Mexico City (one of my favorite places in the world)

  • Visit New York Bagel & Bialy what feels like at least a dozen times for my NY Breakfast, sausage egg and cheese with extra cheese, mish mosh bagel

  • Get new glasses because apparently my eyes aren’t working as well as they used to

  • Think a lot about what I want to do with the rest of my life

Apparently, a lot got done, in fact.

But I happen to be less concerned with that going forward than enjoying my time on this earth and providing for my family…..

I think when many of us look back, we’ll realize that a lot of little things added up.

They tend to.

Regardless of where we are on the calendar.

I also am clear that CHANGE is not to be avoided, but embraced… even when we are made uncomfortable by it.

Stay tuned for art updates (I look forward to making a lot in Mexico) as well as taking many art workshops in various mediums, and I’ll be sure to provide a Note to Self here and there, and who knows what else!?!?!?!

I appreciate you for reading this far.

I am excited about the future.

And I hope you are too.

I would love to hear what themes, challenges, ideas, or new paths forward you discovered in 2024, as wells what headspace you’re in as 2025 launches…………..

Be in touch……..

-Ev

EvanLaRuffa.com

Notes to Self: Bespoke anxiety machines /  by Evan La Ruffa

It is so clear to me that these phones fuck with us.

As adults, we need to look at the ways our phones turn into bespoke anxiety machines.

I realize I need better boundaries around it.

@getclearspace has helped a lot, but it is time to expand the guidelines for when I do and do not use my phone.

Howbout you?

Notes to Self: Seeding /  by Evan La Ruffa

Seeds are simple & powerful.

If we seed now, something will grow after a little while.

We also have them in spades.

You can seed a bit, and even if every one seed doesn’t take, you can be sure some of them will.

If we don’t seed now, we’ll have no comrades beneath the surface, steadfastly working their way to the top where they can sprout and take life.

Which is why we should always be seeding.

Seeding for purpose, love, connection, passion, and alignment.

If we seed consistently, life creates life, even if slowly, in the margins, or at the periphery.

Seed because it feels good. Seed for the sense of potency, vitality, and practice, as much as any one result.

Seed every day.

Because that is how things come to life and grow.

Notes to Self: Stay gushy /  by Evan La Ruffa

Stay gushy!

Ok, maybe don't spill all the beans at work or with clients...

But definitely be YOU.

Being you means:

1) not veiling everything
2) being a bit vulnerable
3) answering honestly before you know what the room thinks
4) speaking up and speaking first
5) wearing your values on your sleeve (sometimes tattooed permanently)

Too many of us are scared to show our hand. A bit timid to reveal ourselves.

We have to be a bit brazen. A bit bold.

We have to dip into the space in the middle and risk the chance that we might have to take in new info, feedback, or listen to others.

Gush as long as it's real and in-pocket.

There is something differentiated, beautiful, and disarming about people who just give you the real deal.

Show us the real deal.

Notes to Self: Real differentiation /  by Evan La Ruffa

Who someone else is doesn't matter.

Lean into who YOU are.

Why? Well didn't we all learn about differentiation?

If you wanna build a better Kleenex box, be my guest, I'm just not sure doing what others are doing is going to produce decoupled results.

In this sense, decoupling means blue water. New heights. Real innovation. Not just incremental iteration.

Every time I lean into being me, it works.

Every time I try to be like someone else, it really doesn't.

$250 OFF /  by Evan La Ruffa

Use the code EVMAKESART for $250 OFF any order over $999 in my shop through December 3rd.

Make my day and buy something! 🤣✌🏼

https://www.evanlaruffa.com/shop

Moon and Sunlight /  by Evan La Ruffa

I love the way art makes everything melt way for me.

It likely happens most often with music and film despite being a visual arts kinda guy - moments where I am transported, time stops, or the things that bother me no longer do.

At least while I am experiencing that art…

Hood Hymns by Tobe Nwigwe and more specifically, the track, Moon and Sunlight, has been the art that has most frequently made me weep from sheer appreciation of beauty.

It’s happened at least a handful of times in the past month.

I listen to it, and I almost fall to my knees.

Harder to do when driving… lol …

But suffice it to say, highly recommended.

Find something that is so beautiful that it brings you to your knees… humbling and joyful doesn’t even begin to describe it.

‘They made you think the moon is sunlight
But it don't shine the same
It don't shine the same
They made you think the moon is sunlight
But it don't shine the same
It don't shine the same’

We're out here... /  by Evan La Ruffa

Art isn't just for galleries.

It's also meant to exist where we live, work, and play.

You know, the places where our lives occur.

Whether in our hobbies, our homes, our decor, or our state of mind, art is an option. It's a way for us to appreciate, express, and customize.

A way for us to be, do, and exist in a way that feels authentic to us.

Find out what you like, and make it ... research it... find it... buy it.

Because leaning in to the art YOU like is about the 99.999999999% of the world that doesn't exist in fine art museums, galleries, or collection storage.

At the end of the day... we're out here.

Notes to Self: The Secret to Investing /  by Evan La Ruffa

Work, testing, learning and becoming better at what we do and who we are, is the investment.

You must have known I wasn’t talking about stocks and bonds.

If the investment is the time we spend on the things we care about, then maybe the nonlinear growth of an investment portfolio is actually a good example.

Some days we are up.

Some days we are down.

But long term investment means taking our lumps, staying determined, and moving forward with the plan.

The plan can change (what stocks we invest in) but the approach (investment) stays the same.

The secret to investing is knowing that that’s what we’re doing.

So let’s go ‘head now…

Invest.

Notes to Self: On Noticing /  by Evan La Ruffa

Making art means noticing.

Noticing color, line, shadow, texture, & light.

Another big thing you notice when making art is an internal compulsion to propel a certain perspective into making it real.

Turning a thought about approach into a series of actions producing the art itself is a lot of fun.

It feels like cooking.

Or magic.

Don’t forget to notice…

(Inside and outside ourselves.)

New Art Available Today + Life Update /  by Evan La Ruffa

I am releasing a bunch of new artwork that I have made over the past few months in places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oaxaca.

EvanLaRuffa.com/shop

The process of going from advocate to artist is more about which seat I am sitting in and what project I am working on, than it is the actual assessment of a new title or role.

I have been making this Post All Bills series for years now.

It’s felt like an organic extension of my perspective of being a human on this earth.

I love life. I love feelings. I love richness. I love texture. I love people. I love breathing.

And I love art.

I love watching it, seeing it, hearing it, tasting it, talking about it, selling it, finding it, and sharing it.

Since the days when we were spending time in NYC often, going back and forth for Lindsey’s work stuff and my sheer love of the energy, art, and action of it offers, I began working on this fun idea to recontextualize these tiny urban vignettes by finding them, then manipulating them digitally, using a tool we all have access to, to create something that never existed before.

Downtown LA is a playground for my work, and I am super happy with the 4 Kobe Bryant inspired pieces included in this drop... here is one of them...

Post All Bills No. 8 & 24 (Kobe Bryant, RIP - Purple - Lakers Edition) - 1/1 (30x39in)

The thread pulled has taken me to more cities, to more decayed walls, to examine more tattered paper, exposed wood and grit, perhaps a sticker, some spray paint, and a letter here and there.

Los Angeles is perfect. Mexico City is perfect. And most recently, I found Oaxaca to be perfect.

A new kind of perfect. A new spin on places where I have harvested these photos. A place where there is more color in the background, interesting lighting (especially at night), and fewer layers, rendering some of the finished artwork potent, stout, and primary in a way that I really love.

Like this one… which is available in a large format on my website….

Amid this new release we’ve also been plotting a big adventure for the family…

Moving to Oaxaca for 5 months in 2025.

We’re beyond excited. We’re doing the thing we said we wanted to do.

But the big plans, my changing identity as a creative person making things and sharing them has felt destabilizing. Or maybe it’s just the nervous discomfort of doing something exciting…

Then again, I’ve done this a few times before… whether closing IPMM’s gallery or our most recent donation campaign to support schools permanently - I try to read the patterns, figure out what feels right for me (us), and make a move that is BOLD.

Whether in my photography, my relationships, or my location.

Here is a shot of me harvesting photos in Oaxaca…

Here is a mockup of one of my prints in a cool space…

Here’s me making a silly face so I have something Instagram will show people… it likes faces more than art…

Here’s some mole that changed my life in Oaxaca…

And my new Etsy shop will have certain releases not available on my website… so check that out too…

Think mini prints and t-shirts! :)

Visit my shop to see every print released today, and please share with anyone you think might enjoy or potentially even purchase!

EvanLaRuffa.com/shop

Notes to Self: On Priorities /  by Evan La Ruffa

Priorities are an editing mechanism.

When our lists are short, we eliminate the space trash around our work (or life), and focus.

This means…

1. Needles move, they don’t wobble.

2. Anxiety is reduced greatly.

3. Things slow down - something most of us say we want.

3 items.

That’s it.

Noon will be here soon.

No need to cloud our brains and fire off stress responses.

Priorities mean we know what we have to do.

Notes to Self: On DOINGNESS /  by Evan La Ruffa

As a way to differentiate things a bit, I’m creating a few categories for my blog posts to help readers, friends, collectors, and colleagues tap in to the aspects of what I do that interest them.

Notes to Self will be the types of small reflections I’ve often shared here. Little ditties, takeaways, or patterns recognized. Mostly in myself, but also likely, in us.

Energy transference happens when we give and receive, and a self-perpetuating cycle of reciprocity ensues with most of existence. I have no silver bullet for eliminating all friction, tension, and doubt.

But I do have 41 years of data that reminds me that we get what we put in, and that stimulating this self-perpetuating cycle of DOINGNESS is magic.

Give, take, seed, and work.