Title: The Universe, Explained
Size: 5.75x4
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop.
Note: If there’s only one thing then there’s just one answer.
#YouAreLove
Smooth Ray Paints ... Buildings! Plus: Free Art, Unwanted Visitors, and More!
Smooth Ray has an unwanted house guest at the moment. Some animal (perhaps a groundhog) has found its way into the walls of this old farmhouse, and is scratching around. Time to get out the Havahart trap, which fittingly came with the house.
For the moment, however, Smooth Ray is ignoring the beast.
There are a bunch of new Smooth Ray Originals in the shop, and as promised there is another priced at $0.00. Not a bad deal, with free worldwide shipping!
Sometimes you just need some free art in your life. Smooth Ray is committing to offering a piece of work each week, absolutely free. Need something to brighten your day? That retail therapy experience with no co-pay? Got a tiny space to fill on your wall? Check out the Smooth Ray shop!
In other news: Last week, SRO#009 was aquired by a European collector. Another miniature masterpiece sent out into the world, making the Smooth Ray taco shop dream that much closer. … it doesn’t matter that the price was $0. The taco shop will manifest around positive energy, not money.
Smooth Ray spent the last week painting buildings. Why? There is no reason. Not for the paintings, or for anything. That’s just what came up. … and what came up reveals a deep discomfort with cities. The paintings are not always pleasant, though there is some whimsy. There is also a sense of density, dis-ease and aggression, that comes across.
Smooth Ray spent many years working as a reporter in Washington, D.C., loving that city life. Like a cat that switches chairs, things change for no reason. Now, life is is all about that rural, small-town vibe. And in the future? Who knows. Maybe it depends on the groundhog.
Smooth Ray Originals #101-106 are all new. Four in the shop (including the giveaway), one left in a random place, and another donated to Kadie Salfi’s Free Little Art Gallery.
SRO #101
Title: “a hard place to live”
Size: ”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop.
SRO #102
Title: “another day”
Size: 3.75x4.4”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop.
SRO #103
Title: “despite appearances to the contrary, it was a lonely building”
Size: 4.5x3”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: Offered for FREE in the Smooth Ray Shop.
SRO #106
Title: “so many”
Size: 6x4.75”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop.
SRO #105
Title: “Sunrise was Jake’s favorite time of day.”
Size: 3x3.75”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: Distributed at random in Trumansburg, N.Y.
SRO #104
Title: “The third sunrise was always the most beautiful.”
Size: 3.75x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: Donated to Kadie Salfi’s Free Little Art Gallery.
Monday Art Giveaways, Smooth Ray Original #100, and The Secret to the Universe! All in this blog!
First off, the secret to the Universe is extra lime — just like Smooth Ray has been saying forever.
So what’s this about an art giveaway?
There are a bunch of new Smooth Ray Originals in the shop right now, and among them one is priced at $0.00. With free worldwide shipping, that’s a pretty good deal.
Sometimes you just need some free art in your life. Smooth Ray is committing to offering a piece of work each week, absolutely free. Need something to brighten your day? That retail therapy experience with no co-pay? Got a tiny space to fill on your wall? Check out the Smooth Ray shop!
If that’s the only thing you “buy,” then the system shouldn’t ask for any payment info, just a shipping address. Smooth Ray is grateful he can spread some art love.
As for SRO #100, that’s an epic milestone. "Truth Does Not Have Meaning.”
Meaning is for the mind, to make stories. That which is true has no meaning.
Taco shop update: Considering adding an egg sandwich to the menu. Because there is something wonderful and perfect about a simple egg sandwich.
SRO #100
Title: “The Truth Has No Meaning”
Size: 4x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
Note: Truth has no meaning. Meaning is for the mind, to make stories.
Smooth Ray Original #100!
SRO #099
Title: “Joe looked out over the second horizon and thought, ‘What a beautiful day for a schlobtopperston!”
Needless to say, he called out of work.
The future is like that, if you let it.
Size: 3.5x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #097
Title: “See from the center, an all outward points are encompassed.”
SRO #097
Size: 3x5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #096
Title: “Rays of light intersect to form an apparently-solid object.”
SRO #096
Size: 3x5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Note: Don’t be fooled.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #095
Title: “The paintings by the window were very interesting.”
SRO #095
Size: 4x2.5” on 4.5x6” canvas
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Note: Another interesting back! This is essentially two pieces of art in one Smooth Ray Original!
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #094
Title: “It’s possible that this is what the Universe looks like.”
SRO #094
Size: 4x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #093
Title: “On the other hand, maybe it looks like this.”
SRO #098
Size: 8x4”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #098
Title: You’ve got it all backwards.
SRO #098
Size: 3.75x3.75”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper
Note: The world you perceive is not reality, but a break in reality. A momentary turning away from what is true.
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #092
Title: Energy moves. This explains all.
SRO #092
Size: 4x3”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper
Status: For sale in the Smooth Ray shop!
SRO #091
Title: The center remains steady. Mostly.
SRO #091
Size: 4x4”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper
Status: For sale in the shop!
Free Worldwide Shipping!
The Secret is Extra Lime!
SRO #090
Title: The Mystery of the Murdered Fortune Teller
SRO #090
Size: 3x3
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper
Status: Smooth Ray Original #090 was donated to a free art project hosted by Higher Self in Portland, Oregon.
Note: Years ago, Smooth Ray created a series of postcards based on text-based ephemera. Vintage stamps, old encyclopedias, book catalog cards … stuff that basically doesn’t exist anymore.
You can purchase those postcards here, in case you’re the type that still writes letters and is nostalgic for a more tactile world. Smooth Ray sure is.
