Free Little Art Galleries ... and Other Grand Things in the World (like tacos)

Free Little Art Galleries (FLAG) are popping up everywhere, and Smooth Ray LOVES them. They are a recognition of the joy in art, and a call to make it more accessible and ubiquitous. These galleries, often in front yards and on residential streets, invite passerby to pause, to consider, and possibly to take some art with them.

You know how Smooth Ray feels about free art: There’s almost always something free in the shop. And last week, Smooth Ray Originals started popping up in FLAGs around the country! It’s a rewarding way to share work and connect with other artists.

And so to help artists connect with these galleries, Smooth Ray is publishing a directory of Free Little Art Galleries that accept mailed submissions.

Gallery owners! If you would like to have your gallery included, please send in your information using the contact form. Include your address, instagram account if you have one, and any gallery guidelines.

Artists! Please share the list, and encourage FLAG’s to be included.

Posted on February 28, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Blog Posts.

SRO #234-235 ... Ebay inspiration ... #AfterMiro ... Free Art

Because blockchain has yet to solve the Taco Delivery Problem, when Smooth Ray is in need of a little retail therapy he often turns to Art.

(PSA: If YOU need a little art therapy, check out the Smooth Ray shop because whenever new work goes up some of it is always completely free — including free shipping! Sometimes, you just need some free art).

Free art … which brings us to ebay. Smooth Ray was browsing one evening and came across this interesting looking print by Joan Miro …

Smooth Ray most definitely can not afford this …

However, with a starting bid around $9,700 … definitely not free. And Smooth Ray does not have stacks of cash lying around. … But there is all this paint, and hence a pair of new Smooth Ray Originals were manifested!

Both of these will be n the Smooth Ray shop for the low, low price of $0. Not sure how that translates into euros or pesos, but it can’t be that bad with free shipping.

One month until Spring.
Be gentle with yourselves.
These late winter days,
can be tricky.

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

SRO#198-209 ... Be Still And The Universe Will Unfold

Love the smear of magenta in some of these.

It’s been a week of prints and ponderings, multiples and musings … inquiry and etchings?

Alliteration aside, Smooth Ray is very grateful to those who took the time to read, comment, share, consider, and support the work. All of these phrases are related to the study of non-dualism and a growing understanding of our world as far more interconnected than it may appear.

“Far more interconnected” is simple, but misses the point: There is no separation, no multiple things or people to connect or be connected. All of life is one wholeness.

However, fundamental truths of an infinite universe interact with the limited world in strange ways. “Truth Has No Meaning” is absolutely true, though it wont help you on a math test. “This moment is perfect” is absolutely true, even as it includes illness and pain and sadness.

What to make of all this?

Nothing, really.

Can you hold these truths close, and still get lost in the grocery store? Go about your daily life of routine interactions, remaining aware that in fact your very existence is one of infinite Love?

Softness. It takes a certain softness, openness, spaciousness, to consider that joy and tears may not be different.

In the midst of a meditation, these words appeared: “Be Still, and the Universe Will Unfold.”

Hold soft, and keep going.

Stillness, like the center of a wheel.
Motion without movement.

Fully engaged, intimately close.
Watching.

Title: Be Still and The Universe Will Unfold
#198-209
Size: 4x4” print on canvas of varying size
Date: 2022
Medium: Relief printing, water-based ink on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

SRO #206 & #208 are in the shop, and one is FREE!

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

SRO#222-233 ... Truth Has No Meaning

When it comes to what is true — absolutely true — it isn’t much. So it’s best not to take “Truth Has No Meaning” as a nihilistic statement. They key is in the word “meaning.”

Smooth Ray isn’t much on dictionary definitions, but in this case it’s helpful: “Intended to communicate something that is not directly expressed.”

“Meaning” implies division, separateness, not one-ness. More than one. If something “means” something, then it implies or indicates something else. That’s all fine and well for the relative world, but Smooth Ray enjoys pondering the nature of the infinite universe (and tacos).

That which is absolutely true points to no thing. It implies nothing else, because there can’t be anything else. At the most fundamental level, the only truth is the indivisible nature of the universe. There is no meaning because there is no thing to mean.

Title: Truth Has No Meaning
#222-233
Size: 4x4” print on canvas of varying size
Date: 2022
Medium: Relief printing, water-based ink on 140-pound cold pressed paper

SRO #223 & #227 are in the shop, and one is free!

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

SRO#210-221 ... This Moment Is Perfect -- Just Like Tacos

Smooth Ray has a theory about tacos: They are all perfect. Breakfast tacos, black bean tacos, fish, cochinita pibil, barbacoa, shrimp, nopales, al pastor, birria … perfect, perfect, perfect.

You know what else is perfect? This moment.

This moment must be perfect, because it can only exist exactly as it is.

The idea that we can “change” a moment is a misunderstanding, because once a thought arises about the moment — that it is good, bad, pleasurable or undesirable — that moment has already passed.

It is impossible to think about the present moment. You can only Be, in the moment. Thought arises in the present moment, but that thought is always concerned with either the past or future.

The present moment — this moment you are experiencing now — is real. All else is imagination.

And if something cannot exist other than how it does — which is every thing and every one — that is perfect.

None of this is to say that We cannot work for change, to help those around us, and to improve situations and systems. All that work is made possible and more effective, by fully inhabiting the present moment.

Acknowledging the perfection of the present moment doesn’t imply that every moment is fun or that all action is right. It is instead an invitation to stop arguing with reality.

As for tacos. A little extra lime makes a big difference.
Be grateful for extra lime. In whatever form it manifests.

Title: This moment is perfect.
#210-221
Size: 4x4” print on canvas of varying size
Date: 2022
Medium: Relief printing, water-based ink on 140-pound cold pressed paper

SRO #220 & #221 are in the shop, and one is free!

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

SRO#186-197 ... You Will Die

The phone rang one evening, and it was Smooth Ray's lawyer.

"I've got some good news. But you're not going to think it's good news," the lawyer said.

The lawyer was half right, but that's a story for another time. Here's the news today: "YOU WILL DIE."

Is that good news? Bad news? No news at all?

If you think it’s Bad, then you may be focused on the “DIE” part. Smooth Ray prefers to focus on the “YOU.”

“You Will Die” is a reminder that all form is temporary. Our time is limited, and this knowledge is an invitation to engage directly and intimately with that which is most precious and immediate.

“You Will Die” also invites another question: Who is the You that dies?

All form is temporary, but consider that what you are — essentially — is beyond form and exists prior to experience.

You Will Die.
And, You were never born.

Title: YOU WILL DIE
#186-197
Size: 4x4” print on canvas of varying size
Date: 2022
Medium: Relief printing, water-based ink on 140-pound cold pressed paper

SRO #193 and #195 are in the Smooth Ray shop, and as always one is absolutely free. Everyone needs some free art.

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

SRO #150-185 ... You Are Love

Smooth Ray has been doing a lot of printing lately, and experimenting with new colors and tones. Really digging this latest run.

There are three in the shop — including, as always, one for free. With free worldwide shipping, that’s not a bad deal!

Title: YOU ARE LOVE
#150-185
Size: 4x4” print on canvas of varying size
Date: 2022
Medium: Relief printing, water-based ink on 140-pound cold pressed paper

Note: Love is what you ARE, fundamentally: energy, light, peace, happiness, joy. Love.

Love isn't something you need to find. You aren't lacking in it. You ARE it.

The experience of love is the experience of feeling connection rather than separation. When we love and feel loved, whether by a friend or parent or romantic partner, there is a sense of unity, of connection, and feelings of loneliness fade.

The thing is, this sense of separation that we all walk around with is an illusion. We are not separate. And seeing that clearly — knowing the true nature of our connectedness, of our being — that is the same experience as love.

Curious to know more about the origin of these three words?

SRO #173, #176 and #177 are in the Smooth Ray store!

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

January Tacos & The Cosmos ... SRO #126-150

If you often dream of seaside taco shacks, winter can be tough. When the temperatures drop down below freezing, Smooth Ray starts thinking of places like Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, Rincon, Culebra and Oaxaca.

Only 153 days until summer. In the meantime, January Tacos abound.

There’s something about a good taco that implies warmer weather and simpler days. It’s a four-bite exercise in hope.

So what is a “January Taco?” It’s whatever keeps you going — in January or whenever; taco or not. A January Taco is a reminder to the soul that experience is impermanent.

And speaking of impermanent …

We had a snowstorm over the weekend, with multiple gray days and temperatures hovering around zero. When the thick clouds finally passed, night skies opened to a view which reflected the infinite.

We are only here for a moment. Enjoy it. Play.
Even in cold weather.

Smooth Ray is a big fan of print multiples — be they photographs, lithographs, intaglios, stencils, what have you … There is something about the repetition and individuality of each print that reflects deeper truths.

This series of small prints, The Cosmos, was inspired by snowstorms and January tacos, frozen pipes and Caribbean dreams. Sometimes, you want to be anywhere else. Other times, you see clearly that there is nowhere else to be.

SRO #126-150
The Cosmos
2x4”
linoleum block print + gouache & watercolor

#147, #127 and #129 are in the Smooth Ray shop and — as always — one is FREE. With free worldwide shipping, that’s not a bad deal!

Stay warm out there, and find you some January Tacos.

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Smooth Ray and tagged Blog Posts Smooth Ray Originals.

Smooth Ray Shares a Family Recipe … SRO #121-125

It’s the holiday season, and that means food. So Smooth Ray is sharing an old family recipe. A couple of copies are available in the shop, including as always one for free.

When it comes to cooking — and so many other things — fewer and better quality ingredients is typically the way to go.

SRO #121
Smooth Ray family recipe
mixed media
status: For sale in the shop

SRO #122
Smooth Ray family recipe
mixed media
status: Launched into space

SRO #123
Smooth Ray family recipe
mixed media
status: In private collection

SRO #124
Smooth Ray family recipe
mixed media
status: In private collection

SRO #125
Smooth Ray family recipe
mixed media
status: Launched into space (Watkins Glen, NY) via the USPS.

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

9 Bars: Smooth Ray Paints Charleston, S.C. ... sort of ... New Auction Record, Holiday Sales and More!

Hey folks, it’s been a minute. … Smooth Ray has been painting imaginary bars for the last couple of weeks.

After the trip to Charleston, S.C., Smooth Ray was looking for something to paint and used a photograph from the trip — of a wonderful old sign for a furniture store — as the basis for a series of paintings. Reminiscent of classic cocktail lounge signs in San Francisco, details and focus shift between iterations before finally settling into a bar that looks welcoming.

“I’d drink in that bar,” said Smooth Ray. And thus ended the series.

Four from the series are in the Smooth Ray shop, and as always ONE OF THEM IS FREE. … With free world wide shipping, that’s not a bad deal.

In other news…

**A new auction record was set, with the sale of Smooth Ray Original #091 on Nov. 16! For now, it’s an affordable way to own a miniature masterpiece — but prices are rising! Check the sidebar for active auctions.

**Location scouting for the taco stand continues. It’s difficult to find beachfront property in Trumansburg, and creative solutions may be needed.

**There are multiple pieces available in the Smooth Ray shop — for FREE. Art is essential, so please avail yourself. No payment info is necessary. Retail therapy with a $0 price tag? Awesome.

**If you’re looking for holiday gifts, consider art! There are also zines, stickers, postcard and more … The Smooth Ray shop always ships free!

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Smooth Ray and tagged Blog Posts.

SRO #117-120

Four small paintings from a recent series. You can read more details on it in this blog post here. All are available in the Smooth Ray shop and one is free ….

SRO #117
Title: Imaginary Bar #1
Size: 4.5x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

SRO #118
Title: Imaginary Bar #4
Size: 4.5x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

SRO #119
Title: Imaginary Bar #2
Size: 4.5x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

SRO #120
Title: Imaginary Bar #3
Size: 4.5x4.5”
Date: 2021
Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

Posted on November 30, 2021 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

Blue-Orbed Suns, Biscuits and FREE ART ... Smooth Ray is back from the beach!

Smooth Ray spent a week down south, drinking porch whiskey, eating biscuits and watching sunsets. It’s good to get away … and also to return home.

When you look out at the ocean, everything else is behind you.

Many folks walk to calm their mind, but that’s never worked for Smooth Ray. Motion generates thought, which means travel is never relaxing — but is creatively necessary. Some blades have two edges. Both cut limes.

Rather than cheap beach souvenirs, Smooth Ray has returned to the New York Finger Lakes with inspiration. Perhaps the upstate winter ahead can be warmed with creativity, along with several cords of wood.

There are currently 10 Smooth Ray Originals available in the shop — and THREE ARE FREE! With free worldwide shipping, that’s not a bad deal. Sometimes, you just need some free art. Please spread the word, and help Smooth Ray spread the good vibes.

Taco shop update: The last two weeks have been spent on research — can you get a good taco in the South? Does Charleston, S.C., have good fish tacos? … Well, let’s just say the biscuits were better than the burritos. So to speak. The work on menu design continues.

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Smooth Ray and tagged Blog Posts.

SRO #116

Title: The green chair (SRO116)

Size: 4.5x4.5”

Date: 2021

Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

Note: Available in the Smooth Ray shop!

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

SRO #115

Title: Ghosts (SRO #115)

Size: 4x2.5”

Date: 2021

Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

Note: Available FREE in the Smooth Ray shop!

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.

SRO #114

Title: wire walker (SRO #114)

Size: 4x2.5”

Date: 2021

Medium: Watercolor on 140-pound cold pressed paper.

Note: On clear nights, people in the small village would watch as a mysterious figure appeared to dance across a thin wire apparently suspended in space.

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Smooth Ray and tagged Smooth Ray Originals.