Ray Brown

Ray has been working as an artist since he graduated from college with a B.S. in visual communications. He worked mostly as an illustrator and graphic designer in and around Baltimore, Maryland where he had lived all his life. Although he enjoyed his work as an artist he was creating work according to the commercial needs at hand. He longed to create the kind of work that would combine his love of nature, wildlife, and the outdoors with his artistic sensibilities and experience. After a move to California in 2002, Ray has been able to pursue that dream full time. Ray’s preferred medium is the simple charcoal. Working with charcoal and paper is about as bare bones as an artist can get with one’s medium. Charcoal is a very direct tool of expression, when viewing a finished drawing one is able to see right to the core of the artist’s effort. Using only value, composition, and the illusion of texture to create an image unassisted by color but still managing to convey a sense of place or evoke a certain emotion is a difficult challenge. It is this challenge that inspires Ray’s daily pursuits in his work.