Ray Donley

Figure in Red

2011

For Ray Donley, the classical ideals of the Baroque and Renaissance period are where he pulls much of his inspiration and style. It is from these classical techniques that create the timeless quality in his work. But Ray’s work, especially this series “Los Bien Perdidos”, The Lost Ones, delves much deeper into the psychological essence of his characters.

According to Ray, “ I'm wanting very passionately to say something about the human condition, and I think that's what great art does. It jolts us into taking a refined look at our situation and the kind of world we inherited, maybe to promote change, I don't know. These individuals that I create – 99 percent of them through my imagination – are on a journey, some sojourn: getting lost, getting found, setting out. Perhaps suggesting that we're all lost in some emotional, spiritual, psychological, cosmological way. That's been the burden of my art since I announced to the world that I was an artist.”

Ray is a contemporary portrait artist that currently lives in Austin, Texas. He has been exhibiting since 1981 in galleries, museums and universities throughout the United States, Europe and Mexico.

Figure in Red is 20x16, framed to 25x22.