1963

Artist, Ray Phillips has always held a passion for creating art. Like many artists, Ray's artistic journey began as a young child, covering every scrap of paper and blank space available to him with his drawing. Quickly, it become evident to his mother, that Phillips' desire to create was insatiable and required a direction. She sacrificed, supported and encouraged him to cultivate his talents by enrolling him in the prestigious Houston Museum of Fine Art School, now known as the Glassell School of Art. Through this opportunity, he learned the fundamentals of art, an education that would continue throughout his life and lead to a professional career in design and music. As an adult, Phillips focused his artistic attention on graphic design and music; playing in a band at night and creating ad campaigns, posters, t-shirts, logos and branding for a long list of clients by day.

Design and music created a challenging puzzle that was stimulating and interesting Phillips and he soon rose to become a partner/creative director of a design and marketing firm in Houston, Texas; yet the longing to create fine art was still present. He soon learned that no experience or turn in the road in his journey was a wasted effort and began creating fine art in the evenings, integrating the skills and techniques he learned as a designer.

Phillips' work has evolved into an amalgam of typography, abstract composition, collage/ mixed media and hidden secrets. No single painting begins as a manic expression with the stroke of the brush; rather each piece is initiated in Ray's mind and translated to canvas. His work is as much an intellectual pursuit as a creative endeavor, as evident when he speaks about his work.

Enough is never enough. Each piece is like a series of small battles - something to overcome in an ongoing effort to please myself. The creative process is sometimes very exhausting, unlike the interpretation some have that it's always therapeutic with ideas just flying onto the canvas.