This interview was first published on medium.com, February 14, 2023

Detail of the art studio in which Raphael grew up in. Image courtesy of the artist.

by Anna Seaman

Whilst most artists connect with a need for creativity at a young age, Raphael says he was brought up as a child to be fluent in the language of art. “I quite literally grew up inside a piece of art,” he said. “My mother was a painter and when she would run out of canvas she would just turn to the walls, gluing on shards of mirror and painting around them. She was an abstract expressionist and my father was a musician fluent in Middle Eastern woodwinds. We lived in a very rural area in Northern California, surrounded by woods. We had no electricity, no TV; it was just art.”

As a young child, he would explore the endless woods in fascination of the natural world. He would create art, crafting sculptures from branches and twisted limbs of trees. “I was fascinated with textures and the way light would enhance the characteristics. I was definitely not your average kid.” Back at home, he would spend hours drawing those details of twisted wood, creating fantastical creatures from the inspiration of the natural art gallery that lay beyond his doorstep.

“My mom always had this collective of artists that would come stay with us and create art for Burning Man, a lot of conceptual art and sculpture was happening and I always found that really fascinating.”

An image from the beginning of Raphael’s fascination with aerial photography. Image courtesy of the artist

Raphael never seriously considered creating art as a career, thus he never pursued a formal art education. Instead, he taught himself to play guitar and always considered himself a musician. “I was quite accomplished at a young age and I always thought I would be a rockstar when I grew up,” he said. “I also wanted to build guitars so I studied electronics engineering as soon as I was able to leave home at 16.”

But, after a personal tragedy, he turned to creativity. “The best art often comes from personal struggles, and for me it was outright tragedy.”

“At a time that I was at my lowest and couldn’t see a way forward I turned to the open road to remind myself of how big the world is. Traveling alone taught me just how many ways there are to be. I realized that I could re-invent myself around every turn if I wanted, and in some ways I did.” He even went by a different name for a while, “It was like this door opened for me to leave it all behind and re-establish how I would look at the world. This was a period of massive self-growth and the feeling of laying under the stars alone in a remote part of Ireland was one of those elusive feelings that I am now determined to capture and share through my art. Those memories are so strong and I know those moments were my therapy, they are my friends, the friends that kept me alive.”

After returning home to California he went to work as an avionics technician which eventually led him to a fascination with aviation and FPV drone piloting. COVID would see an end to his start up that provided aerial cinematography services and then he stumbled upon the crypto space and NFTs.

“I remember the moment during one of my early deep dives in 2021 that I had this recollection of an old friend that had gotten into something called ‘crypto art’. At the time I had almost no knowledge of what crypto art was and had really just shrugged it off.” Some time later, this friend left his job to go full time in NFTs, “…while that seemed significant I did not grasp at all what was going on.” That friend was Coldie.

A Belle Epoch. One of Raphael’s first NFTs

“Despite a mutual friend urging me to make art with Coldie back in the day I just never reached out. This, to me, is akin to the stories people tell about how they almost bought Bitcoin in 2010. It’s totally my first big oof haha!”

Now however, Raphael has turned to developing his practice and at the heart of his work is a dedication to changing perspectives in his viewers. “Shifting perspective can be really powerful, in art and in life. To survive traumatic experiences, I had to shift my perspective and forgive, so that became my focus with my art.” he said.

With only one Genesis piece minted, before he exhibits work with MORROW collective at Art Dubai in March 2023, Raphael is excited to embark on the next stage of his artistic career. “It feels like a new start but with something that has been with me all my life. I’ve been creating art since day one and I am finally ready to start stopping this train at some stations and welcoming anyone that wants to jump on. It has taken me all over the world and it just might take you as well.”

“Shifting perspective is really powerful, in art and in life.”