Uploaded December 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Dusty Ray is an American painter who works in gouache, oils and anything else he can get his hands on. His nightmarish, visceral work brings to life surreal mutant beasts. Wolves, pets, insects and the occasional faceless human are re-spawned as multi-dimensional beings and terrifying gods, sliced up, faceless, or growing slimy, hellish appendages. These creatures invite the viewer into a visceral world that, whilst raw and threatening, is also imbued with an unsettling, humorous charm.
[from:beinart.org/collections/dusty-ray?srsltid=AfmBOooYqHaCJSRnWKNYOipN4RaWa6xYg64-ThsPUcOPdTg61il5Yhm0]
Your images are always full of pathos and violence. What’s your relationship with violence in art? Do you feel a catharsis while painting?
"I don’t always try to portray violence in my work, nor do I see most of my work as inherently violent. I am trying to portray beauty in a different way, the bold colors in our guts and the subtle beauty in light reflecting off of wet surfaces. The violence people see in my work isn’t always reflective of actual violence, just my own idea of beauty, maybe that’s because I am desensitized, or we are all desensitized. My animal paintings lean more towards a deliberate portrayal of human violence against nature, though that’s not always my explicit intent. I certainly feel a sort of catharsis when painting, a sort of release that I can’t get any other way than from painting. Lately I have tried to work more slowly and mindfully, so even getting myself to sit down and actually do the act of painting is a catharsis in itself, the funny way depression gives you these little victories."
You work in a digital environment, but with traditional painting methods.
Do you think that material components are part of the creative process?
"Certain materials are important to me, but I think you can be creative and produce heavy work within any medium. I don’t strictly work with traditional materials, I love making digital collages and recently have begun using parts of many different paintings and incorporating them into large digital edits. It’s a way of seeing my work in a new light and gives me inspiration for my traditional work. Traditional will always be my favorite though, I have tried digital painting and it’s not really for me, I am extremely tactile and need to feel the texture and paint. I appreciate digital art but mostly when it knows it is digital and flourishes in its own medium without trying to imitate traditional. Moving as a mostly traditional artist in a digital space can be interesting, since most of my audience will never actually see a physical piece, only a digital version on their phone. I try to play with this disconnect, working very small, trying to confuse the eye as to how large my work actually is or if it even exists at all."
[from:impeachedmag.com/artist-feature/in-conversation-with-dusty-ray where you can find the whole interview with the artist]
Music: Terrace Of Memories – Of Silent Crossings
Dusty Ray is an American painter who works in gouache, oils and anything else he can get his hands on. His nightmarish, visceral work brings to life surreal mutant beasts. Wolves, pets, insects and the occasional faceless human are re-spawned as multi-dimensional beings and terrifying gods, sliced up, faceless, or growing slimy, hellish appendages. These creatures invite the viewer into a visceral world that, whilst raw and threatening, is also imbued with an unsettling, humorous charm.
[from:beinart.org/collections/dusty-ray?srsltid=AfmBOooYqHaCJSRnWKNYOipN4RaWa6xYg64-ThsPUcOPdTg61il5Yhm0]
Your images are always full of pathos and violence. What’s your relationship with violence in art? Do you feel a catharsis while painting?
"I don’t always try to portray violence in my work, nor do I see most of my work as inherently violent. I am trying to portray beauty in a different way, the bold colors in our guts and the subtle beauty in light reflecting off of wet surfaces. The violence people see in my work isn’t always reflective of actual violence, just my own idea of beauty, maybe that’s because I am desensitized, or we are all desensitized. My animal paintings lean more towards a deliberate portrayal of human violence against nature, though that’s not always my explicit intent. I certainly feel a sort of catharsis when painting, a sort of release that I can’t get any other way than from painting. Lately I have tried to work more slowly and mindfully, so even getting myself to sit down and actually do the act of painting is a catharsis in itself, the funny way depression gives you these little victories."
You work in a digital environment, but with traditional painting methods.
Do you think that material components are part of the creative process?
"Certain materials are important to me, but I think you can be creative and produce heavy work within any medium. I don’t strictly work with traditional materials, I love making digital collages and recently have begun using parts of many different paintings and incorporating them into large digital edits. It’s a way of seeing my work in a new light and gives me inspiration for my traditional work. Traditional will always be my favorite though, I have tried digital painting and it’s not really for me, I am extremely tactile and need to feel the texture and paint. I appreciate digital art but mostly when it knows it is digital and flourishes in its own medium without trying to imitate traditional. Moving as a mostly traditional artist in a digital space can be interesting, since most of my audience will never actually see a physical piece, only a digital version on their phone. I try to play with this disconnect, working very small, trying to confuse the eye as to how large my work actually is or if it even exists at all."
[from:impeachedmag.com/artist-feature/in-conversation-with-dusty-ray where you can find the whole interview with the artist]
Music: Terrace Of Memories – Of Silent Crossings
