Michael Patterson was inspired by Andy Warhol and adopted the moniker, Rex Ray.  The San Francisco-based fine artist and graphic designer was known for his collages as well as his large-scale, 1960’s inspired, brightly colored paintings. He was born in Germany on a United States army base in 1956, grew up in Colorado Springs and studied fine art at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In 1981 he moved to San Francisco, completed his BFA at San Francisco Art Institute, where he entered graduate studies. The following quotes are from the book ‘Rex Ray: Art + Design’:

Creativity:  “A lot of cultural conditioning goes on today, restraining us from doing certain things that might seem silly or useless at the time, but that may have great significance in the end.  Anything that can help break down those barriers and provide an opening for other ideas to emerge is welcome.”

Fearlessness:  “I’m not as much confident as I am fearless.  I have a lot of doubt and a lot of insecurity when I go into a given situation.  But I don’t let it stop me.  It took a long time to find that.”

His work can be found R2 (Rex Ray) Studio, Facebook and Instagram.

Images:  Courtesy of Rex Ray Studio.