Rebeca Raney

What is your drawing process like?

I draw everyday. Using ink and a collection of loved (unwashed and warped) calligraphy and bamboo pens and cheap brushes, I never erase and incorporate mistakes as often as they are made. This results in extra eyes on faces and the feeling of movement made by extra lines. When I draw, I feel powerful.

How did your style of drawing evolve? Which artists do you consider inspiration for your work?

In graduate school, I became unfettered. I started drawing the way I would for a good friend. I stopped oil painting and started hand-embroidering my sculptures. I became selfish in my pursuit of my own pleasure. Anything that wasn’t a fun process went out the window of my studio. The compromise was to work harder at doing what I loved. My inspiration for this way of working is Josh Smith. I don’t know anyone who is busier or more principled.

I became selfish in my pursuit of my own pleasure.

Rebeca Raney

Some collectors have asked if you are Japanese. How do Japanese influences and artists speak to your art making?

I am half Colombian. I would counter that before my work is Japanese, it is youthful and feminine. My best possession as a child was a Hello Kitty comb and mirror. The world of Sanrio has been a pervasive inspiration. Visiting Tokyo in 2010 was heaven on earth. Also, Chinatsu is a Japanese artist who is killing it. Her work harnesses the power of Cute without being about the surface. I aspire to having a depth of narrative within my drawings while maintaining an economy of line and gesture.