Interview with artist Sasha Rayevskiy
Sasha Rayevskiy is a Russian immigrant, now a US citizen, living in Springdale, Arkansas. He is primarily a muralist whose images often reflect his Russian heritage and culture depicted in a pop style infused with bright colors and fanciful energy – and on a large scale. More examples of Sasha’s work can be found at his Instagram and Facebook pages, his YouTube channel, and at the Art Collective Gallery in Rogers, Arkansas. (Profile photo by Andrew Brown)
AAS: Sasha, I understand you are a Russian immigrant. How did you end up in Northwest Arkansas?
SR: Yes, I moved to the states with my family in 1996. Jonesboro, Arkansas is where we settled in and restarted. As far as education, I was never too fond of school. I slept through most of it and graduated from Jonesboro High in 2007. I went to massage therapy school after that and became a licensed massage therapist and also had a very brief stint at Arkansas State University. I moved to Northwest Arkansas in the beginning of 2013. At the time, I really just wanted some change (I had been in Jonesboro the entire time). It was an area that wasn’t too far away from my parents and I had some friends that were already there so that made the move a lot easier.
AAS: As a full-time artist and muralist reflecting pop culture, do you think your art would be different if you were still in Russia?
Photo by Andrew Brown.
SR: Yeah, I think it would be vastly different. I am a self-taught artist. My work now is completely different from when I was younger. After we moved, I was always helping translate English for my mom, so I would be at her gymnastics classes after school and during summer breaks. To stay entertained, I always had a sketchbook with me and “lived” in my imagination. I think had I completely grown up in Russia I would have taken a more “traditional” approach to art and it would’ve been more of a hobby.
I loved (and still do) watching cartoons and Japanese Anime growing up. Genndy Tartakovsky (the Russian-American animation director responsible for Dexter’s Lab, Samurai Jack , Powerpuff Girls) and the Japanese manga artist, Akira Toriyama (Dragon ball) are artists I admire. But when it came to more traditional artists (because I didn’t like school) I never really paid much attention, so it never really crossed my mind to even research them. My mom always encouraged my brother and I to strive towards originality in our works and that always stuck with me. I really didn’t get into finding other artists works until I started diving into Street Art and getting completely immersed in spray paint – artists like Tristan Eaton, Nychos, Persue1, Sofles and Does.
Rosewood, acrylic paint, 20’ x 10’, Harry’s Downtown in Fort Smith, Arkansas
AAS: You have done some amazing interior walls for businesses. Rosewood at Harry’s Downtown in Fort Smith and Kanpai at Nara Ramen in Rogers are spectacular. Would you talk about those murals and some of your signature elements they contain?
SR: Thank you, I really like those two pieces. Rosewood was a lot of fun. I was told to do my “thing” and try and incorporate some “Grateful Dead” elements. I started with the girl in the middle and branched out from there. I didn’t do any preliminary drawings or anything. I went down there, sketched out the girl and proceeded to draw my bubbles, and flowers. For Nara Ramen, I was commissioned to do 2 walls, I came to the agreement with the owners that I’d paint a wall in the theme that they wanted, and I would get the other wall to paint my interpretation of their restaurant. I love Japanese culture, history and noodles so that was a super fun project.
The Matryoshka doll is an homage to being a Russian immigrant and I made her into a spray can since that is my preferred medium. The bubbles are paint that is coming out of the doll usually. They have all sorts of faces and emotions, Most of the time they're pretty happy and that stems from the emotion and comments I get from people seeing public art being put up and the general mood I like to convey.
Kanpai, latex wall paint, 30’ x 10’, Ramen Nara in Rogers, Arkansas
AAS: How does one get started as a muralist and get jobs? A canvas artist can bring work to a gallery and say, “Here is what I can do.” How did you get clients to trust what you could do?
SR: I started by painting gyms. After I moved, I went to a gym that was near where I was staying and had a random conversation with one of the managers and showed him some simple stuff I did for a gym back in Jonesboro. They asked me to paint a couple of phrases on a wall with a little artist flare and when the owner saw what I could do he wanted the whole place completely done up with whatever. I got some spray paint and had my own little playground. People saw it and word of mouth started to spread. I would get contacted about doing something for their business and it grew from there. Instagram helps a whole lot too, haha. As far as trust goes, I think the catalogue I had helped a lot. It helped people to trust me and let them know that if you let an artist have more creative freedom then in return, you will get a much better product. A lot of the earlier ones were practically free, I just wanted to paint walls, get experience and build up a portfolio of some sort.
2020 for SprayKC, Kobra spray paint, 60’ x 28’, Parkway Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri
AAS: You did a very large mural on the Parkway Plaza building in Kansas City. That must have been a very challenging work.
SR: That was such a fun project. I got contacted about painting that building after working with CBD American Shaman in Fayetteville for the “Sprayetteville” event in 2020. They started a non-profit called “Spray KC” to handle these kinds of projects and sent me a photo of the building and offered me a wall. I was so excited to paint something so tall. As far as the design goes, we (the artists) were asked, if we wanted, to include something about current events in 2020. Since mine was technically 3 separate walls due to the building I approached it from 3 angles. All the fires in Australia and the US, water/global pollution and the Black Lives Matter movement.
From a technical standpoint we were supplied boom lifts to be able to reach the heights and be able to paint the walls fast enough. It was a bit grueling, but we got lucky with good weather and working alongside other incredible artists (Scribe, JT Daniels, Anna Charney and Octavio Logo) kept me motivated. I was painting anywhere from 10-16 hours a day and got it all done in 5 days.
Neon Justice, spray paint, 14’ x 30’, 7th Street Mural Project in Little Rock, Arkansas
AAS: Public mural projects are springing up more and more now. Last year you were a part of the 7th Street Mural project in Little Rock. Would you talk about that project and your mural Neon Justice?
SR: It’s great to see a broader appreciation for Street Art in Arkansas. I got to meet and work with Jermaine Gibson and Jose Hernandez at Sprayetteville last year. They started and run the 7th Street Mural Project. They contacted me and Samuel Hale about doing a piece down there after explaining what it was all about. Neon Justice is my depiction of Lady Justice with multi colored fists in the air. It symbolizes all the people that rallied behind the Black Lives Matter movement.
AAS: What is it about large-scale murals that excites you?
SR: I've been drawn to large-scale works since I was a kid – I drew all over my walls when I was a teenager. Walls are unique. You can't just go and "get" a wall to paint like a canvas. They're always different and the surrounding environment helps dictate how the piece will turn out. I just like the challenge of large pieces.
AAS: How do you deal with weathering of the paint and vandalism or is that just the nature of the game? Do you use any kind of special outdoor paints?
SR: I just let it be, I’ve always had a “nothing lasts forever” mentality and street art is the same. I think there’s a beauty in it when public artwork becomes just a memory. As far as vandalism goes it’s something that just happens, but it sucks when it does.
I mainly try to stick to higher quality spray paints like Kobra. Other brands also like are MTN 94, Ironlak, Molotow and Montana. I used their products for most of 2020 and really enjoy working with them.
Dragon’s Gate (cropped), Kobra spray paint, 13’ x 40’, B-Unlimited building on Center Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas
AAS: Dragon’s Gate and Waveman in Fayetteville both incorporate a tiger – your alter ego Tigersasha. Would you talk about those murals?
SR: Yeah, so Waveman was the first time I ever painted a tiger in one of my pieces. I’ve been “Tigersasha” for about 8 years now. The name stems from my old punk band I had with my brother and some friends. I like tigers, I think they’re an incredible animal and their depictions throughout history and various cultures fascinates me. Seeing them as a symbol of power, beauty and rarity and including them in my work I think adds a lot to the imagery I paint.
Waveman, 14’ x 28’, spray paint, downtown Bentonville, Arkansas
AAS: You also do some canvas work in a similar style but of course on a very small scale by comparison. When you first conceive a design, do you have to think of it in a different way when it will be 30 feet or 30 inches?
SR: Somewhat. I developed this art style so that I can have a consistency across numerous mediums - digital, street art and fine art. When it comes to canvas work, that is usually the time that I get to mess around with new ideas, techniques and really explore. The approach is pretty similar as if it were a wall. The shape of the wall helps dictate the movement I put into a piece as does a canvas. Through painting so many large-scale pieces I’ve developed some efficiencies and have adapted them to canvas works. I just wish I could paint a 30” x 40” canvas as fast as I can paint a 30 ft wall.
Mascara, 48” x 36”, acrylic and spray paint on canvas
AAS: Two of your canvas works, Mascara and Lilac Dreams play on the contrast between the Matryoshka doll’s traditional female role with your idealized sensual woman of today. Are these images a comment on Russian culture? What kinds of reactions have these images generated?
SK: It's kind of a comment on a lot of things. I’m working on a “story”, that will help explain the doll (along with a lot of the other characters I paint) and how she fits in with the images of the women I depict.
Lilac Dreams, 48” x 96”, acrylic on wood panel
AAS: You are also doing some digital art and have a new business venture. Would you talk about that?
SR: Yeah so, I got into screen printing about a decade ago to create a clothing line with my brother. That idea kind of dwindled away after time, but I still kept on with that goal and screen printing. I recently acquired a new print shop that I just rebuilt to pursue more of my goals in art and apparel. I’m a huge fan of screen-printed posters and have always wanted to create my own along with new merchandise and building a side brand of mine that focuses on one of my other lifelong passions. I am very excited to start expanding my art portfolio through the print shop/new studio.
AAS: What projects are next for you?
SR: I just came back from The Walls Art Park in Waverly, Tennessee, for their spring jam where I painted a 30ft x 9ft wall over the weekend (see below). It's such an incredible event, I had so much fun being there painting and hanging out/meeting a ton of incredible artists from all over the country. The Waverly Project was an excellent way to kick off "Mural Season". I have a couple projects lined up for the summer that I'm really excited about along with applying for others in various states.
Walls Art Park in Waverly, Tennessee
