Meet Ryan Reveles aka FLuX | Artist / Bartender

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Reveles aka FLuX and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, what’s the end goal, career-wise?
There are some goals I wish to accomplish on the path that I’m on. I try to shy away from any “end” idea or concepts. The more I stay present in the moment the better my experience becomes in the creative process. Ultimately, I want to create something that I love and that can be loved by others as well.

The mediums I have chosen has been storytelling through comics and animation. I can view the process of character design and storytelling as sparking life into something. Just as the beginnings of life: simple molecules want to grow and become more complex and ultimately expand to new territories; so, does my art. I want to witness my characters and stories take a life of their own. I want to Witness my story expanding to viewership across the world. I want to witness other people share their wonders, thoughts and ideas about characters I have created that audiences have grown to love. I want my characters and stories to be in the hearts and minds of families through generations to come.

By the end of my career, which, I suppose, is when my hand could no longer hold a pencil, I would want to see my comics and animations adopted, fostered into a new generation of eager artists wanting to continue my stories. I could rest assured knowing my characters would be timeless and remain eternal…

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My art can best be described as spastic cartoony with elements of dark and gritty almost macabre features. It’s been my sandbox to express my own feelings of the comedy and absurdity or life and death. finding Humor in Death is important and you can find that at times in my work. There are elements of satire, that poke fun at society norms and social expectations as well.

The journey has been a lifelong one, and I expect it to continue until my departure. I’ve always viewed my work as a practice, so I never feel like I’m coming to an ending or close to my work. This can feel overwhelming at times, and there are creative breaks or vacations I take to allow my mind to rest and refuel with “life sensory research”. By this, I mean, just living life and experiencing it.

Finding the right balance as well as practicing the balancing act, I have Found to be the most helpful with my creative process. It keeps the fun in my work. This leads to longer timeframes of flow. Then I accomplish better works of art I am proud of.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Naturally, I would encourage them to go to all my favorite dive bars and “hole in the wall” cafes and restaurants. To avoid all the mainstream tourist spots and look for the heartbeat of the city. The places where the locals go. These areas tend to be grittier, and you may witness the darker side of the city. However, this is where you find the richness of the community, the culture, and the stronger bonded families.

For artists and writers, we search for realism, because we are explorers of observation, if you will. We see through the superficial too quickly, it bores us. It’s cookie cutter shapes tailored to appeal to the masses is what has driven us away to explore the deep dark mechanics of “what is”.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate this shout out to all my art instructors and teachers who believed in me even when i didn’t believe in myself.

high school teachers, college professors, even the extra-curricular art classes outside of school

My parents, both have encouraged me in different ways that have helped me be the person I am today

my friends and followers on social medias, all have been super encouraging and supportive of my style and art direction

and thanks to this interview committee for giving me a little spotlight to host my voice and share my thoughts.

Website: trixysparks.thecomicseries.com

Instagram: Ryan_flux

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxdFojobb7tf-V54PgMN5fw

Other: tick-tock : Ryan_flux

Image Credits
all images are mine