Rawls Oner

October 17, 2023

The influence of Japanese styled drawings that Rawl's older brother drew as kids are some of the first memories he has of art and the desire to create. His brother went another direction while Rawls continued to hone these skills till this day. What he has created with his miniatures takes you to the alleys and the ghettos, the tagged-up dumpsters and the hood nail shops. He does this with an incredible attention to detail and in one piece he has carefully crafted french fries and a tiny rat eating them outside a door that is vandalized. The rat himself is probably only the size of a fingernail.

As a teen he created characters and illustrations. Eventually he went as far as getting a part time job to pay for private courses. Apart from the year and a half of classes he is completely self-taught.

It was there at a sculpting class where he met some graffiti writers and began taking an interest in the culture.

Below you can see a very tiny rat feasting on french fries and a leftover burger that Rawls has molded.

We asked Rawls a few questions about his process, and these were his responses.

1. Did you do art before graffiti? self-taught or art school?
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"I've been drawing since I was a child with the influence of Japanese drawings it was me and my older brother drawing. Then my brother stopped, and I continued. I started creating characters in my teens. I got a part-time job so I could study in a private course for about a year and a half... but to improve myself and meet more artists. I've always been self-taught. After the course I started to dedicate myself to sculpting characters. I did that for a while, then I was invited to teach drawing and sculpture classes for children and teenagers. There I met some graffiti artists who had taken a course where I was working. Until that moment my contact with spray paint was vandalism. Through these friends I made my first graffiti piece... we are talking about 2010."

2. Are there any tools or art supplies you wish you had or knew about when you first started out?

We all know that graffiti is not inexpensive, the greatest problem here is importing quality spray paint from national brands. We do the best with what we have. I'm currently interested in digital tools and it's something I intend to study in the coming months. I spent a large part of my life developing characters in the traditional mediums: paint, pen, pencil and paper. When I started making dioramas in 2017, I didn't do illustrations as much during this time, but I would like to go back to it. Perhaps leaning towards more towards digital renditions.

3. Did you do art before graffiti? self-taught or art school?

Since I was a child my brother and I drew with a heavy influence in Japanese styled anime. Then my brother stopped, and I continued. I started creating characters in my teens and got a part-time job so I could study a private course; this was for about 1 year and a half... This was to improve myself and connect with other artists, but I've always been self-taught. After the course I started to dedicate myself to sculpting characters. I did that for a while, then I was invited to teach drawing and sculpture classes for children and teenagers. There I met some graffiti artists who had taken a course where I was working. Until that moment my contact with spray paint was vandalism. Through these friends I made my first graffiti piece... this was somewhere in 2010."

4. On your bad days how do you stay inspired to create?

"I believe that we cannot always be inspired but after spending so much time as an artist I've learned that the inspiration comes within the process. So, it is necessary to take the first step for things to evolve. It's funny but I'm creative on my bad days too. Good music inspires, going to exhibitions too but it's all within us. I believe we have what it takes to produce an infinite number of things."

Rawl's is a Brazilian graffiti writer, sculptor, mold maker and skater who throws a lot of energy into whatever artistic expression he gets into, and as a result it takes you to those places where graffiti culture exists. Several different mediums are used to create one of his pieces from sculpting to mold making and so forth. To purchase work or to learn more about Raw1 visit his Instagram profile: @Rawls.Oner