
Studio Journal
Exploring Abstraction
Studio Journal: Musings on Art, Life, and Becoming
Reflections, Ideas, and Insights from Inside the Artist’s Studio
Studio Journal is where I reflect on the quieter questions of being an artist. These writings are part idea book, part personal philosophy—exploring what it means to create, to observe, and to move through the art world with intention. From musings on creative discipline and daily rituals, to thoughts on beauty, meaning, and the unseen structures that shape our lives, each post invites you into my studio as a space of inquiry and becoming. Here, art is not just something I make—it is how I think, listen, and live.
12 Urgent Picks: September 2025 Los Angeles Art Shows You Can’t Miss
This September, Los Angeles ignites with an extraordinary array of abstract and immersive art shows—from cinematic reconfigurations to textile-driven meditations. Dive into our curated guide to the 12 must-see exhibitions, complete with press acclaim, accessibility, pricing, and how each centers abstraction in powerful, innovative ways.
Emotional Abstract Art: The Complete Guide to Powerful Visual Experience and Transformative Collecting
Beauty, the world, and art form a cycle: the world offers raw material, art transforms it, and beauty emerges as the gift. This manifesto explores why I paint — not to escape the world, but to reveal its hidden beauty.
Beauty, World, and Art: A Manifesto on Why I Paint
Emotional abstract art is more than décor—it’s a pulse, a mirror, and a refuge. In this guide, I share how to spot emotionally powerful works, why they matter in today’s collecting culture, and where to experience them firsthand.
Top 12 Phoenix Artists Transforming the Contemporary Art Scene
Phoenix’s contemporary art scene thrives at the intersection of grassroots energy and international recognition. This guide highlights 12 of the city’s leading artists—spanning painters, muralists, sculptors, and mixed-media innovators—who are shaping how we see and experience art today. Whether you’re a collector, curator, or simply exploring, these profiles provide a roadmap to the Valley’s most impactful creators, with Ritu Raj standing out for his versatile, commission-ready practice.
The Completion of Listening in Painting: A Reflective Journey Through Thread and Color
Painting, for me, is listening. Not with the ears, but with openness to color, texture, and gesture. In my thread paintings, completion arises not when I decide, but when the work itself declares: enough. This moment of distinction, echoing Heidegger’s thought on listening, transforms process into presence.
Sharing is Showing: Painting as Disclosure
Sharing is showing. For Ritu Raj, painting is not possession but disclosure—a letting-be that fulfills itself only in presence. Rooted in Heidegger’s idea of unconcealment, his work opens a space for others to dwell through color, gesture, and form.
Ritu Raj vs Top 5 Online Art Platforms: Where to Buy Abstract Art
Artist Ritu Raj contrasts the benefits of direct commissioning with the reach of leading online marketplaces for abstract art. This guide helps collectors navigate platform curation, provenance checks, and scale considerations to make confident, emotionally resonant purchases.
The Return of the Tactile: Why Organic Movement Matters Now
In a world overwhelmed by screens and algorithms, a new aesthetic revolution is quietly blooming—rooted in texture, imperfection, and the raw rhythms of nature. “Organic Movement” is more than a trend; it's a return to something primal and enduring, where art reconnects us to the world we nearly forgot how to feel. In this guided gallery walk, we spotlight 15 pioneering artists redefining abstraction through fiber, form, and natural resonance.
Marketing Art in the Age of Financialization: A Guide to Speaking to Every Collector
In today’s art world, your audience might love your work—but for very different reasons. This guide breaks down how to effectively market your art to aesthetic collectors, investor collectors, and speculators, based on their motivations, timelines, and values.
Twine as a Radical Canvas for Contemporary Art
Affordable twine-based art is redefining what belongs in a gallery. More than a material, twine becomes a visual system—democratic, textured, and conceptually rich. This is art for a new age of meaning and accessibility.
7 Groundbreaking Art Techniques for 2025: AI, Bio, and Organic Innovations
Discover the seven most groundbreaking art techniques of 2025. From AI and biofabricated pigments to Ritu Raj’s signature Organic Movement, explore innovation shaping tomorrow’s art world.
Modern Abstract Art Black and White: Timeless Monochrome for Contemporary Spaces
Discover the timeless pull of modern abstract art in black and white — a style rooted in contrast, clarity, and emotional subtlety.
Reclaiming Creativity Later in Life: It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again
After decades in business, I returned to painting—not to reinvent myself, but to remember something I had set aside. In this post, I share how reclaiming creativity later in life reshaped my time, attention, and way of being. For anyone who’s delayed their artistic calling, this is a reminder: it’s never too late to begin again.
A Shift in Temperature: My 2023 Paintings
In 2023, I turned toward the intangible — painting atmosphere, pause, and sensation. This year taught me to let silence, softness, and subtlety take the lead.
The Year of Wanting More: My 2024 Paintings
In 2024, my paintings wandered — between styles, materials, and ideas — but always carried the same quiet urgency: to feel more, see more, and leave space for what cannot be named.
Is Being an Artist Living a Life of Suffering?
Does being an artist mean living a life of suffering? For Ritu Raj, art is not about pain alone — it’s about feeling fully, reflecting deeply, and living awake.
The Half-Life of Abstraction
In abstraction, nothing stays still. Meaning mutates, dissolves, and renews. In this reflection, artist Ritu Raj explores the idea of the half-life of abstraction—the invisible moment when an artwork’s original intention begins to decay, and a new field of perception emerges between viewer and canvas.
An Exploration of Organic Abstraction, Primal Forces, and Material Innovation
Ritu Raj’s Organic Movement Collection explores cosmic forces, chaos, and organic abstraction through innovative twine painting on wet oil canvas.
A Study of Monochrome Abstraction, Human Emotion, and Material Minimalism
Bold, emotional abstraction exploring tension, identity, and cosmic motion through monochrome art.
Large-Scale Abstract Art: How It Transforms Spaces
Large-scale abstract art does more than fill a wall — it transforms space, mood, and energy. Discover how scale invites new ways of seeing and feeling.