T H E A U T H O R
Based out of New York City, Ruben F. Ruvalcaba, aka Ruflas, is a Software Engineer, Photographer, and Art student who finds inspiration in nature, architecture, and his own life. In 2004, he started drawing and participating in drawing contests; his passion for the arts has been growing and developing ever since. 3 years later, in 2007, he began painting and doing photography as a hobby. At the age of 25, he went to “Universidad de Medios Audiovisuales” (CAAV) in Guadalajara, Mexico, to attend street photography and filmmaking courses.
In 2019, he moved on to NYC to work as a full-time Software Engineer; however, he continues doing digital and film photography, short films, and painting at “The Art Students League of New York”.
Check out more of his work and alter ego at: @rubenzoom and @rubenfloresart
T H E I N S P O
The inspiration comes mostly from the atmosphere that surrounds three things: nature, cities, and humans.
It’s an incredible balance of peace, noise, and contemplation. On one side, there is nature with its mysterious essence, its quietness, the sound of the air, the singing of the birds, the growing trees, and the waves sliding over the sand.
On the other side lies the agitated lifestyle and rhythm of the city, the sound of an ambulance fading between buildings, the darkness sheltering the streets at night, the lights illuminating thousands of windows, the passage of time embodied in architecture, and the movement of people against the static.
And finally, there are human expressions and bodies, a flow of energy that releases sensuality, sexuality, feelings, abstraction, desires, and much more.
I find an intimate relationship between these three. It takes time, evolution, and constant change to create harmony and development. It’s like planting the seed of a tree and watching it grow, or laying the foundation of a building, where shapes and forms determine the beauty of the essence.
The same applies to painting.
M O T I V A T I O N
Leaving a trace of your existence is a necessity in life. Creating art is a way to achieve it; it’s inheriting your essence in a piece. You download your ideas and feelings into a creation until it takes shape and becomes a reality, but the process is not always that easy, we need inspiration, space, be surrounded by phenomena, and cultures, and I believe that when people’s ideas that are not yet shaped interact with these elements, creations evolve faster and the process becomes funnier.