A Fresh Start: Launching My Online Tee Shirt Shop

It’s been way too long since I wrote one of these, but now feels like the right time. For those I haven’t connected with in a while, consider this a long-overdue update. And for anyone curious about someone else’s creative journey, I hope this offers a little escapism.

A lot has changed for me since 2020. Like many of my colleagues, I was laid off during the pandemic. While that could have been a devastating experience, I saw it as an opportunity for reinvention. I had been longing for a change but was too comfortable to make the leap on my own. With the city in lockdown, I treated it as an unexpected silent retreat—filling my days with meditation, exercise, art, music, reading, and cooking. It was a creative renaissance for me, and I made the most of it.

As things began to reopen, my partner, Stephen, wrapped a job in New Orleans and returned to LA, where he landed a pilot for a TV series. He asked if I’d be interested in coordinating for the art department, which I had done for him once before. That gig got me the union hours I needed to join IATSE, opening up a new career path. From there, I worked on a Netflix reality show, a Reese Witherspoon film, and a Rob Lowe series called Unstable. That first pilot, the one that started it all, was picked up for a full season—and filming took me to Argentina, a country I quickly fell in love with. Living and working in Buenos Aires and Bariloche, collaborating with an incredibly talented art department, and experiencing first-class travel for the first time was nothing short of magical.

Then, just as I returned to LA, the industry-wide strikes began. Our show was shelved as Disney decided to take a loss rather than invest in post-production and marketing. With my newfound career path at a standstill, I started looking for work. I used my design skills, LinkedIn Premium, ChatGPT, and personal connections to job hunt. After months of effort, I got just one interview. Was I too old? AARP’s Working for Yourself After 50 course suggested I might be—over half of candidates in that age bracket face age-related questions in interviews, even though it’s illegal. Regardless of the reason, it was clear: my new old career path was no longer viable. It was time to pivot.

I formed a sole proprietorship, then folded it into an LLC. I found an accountant, tackled all the necessary paperwork, and started looking for my own clients. My goal? To apply the hands-on skills I’d developed over the years. Back in college, I ran a tee shirt shop for the University of North Texas, printing iron-ons and vinyl designs. Later, as a print production manager, I used similar techniques for mockups, presentation materials, and new business collateral. In TV and film, I helped set designers create background art, custom props, and other unique elements. All of this experience led me to My Branding Shop—a business dedicated to helping small and micro-businesses with customized merchandise and branding materials.

As part of my own brand-building efforts, I decided to be my first client. In late 2024, I began vending at markets, selling stickers, stationery, and tee shirts featuring my own illustrations. The response was overwhelmingly positive, which inspired me to take the next step: launching my own online brand, Fulano D. Tal. Based on market feedback, I’ve refined my designs and product offerings, and now, I’m just three weeks away from going live. The backend is built, and now it’s time to focus on marketing and promotion. I’m excited, optimistic, and a bit nervous.

If you’ve made it this far—congratulations! It’s rare to find someone who still has the attention span for long-form storytelling. I wanted to share this journey not only to hold myself accountable but also to build a sense of community around this new venture. If you’ve ever launched a project like this, I’d love to hear your insights—what worked, what didn’t, and what you wish you had known earlier. And if you’re just here for the ride, welcome! I’m happy to offer a glimpse into my world and invite you to connect.

Most importantly, I’d love for you to stay in the loop as Fulano D. Tal comes to life. Sign up for my email list, and you’ll be the first to know when we launch, plus get exclusive updates and special offers. Let’s keep this creative journey going together.

Sign up for updates here:
https://fulanodtal.com/pages/coming-soon

Best wishes and continual fresh starts,

Ray Ortiz

Bring on 2024~ Looking for projects!

Happy Holidays!  

What a whirlwind of a year. I can report that after completing a season of Pressure Cooker for Netflix, I did some move reshoots for “Your Place or Mine” with Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher, worked on Season 1 of Rob Lowe’s vehicle “Unstable” (both projects also for Netflix), and a full season of “While You Were Breeding”, the last 5 months of which I got to work in Argentina! 

Came back in May, to the writer’s and later the actor’s strikes. After such a productive year and a half, and leaving behind a wonderful crew of 32 art department craftspeople in Buenos Aires, it was a shock to land back in the quiet state of unemployment. Now, hitting the computer and looking for leads - if you know of any upcoming production work, please hit me up! Any leads are appreciated.

Anyhow, I hope this entry finds you well, and that this year brings unexpected growth and abundance.
May you cultivate flow, get to express your talents, emotions, and ideas, and experience discovery and wonder.

Ray Ortiz

New year - New work!

Been a minute since my last post. As I’m sure is the case for many people, the pandemic brought so much change and upheaval for me as well. I was laid off from the agency I was working at for eleven years, found myself isolated with the world shut down momentarily, and my partner out of state for work. It was a life imposed silent retreat. Much has happened since.

On the work front, I joined IATSE local 871, the TV/film union for, among other roles, art department coordinators. I got my second pilot under my belt in November and will be starting on a reality show production for Netflix next week. It’s exciting to explore this new career path - I was a radio/tv/film minor in college and this field was an aspiration for me, so I am grateful for this new opportunity!

I started some doodling courses on Domestika, bought a fresh new sketchbook, and to express my excitement, I made this. Enjoy!

Latest Work - a bittersweet portrait of Paul and Mike

I’ve been working on a painting for the last few months, and I’d like to share its story.

For many years, I’ve fantasized of arranging my life and finances such that I could focus on my artwork as a full time pursuit. I’ve worked in advertising for over 20 years, and it has served me tremendously, from affording me group health coverage when pre-existing clauses ruled out the possibility of an individual policy, to the need to show consistent pay when we embarked on financing a home. For these things I am grateful, but this dream of having the independence to live creatively has always lingered. Three hours in traffic and a moving target of responsibilities seemed to be what I had to accept to maintain my life in Los Angeles.

Then COVID hit. The agency where I had worked for the last 11 years had been having losses and I hurried to refinance my house and arrange my life to be able to withstand a layoff. Things landed and I found myself like many during this pandemic, with a lot more time on my hands. My partner Steve was in New Orleans for work, and a six month job turned into over a year. Thankfully, severance, unemployment insurance, savings, and my partner’s unwavering support made the situation a silver lining in a tumultuous year of challenges. I could hunker down at home, alone, weather the pandemic, while focusing my energies on revising my art practice. I signed up for #quarantinedartistexchange (check it out on IG - wonderful stuff!!!), lost 25lbs, amped up my meditation, and organized my art studio. I was ready and willing to meet the moment.

Isn’t if funny how when you are ready for something, life responds?

My cousin Paul was raised in California - I grew up in Texas. When I moved to Los Angeles, we overlapped for a while and were able to connect. His humor and intelligence resonated with me for obvious reason (ahem..) and the fact that he was also the gay son only made us more compatible friends. Ironically, he ended up moving to Texas and we had not been in touch for some time. Paul and his husband Mike had met when they were quite young and had enjoyed a relationship that spanned almost two decades. However, Mike had been struggling as of late with cancer. Fuck cancer.

Paul reached out and commissioned me to do their portrait. He had a picture that captured them in a happy moment. It was low resolution and small in size, but he was attached to it nonetheless. I started bouncing off ideas with Paul in hopes of bringing some of their personality and aesthetic into the picture and solving for the limitations in the source material. The guys have a very unique style in how they present themselves and how they decorated their incredible home. On a virtual tour of their house we came across a wonderful chandelier that had a fantastic backstory to boot. I felt inspired and had Paul send me photographs of it. The geometry of it, the elements - crystal pears and strawberries - sparked an idea.

I looked up the work of Kehinde Wiley, who did president Obama’s presidential portrait. The background would be approached in a similar way, with colors and pattern that echoed Paul and Mike’s home. It would also put the portrait in a conceptual space, taking them out of the literal. It’s iconography would mean something personal to them. Yes! I got to work.

Time went on and I worked two hours here, four hours there. Unfortunately Mike’s cancer worked faster and he died before I would complete the work. I’m not sure how to feel about this. I’m glad we got to meet over FaceTime and that the work was begun when he was here, but now it changed what the painting was about - it was now in memory of Mike. The situation was made worse when, over the holidays Paul’s dad, my uncle Mike, also passed away. No one will be left untouched by COVID and now our family was part of it's history. My cousin was in pain, but the painting as a project kept us in contact and collaboration.

I finished and shipped the painting a week ago, and the painting arrived in San Antonio last Friday. Paul was generous and gracious in his response to it. There is a popular “dicho” in Mexico - no hay mal que por bien no venga. Roughly translated it means that when you are visited by the bad, there is some inevitable good that will result as a consequence of it. Paul’s friend came over and saw the painting and shared a photo of it with her sister on the east coast.The next day I received a commission to do three more portraits.

Although I was happy with how the final painting came out, what I will treasure most is reconnecting with my cousin, being support for each other when tragedy struck, emotions were amplified, and isolation challenged us. The image is an artifact of a very specific period in our collective history, and I hope with more time it becomes a portal to a love lived and a comfort in a time of loss.

Thank you Paul for supporting my dream. Rest in peace Mike.

With love, Ray

Quarantined Artist Postcard Exchange

June 1, 2021

A bittersweet end to our #quarantinedartistexchange - thank you @lisa.rawlinson for building community and keeping people connected through unprecedented isolation. Last card goes to @saravanderbeek with well wishes and optimism for the future xoxo. This

March 23, 2021

Sent out a prom pose to @chuckandgeorge - #quarantinedartistexchange - nice to have a gay couple in the mix for the exchange! Particularly one with ties to art school.

February 20, 2021

Added three more postcards to this project. February - “God Save the Queen” - watercolor and parchment paper . January: Guadalupe. December: “Papel PiCovid”.

November 22, 2020

For November, I sent out my interpretation of the Strength tarot card, based off of the Rider Waite original. As someone interested in dismantling gender constructs, I love this card. In the Rider Waite deck, strength is depicted as a woman who has tamed a lion with her nurturing will, rather that the brute male physicality we tend to associate with strength in modern society. In my card, the picture is populated by Jonothan Borofsky’s Ballerina Clown, a mix of high and low art images and male and female, and a Jeff Koons inspired balloon animal, art being the beast my surrogate is attempting to tame (create?). A target serves as a sunset and a circus tent is the mountain off in the distance. Hope you like it <3.

October 21, 2020

Added two more entries to the Quarantined Artist Postcard Exchange. Below are October submission, “Coming Soon”, sent out last week to @seanslatteryart in Las Vegas, Baby! as well as September’s “Modest Nude”, sent to @scottwinterrow - www.artsy.net/artist/scott-winterrowd. Check them out!

July 12, 2020
My college friend and fellow Good Bad Art Collective artist, Lisa Rawlinson http://www.lisarawlinsonart.com/ has organized a postcard exchange among artists during this quarantine. I opted for one postcard swap a month. Here are my submissions so far. I will continue to post as the summer goes on, so please check back.

Let me know what you think, and please follow the hashtag on Instagram, #QuarantinedArtistExchange.

Been a minute

Wow! Time flies. I returned to my job in advertising back in 2017. I’ve sketched and painted some, most notably a mural that my friend, Carlos Reza, commissioned for the wall facing his house n Boyle Heights. He is a talented director and even used the opportunity to include it in the finale of a show he worked on for many years, East Los High. I have posted the drone shot below.

I am currently at home during this pandemic quarantine, grateful for my job and for the relief of no longer commuting at least an hour each way, every day. Decided I’d dust off my site, organize my studio, and start working on my own stuff again. I joined a quarantined artist post card exchange project, and it’s gotten me being creative again. Let’s see what silver linings this serious period of time brings.

Whrilwind Summer

Whirlwind Summer

It's almost been 5 months since my last blog entry.  Hard to believe how fast time flies.  The bitter sweet summer has been full of milestones, some wonderful, some somber, but all meaningful none the less.  I'd hoped that the emotional roller coaster of the past year would fuel and inform my art, but I'm finding that there is no secret ingredient other than showing up to do the work.

Though I haven't posted much, I have continued to work - mostly the figure and portraitures, with some exceptions.   I also completed a nude that a trusted friend said is "controversial", so it's not been uploaded to social media, though I think it's rather good.  I've put in my hours in figure drawing salons,  began a mural project for a friend, am doing some creative concept work for a movie project, and landed two other commissions for a local business.  I'm happy with the pace of my exploration.

That said, I'm eager to get back the focus and output I had earlier in the year.  A new class and some wrapping up of projects is going to position me to do just that, so I look forward to the fall.

For the sake of sharing, here are some drawings I've done over the course of the year.  Hope you enjoy them and any feedback is appreciated. 

xo

 

Smeyel

Such a simple concept - remove an eyeball - and I'm thrust back into memories of learning about the Cyclops from Greek Mythology.   I remember when my older brother showed me illustrations from his school book back in the early seventies, and how my imagination raced, 

This past March I was at the British Musuem and there were these amazing sculptures form ancient Egypt of human figures with beautiful cat heads.  Among the many iterations were gods whose head were of a falcon, but body of a man.  The Hindu Ganeesha with its elephant head and child body, was also ever present.  It reminded me of the current head swap memes that are popular on such sites and manbabies.com, or the face swap filter on instagram.  Such a simple exercise has engaged us throughout time!  Is it because we are a product of such a coming together of opposites - namely our parents - and we're left to reconcile their story, as well as those that came before them?  Our left and right brains, mom and dad sides left to hash it out and create a strange and unexpected chimera that is us?

I relate to this little girl.  With her eighties background of laser lights, she's been posed in what is surely meant to convey a "casual cool".  Those glamour shots sure did make us feel cool.  However, over time, those images betray that facade, and bring back for me the feelings of awkwardness experienced, trying to fit in, when I so obviously did not, to some codified norm.

Completed portrait and work in progress

So, completed a portrait class today that I was enrolled in at LA Academy of Figurative Arts.  The teacher was fantastic and I picked up so much useful technique, materials, and approaches.  All of the students enrolled were talented, capable artists, which made for an exciting environment.  It was great to be in my tribe once again.  There were young students seeking degrees in fine art, as well as a retired illustrator, among others.  Below is some of the last piece I completed.  This was 20 hours working from a live model.  Hope you like it :)

Build it 2016

What an amazing turn of events.  I was laid off in December - weirdly enough by choice.  The company I worked for had a client loss and that meant layoffs.  Being that I'd gotten out of all debt and had started putting money aside for my transitioning into my own art practice, this was a manageable situation for me and I volunteered.  Now I've been able to focus on an art practice, something I have longed to experience.  I have been able to paint almost every day, drop in to figure drawing salons, and explore my creative interests.  People have been very supportive.  The biggest challenge has been carving out a new routine and schedule.  But, this has also been a wonderful period of trying new things and seeing what sparks joy in my life and prioritizing that practice.  It's a search for insights into self, and designing a hierarchy of values.  It's been a fantastic experience of self discovery, and very welcome in my life.

 Here are a few musings I've been able to indulge, as well as some studies.

Thanks for reading and sharing in my enthusiasm.

Best,

Ray

Freedom 15!

Quiet victories are great to share with others.

Some of you who know me know my mantra for the year has been Freedom 15!  I've arrived at a special milestone this month.  The goal was to get out of all debt (student loans, credit cards, etc.) by my birthday month of May.  I got there with the help of my partner and his new job.  So grateful for this.  We have both lowered our cost of living by making sacrifices, including a move to a smaller place an hour's drive from my 9 to 5 job, with the intention of making room for our dreams.  Both of us are artists with creative aspirations, and setting up our lives to support this has been our goal for the last 3 years.  It meant giving up a wonderful space walking distance to work and close enough to the beach that we used to go every weekend. 

This is good news for my art.  It's my intention to save until I am able to make the leap to working on my painting full time.  Not sure how much savings will be enough to make this change, but I'm well on my way, now that I'm in the black.  Do you have any ideas to help get me there?  I'd love to hear from you.

Peace,

Ray Ortiz