For Raya Bodnarchuk, having a daily artistic ritual of creating a painting a day became a joyful way of maintaining creativity and consistency. Between 2013 and 2019, Raya’s daily practice evolved from simple ink drawings into 1,926 detailed gouache paintings. She focused on a new subject each day—a solitary mango, a blossoming flower, a self-portrait, the sunrise, architecture or the changing seasons—recording what she saw in her own way.

Although known primarily for her sculptures, collages and screenprints, Raya’s interest in painting a small work daily derived from advice she gave to her art students to “do something you love every day.” These intimate paintings invite viewers to observe and absorb the special way Raya brought beauty and intricacy into the details of everyday life. In addition to displaying two hundred paintings, Do Something You Love Every Day will also include a selected group of Raya’s figural sculptures.

Raya was born in New York to two artists and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. She received her B.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. In 1973, she became one of the first artists-in-residence at Glen Echo Park and taught at the Corcoran School of Art & Design for thirty-two years. Raya was an icon in the D.C. art scene for decades and her sculptures are part of the permanent collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The American University Museum, The Washington Post, and the National Institute of Health Clinical Center. For further information please contact Chris Neptune at chris@neptunefineart.com or 202.986.1200.