PROJECTS

Ralph Williams works on outdoor scaffolding on the south side (Ratna Gate) of The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Colorado.

ARTISTRY WORK—Dharmakaya Stupa, CO, USA

I actually have a fear of heights, but I love working on scaffolding. And on this particular Fall day with the clear skies and the sunshine, it was a joy to be outside working on the decorative details on The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya, a Buddist monument to human kindness in northern Colorado.

View of Ralph Williams on scaffolding as he prepares to paint colorful details on the exterior of The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Colorado.

ARTISTRY WORK—Dharmakaya Stupa, CO, USA

Here I am, repainting some of the colorful shapes on the yellow "RATNA Gate" on the south side of The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in Colorado. Beautiful day, fun work!

Ralph Williams places a hand on the buttocks of a large Buddha sculpture inside The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya in northern Colorado.

CHEEKY CHECK—Dharmakaya Stupa, CO, USA

Yep, it's dry! This silly photo was taken while working on The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya (a Buddist monument in northern Colorado) just prior to the Dalai Lama's arrival and consecration of the structure in 2006.

CHURCH EXHIBIT—Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

This was a very meaningful collaboration between my mother, who served as Church Historian, and me/Ralph. Came out nice!

Back side of a dark-gray denim coat with a big scaley dragon painted on it.

DRAGON COAT—painted in 2020, Austin, TX, USA

The linework for this dragon was laid down by my French friend, Benjamin, and in 2020 during Covid lockdown, I filled it all in with acrylic paints. The dragon design is meant to symbolize power & love.

Wall mural in a children's bedroom (painted by Ralph Williams) that features a large cherry blossom tree and two young girls reading a book underneath it.

CHILDREN’S ROOM MURAL—Zurich, Switzerland

I painted this bedroom mural for my Swiss friend, Pia, who wanted it done as a surprise gift to her young girls. Apparently, the girls started screaming with joy when they first saw it. Mission accomplished!

Side view of a red leather shoe that's been branded with a decoratiive swirly pattern.

RED SHOE—R. Williams Design

My ruby slippers! Just click your heals 3x and say, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home." It took me hours and hours to brand these shoes (using a wood-burning tool), but I love the way they came out!

Theater set for "Secret Garden" featuring a hand-painted floor by Ralph Williams with big swirly vines in turquoise & green.

"SECRET GARDEN" SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

Somehow, I whipped this floor out in no-time flat! I started with the green paint and then layered the other colors on top. By the end, I was just throwing paint around.

Flower shop set for "Little Shop of Horrors" at The Roadside Theater with the faux walls and checkerboard floor painted by Ralph Williams.

“LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS” SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

This one's a blur, but I know I did the faux-finished walls and the checkerboard floor. Fun show!

Three female actors perform on stage in front of a hand-painted red brick background by Ralph Williams at The Roadside Theater in Germany.

“LITTLE SHOP of HORRORS” SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

Great opening number, and the brick background, painted by Inner Space host, Ralph Williams, would separate in the middle at the black downspout and roll off-stage to reveal a flower shop set for the next scene. Clever!

Set design for "Oliver" at The Roadside Theater that features a Dickensian "London-scape" by Ralph Williams.

“OLIVER” SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

I barely remember working on this production, but I do recall liking the way my painting work on the cityscape came out. Looks even better close up!

A live performance of "CATS" at The Roadside Theater with actors dancing in front of cobblestone platforms and a large golden moon, hand-painted by Ralph Williams.

“CATS” SET—The Roadside Theater, Germany

MEOW! The stoney steps and sparkly moon were painted for the Roadside Theater on Patton Army Base in Heidelberg, Germany by Inner Space host, Ralph Williams.

"Crazy for You" backdrop by Ralph Williams that features a silhouette of black mesas and saguaro cactus against a pink-and-purple sky with a giant setting sun.

“CRAZY FOR YOU” SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

If I had this one to do over, I'd do the sun and stars differently. But who cares, it was a campy show, and the actors love it!

"Gaiety Theater" set piece that features fuschia-colored siding and ornate entrance doors, hand-painted by Ralph Williams for a production of "Crazy For You" at The Roadside Theater.

“CRAZY FOR YOU” SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

When I painted this one, I thought I got the wood siding a little too "flamingo pink"—but when I look at it now, I think it looks great!

Set piece by Ralph Williams for a production of "Crazy For You" at The Roadside Theater which features hand-painted brick and deco-style entrance doors to "The Zangler Follies".

“CRAZY FOR YOU” SET—THE Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

Good deco-style doors, and I love the blue brick. Who painted that? Oh wait, it was me!

Scenic backdrop of the Austrian Alps, painted by Ralph Williams for a Roadside Theater production of "The Sound of Music".

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC” SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

Where is Julie Andrews? We're waiting Julie...

Stage scene for "The Sound of Music" with actors in formal attire waltzing in front of an elegant ballroom backdrop by Ralph Williams.

“THE SOUND OF MUSIC” SET—The Roadside Theater, Heidelberg, Germany

Stage scene for "The Sound of Music" with actors in formal attire dancing a choreographed waltz in front of a ballroom backdrop that feature a big picture window with white trim and blue billowy curtains.

Interior view of a window display for Hopestone Cancer Support Center in Bartlesville, Oklahoma that features a female mannequin in a full-length dress made of burlap and newspaper.

HOPESTONE CENTER—Bartlesville, OK, USA

This was the formal home of HOPESTONE. The photo was taken around Christmas in 2012 when my sister, Jennifer (founder) and I were putting the place together. Jen's daughter, Gabby, created that dress for a high school project. Wow!

HOPESTONE LOGO—Bartlesville, OK, USA

I still dig this logo! I came up with the initial design (type + stone) in 2012 and then Jen took it to PDG+Creative and one of their star artists created the stone. Looks terrific!

Front view of the Kagyu Samye Dzong Buddhist Center for World Peace & Health in central London (Bermondsey).

KAGYU BUDDHIST CENTER—London, England

A core group of us squatted in this building shortly after it was purchased and started renovating it. Hard work and crazy fun!

With pen in hand and bent over a table, Ralph Williams makes a list as Tibetan sculptor, Lama Thubten, looks over his shoulder.

KAGYU BUDDHIST CENTER—London, England

Here I am taking down the lunch order with Tibetan sculptor, Lama Thubten before we move on to solving the great mysteries of the universe.

Group portrait taken at the ROKPA HQ in Zürich while hosting the Dalai Lama's sister for tea (L to R: Director, Lea Wyler; Dalai Lama's sister; Ralph Williams; Gabby Link).

ROKPA INTERNATIONAL—Zürich, Switzerland

IT'S TEA TIME with the Dalai Lama's sister at the ROKPA HQ in Zürich. (pictured L to R: Founder/Director, Lea Wyler; Dalai Lama's sister; Inner Space host & ROKPA volunter, Ralph Williams; Administration Head, Gabby Link).

Ralph Williams stands beside a purple display panel promoting and titled, "Stupa Project for World Peace and Environmental Harmony" at the former Shambala Retreat Center in Scotland.

EXHIBIT BOARD—Findhorn Bay, Scotland

Notice the coffee mug in my hand and the dark circles under my eyes? Yeah, I stayed up most of the night working on this display panel for the now defunct, Shambala Retreat Center in northern Scotland. They wanted to build a stupa (a Buddhist monument), but like so many things, it was a big well-intentioned dream that never came to be.

The words "URSI'S CANTINA" hand-painted by Ralph Williams in orange western-style lettering above an arched doorway leading to a kitchen.

URSI’S CANTINA SIGNAGE—Zurich, Switzerland

Hand-lettering completed! Came out well, Ursi loved it.