Born and raised in San Francisco, Arana travels the country re-imagining interiors by hand-painting cutting-edge murals and wallpapers. He learned the technical process of mural creation in high school, as a member of Precita Eyes’ Urban Youth Arts program. Arana is a graduate of UC-Santa Cruz with a BFA in Fine Art and the recipient of the Dean’s and Chancellor’s Award for a campus mural. After graduating, he quickly became the full-time in-house artist for Ken Fulk, an interior designer in San Francisco whose work spans the globe. Arana’s work has been profiled in Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Sunset, House Beautiful, Bon Appétit, and Spaces magazine. Arana currently lives in San Francisco as a freelance artist.

Press:

  • Singer, Paola: “Tour a Ken Fulk-Designed Vail Retreat That’s Christmas-Ready”, Architectural Digest, December 2021

  • Sardar, Zahid: “Rafael Arana’s New World”, Spaces, Winter/Spring 2020, p.45

  • Abramovitch, Ingrid: “Western Civilization”, Elle Decor, June 2018, p.150

  • Sunset Magazine, October 2016, p. 22

  • House Beautiful, “Kitchen of the Year”, October 2015, p. 146

  • Goldberg, Elyssa: "This Bagel Shop Is a Wes Anderson Movie Come to Life", Bon Appétit, October 2015

  • Murphy, Davis: "Kitchen of the Year", House Beautiful, October 2015, p.146-147

  • Abramovitch, Ingrid: "Safe Harbor", Elle Decor, July/August 2015, p. 108

  • Funderburg, Lisa: "Modern Vintage", Architectural Digest, November 2014

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