Transpainter

As of today, hundreds of new You Are Loved billboards are up in Ohio and neighbouring states! All thanks to Have A Gay Day an amazing non-profit org in Dayton, OH, who is putting up billboards across the sate of Ohio (and now several other states) as I write this. A few days ago they put out a call to their community to fundraise in order to put up a billboard in response to an anti-LGBTQ+ billboard that had sprung up in Ohio. Their goal was to raise $500. In just 48 hours, the community raised over $18,000! As a result, Have a Gay Day has not just gotten one billboard up in response to the original hateful billboard, but rather has organized hundreds of billboards in at least 3 U.S. states that are now going live, catching the attention of several news outlets and public support along the way.

I am so blown away by the ways that community can come together and I’m honestly humbled to be able to be a part of this outpouring of love. Have A Gay Day and I have partnered several times over the last 5 years and they are doing such great work on the daily, with a food pantry and mobile food pantry delivery truck, pet pantry, programming, resources, community laundry room, emergency support and more. They are helping community in very real ways every day, not to mention they have a seemingly tireless executive director in Michael, who spearheaded this billboard response.

If you would like to help them continue to spread the You Are Loved message in other states, you can still donate to the cause or donate to their general fund, as again, they are putting it right back into the community for those who need it.

Every billboard my artwork has ever graced has been 100% community funded. I provide the artwork for free in whatever size is needed and you, the community, help spread this important message to the world. If you’re still reading this… You Are Loved.

Big hugs to all of you, ~Rae

I wish for you what you wish for Black families.

Hopefully that means Black boys getting to grow into old men — graduating, falling in love, growing gray, instead of being memorialized before 40.

Hopefully that means Black mothers surviving childbirth, being listened to and affirmed by doctors, being supported by educators and employers, receiving real care instead of receiving platitudes about a maternal health crisis that’s been ignored for generations.

Hopefully that means people respecting Black bodily autonomy — not touching Black women’s hair, respecting their health decisions, their right to say no and be heard.

Hopefully that means Black trans people getting to live openly and safely, without violence, without being erased from the very community that should be protecting them hardest.

Hopefully that means a safe walk home, HARM-FREE safety officials and conflict de-escalation, and honest, respectful justice.

It means communities aren’t left grieving another neighbor’s death on video.

Hopefully that means fair housing, financial access, voting access, elder care, and ample community space.

Hopefully that means not being followed in stores, harassed by security, held back by teachers, bullied by administrators, and never having your children seen as inherently dangerous.

For us this means generational wealth instead of generational grief. Health instead of hypervigilance. Rest instead of resilience being the only thing anyone offers you.

If you’re not wishing those things for Black families — if “he had a knife” or “he ran” is where your compassion runs out — stop yourself right now and be better. There is no justification for this. The video is everywhere, and Black families have been speaking out about these horrors for far too long without accountability.

Our Black neighbors, colleagues, family, and friends deserve so SO much better.

[Yes, this design will likely be for sale, but we are waiting to hear more from our grieving hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, so we can be sure to send profits from this piece with respect to the family and community there.]

Come say hi at World Pride, beginning this week in Amsterdam!

I have created some custom Trans Joy artwork to help raise money for the awesome work that TransAmsterdam is doing here in the Netherlands. There will be posters (a small number of which will be signed), stickers and more artwork from other trans artists available at several events, including the upcoming Trans Voices: World Pride 2026, which celebrates trans voices through live music, spoken word, and open mic performances at A Beautiful Mess during WorldPride 2026.

TransAmsterdam is a community-led organization that empowers trans and non-binary people through art, culture, education and community building. For more than a decade, they’ve created safe and inclusive spaces where trans voices can be seen, heard and celebrated.

A Beautiful Mess is a social enterprise run together with newcomers and refugees. Through food, culture and connection, it creates a welcoming place where people from different backgrounds can meet, learn from one another and build community.

Trans Voices Event
Sunday, 26 July 2026
17:00 – 00:00
A Beautiful Mess
Oosterdokskade 227, Amsterdam

Over the next two weeks you can also find TransAmsterdam at:

Queertropolis Grand Opening
24 July | 6:00–10:00 PM

WorldPride Launch
29 July | 4:00–8:00 PM

Unity Runway – Diversity Fashion Week 30 July | 7:00–11:00 PM

TransRising Documentary Premiere
4 August | 7:00 PM

WorldPride Leadership Event
6 August | 4:00–8:00 PM

Everyone is welcome. We’d love to see you there!

You don’t have to be following a formal (legal) immigration process to deserve a safe walk to work.

You don’t have to be working or have a family to deserve a day free from violence.

You don’t have to be a cute kid to deserve a life with safe parents and family members- who aren’t suddenly kidnapped by vigilantes.

Both Joan Sebastian Guerrero of Maine, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo of Texas should be alive today.

They sound like kind, loving parents and community members. And our hearts break for their family and friends.

And even if they weren’t, they deserve better. We all deserve better.

Immigrating, or visiting, or overstaying a visa- we deserve better.

Working or studying or neither- we deserve better.

Housed or not, we all deserve better.
With family or as total loners, we deserve better.

We cannot have the chaos of ICE “patrols” killing randomly in the streets. We cannot accept a society where our Black and Brown neighbors are terrorized as they live their daily lives. It is wildly unacceptable that killing people has become normal- even defensible- to so many of you.

This isn’t making anything great. It never was. All of us deserve better.

**kice

To this date this is one of my favorite pieces. And every time we post it we get an overwhelming response from two very different groups of people.

Every time we share this image, we hear from trans youth and their family/supporters who say this message (and messages like it) saved their lives. That’s not hyperbole, it’s a reflection of how overwhelmingly lonely it can be to be a transgender person in the world right now.

They see this and they know it says “Hey q***r friend, we see you. We want you safe, housed, and nourished by friends. We respect you and we believe you when you say who you are. And if you’re not sure who you are we will give you lots of kindness while you grow. We just wanna see you grow- for many many years.”

Trans kids, you are loved.
Grown ups who once were trans kids, you are loved.
Grown ups who didn’t get to know they were trans kids, you are loved.
Parents, teachers, faith leaders, and doctors out there supporting trans kids, you are loved too.

Visible allyship saves lives.🏳️‍⚧️

There’s this bizarre set of folks out there who see this and confuse it with an intent to harm. They are so confused and misinformed, say were abus1ng trans youth. They call us ped0s. They say this is gr00ming.

Every time we post this sweet design we hear from them. And they are loud.

I’m gonna say this one time real clear for those folks: if you cannot tell the difference between sharing a picture of flowers telling kids they’re loved and predatory behavior, I beg you: STAY AWAY FROM CHILDREN.

I’m truly sorry you conflate healthy love with abuse. But if you do want kids safe as much as you say you do, stay away from them.

Messaging our team your crazy ped0 fantasies is not the path to healing from your trauma. And it will never stop us from sharing this message.

Nothing ever will.

So back off. Stop bullying trans kids. Stop targeting the adults who support them. Stop pretending you want to help.

Grow up. Learn some boundaries. Get some therapy or crawl back into the muck you came from.

And let these kids receive messages of love.

Hey q***rios (and q***r-accomplices), wanna keep pride alive all year long?

Wanna make sure those closeted q***r and trans kids in your town receive a giant gender affirming note?

Wanna send a message of love in big bright beautiful rainbow color that’s impossible to ignore?

People have community funded and individually supported billboards (and extra super large wall signs in states with billboard bans) like these in every US state and Canadian province.

Want one in your town? Email my team [email protected] with the subject line “billboard info” and we’ll send you the details.

Happy 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🙌🏼