My work stems from a childhood spent in the playful light and color of Seville and Madrid. The passion and emotion associated with the Spanish temperament, while generic, nonetheless figures greatly into my working process. It is the simple expression of these emotions that compels my painting, which derives as much from studied Classical art as it does from the rich architectural mosaics and artisan crafts which are prominent so prominent in the place I grew up. I consider my work to be unfolding dramas that incorporate narratives from the everyday life into a hybrid of painting and low-relief sculpture, whereby rich oil pigments are accented with glitter, flora and sand. Usually tinged with an air of humour and levity, my pieces assume a certain primitive decorum that play with the notions of high and low, culture and kitsch, and colour and texture. Flung in the air and tending to land on the brighter, more optimistic side of life, one might even go so far as to call them vibrant and “juicy.” |