OH WHAT A FEELING!

Stacked Against All Odds

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“Stacked Against All Odds”, it is a 30”x48” mixed acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

“Stacked Against All Odds II”, it is a 24”x48” mixed acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

Just off my easel today!
This painting I titled “Stacked Against All Odds”, it is a 30”x48” mixed acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

I derived inspiration from contradictory feelings I have experienced when I have been around slums. I have seen many in different countries and have interacted in a handful of them. I have always experienced several things at the same time and always just feel extreme wonder. Some of those feelings have been: fear, joy, beauty, dirty, misery, freedom, pain, appreciation, danger, and wisdom, among others.

It is hard to explain why these places fascinate me but I think it has to do, precisely, with those opposing thoughts I mention above. How is it possible to hold all of those positions at one time in one place? How are people smiling with the biggest and most meaningful smiles I have ever experienced? Why do people become so incredibly dangerous? How can one survive in such filth and difficult circumstances? People actually find joy in parts of their daily life, how? Faith plays a huge role and so many are devoted to God…how can they believe in the divine while living in the way the do? And my list can go on forever…you get the idea though.

This piece is created through the development of many, many layers. Each layer is an emotional response to those feelings.

My iconography usually involves color as the descriptor for positive feelings, textures are about harsh realities and tough situations, and the geometric shapes are the necessary structure to contain the “madness” and maintain some sort of sanity and stability.

As these layers of emotions accumulate, a story is told and in my final layer, I depict a place I create.
All compositions are derived from my head and I immerse myself into the “place” I am painting so I can feel myself “inside” it. It is how I fully know when the “place” I have created is finished. I  experience all those mentioned feelings in one place, at one time.

I combine this inspiration with current states of mind, which very often include the narrative that speaks deeply about how congested my mind often feels these days. The overload of information, traffic, new buildings, more people, more things to do, and just the infinite accumulation of more of “everything” starts crowding my emotional space. In my paintings I often “pour” this congestion out so my mind feels spacious and light…this is the feeling I get every time I finish a painting and it’s probably a BIG reason why I paint/create daily…oh what a feeling!

Para Español, sique el enlace AQUI