Patrick McGrath Muñiz

"Spraying Global Occupation" New work for 2012

2012-01-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

2012 is a year of great creative possibilities and about time to start updating my blog with the most recent work that has come out of my studio. One of my most recent paintings is titled"Spraying Global Occupation". It is a triptych I painted with oils on a small altarpiece "retablo" I commissioned in Antigua Guatemala last year. I just wrote a brief description about the work. I'm very pleased to share this one with you all. Enjoy!

Spraying Global Occupation (2011) Oil on triptych panel 18” x 25”

Inspired by recent Occupation movements that started to spread globallyby the end of 2011, I created this triptych altarpiece to connect somehistorical events with the present moment. The use and appropriation of RomanCatholic imagery creates another level of spiritual complexity to thehistorical narrative. In the centerpiece a representation of Saint Michael theArchangel is defeating the devil this time not with sword and scales in handbut with a police baton and pepper spray.

"Spraying Global Occupation" (detail)

In the background a cupid has justsprayed the word “Revolution” on a wall. Nearby camera men shoot their cameras at a police handcuffingJesus.

"Spraying Global Occupation" (Detail)

On the left wing a representationof Charles V Holy Roman Emperor stands proudly with a banner displaying a crossand corporate logos. This character is an embodiment of supreme Imperial powerfrom the time of the conquest and colonization of the New World. At his feet askull masked indigenous character points out to the right. On the right wing Ihave appropriated the female allegory of Liberty guiding the people from apainting by Delacroix. This time she carries a new banner while confronting ananti-riot police at the bottom.

"Spraying Global Occupation" (doors closed)

The inscription on the lower segment of thepiece translates from Latin to English as: “Occupy Government, Church,Corporations and Media”. The symbols depicted on the closed doors are those ofthe planetary signs of Uranus, Saturn, Pluto and Neptune. These as well as theimagery used in this painting respond to the study of archetypal astrology andthe planetary alignments associated with the French Revolution and the OccupyGlobal movement. Interpretation and meaning of this piece is open andmultivalent as in archetypal astrology.

"Spraying Global Occupation" is available at Jane Sauer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM. It will also be in display in the gallery booth at Art Palm Beach in January 20-23 2012.

New Bold & Surprising at Jane Sauer Gallery

2011-12-01T05:47:00.000-08:00

NEW BOLD & SURPRISINGis the title of the group show of new gallery artists now represented by JaneSauer Gallery. The artists are John Dodd, Krista Harris, Patrick McGrath Muñizand Kent Townsend. Two are painters and two are furniture designers.Krista’s paintings are abstract while mine are figurative. All four artistshaving very different backgrounds make this show an interesting combination of distinctivecreative explorations. Here’s a little more about the work of each of us:

John Dodd designscontemporary furniture that simply and elegantly performs its function. “Myfurniture does not try to define the difference between art and craft...itexists quietly between the two. Known as Foyer Greetings, these pieces aredesigned to serve as backdrops for precious objects, collections or livingplants.”

"FOYER TABLE"
John Dodd
Quartered Wenge, concrete
33" x 60" x 12"

Krista Harris is amodernist painter whose work has roots in abstract expressionist traditions,yet embraces a style that is uniquely her own. Elegantly composed anddelicately balanced, her work has a mesmerizing quality. Shapes and linesappear to morph in and out of focus, colors shift like seasons, and subtleimagery whispers beneath the surface.

"TABASCO BLUES"
Krista Harris
Acrylic on linen
48" x 36"

Patrick McGrath Muñiz is a painter whose work “responds to our globalage with its current crisis and prevalent mythology. I have created ananachronistic imaginary world where pagan gods, heroes and saints areresurrected from the vestiges of a post-industrial landscape. My work opens upa ‘Pandora’s Box’ of questions about how we got to our present globalcondition. I paint on small ‘retablos’ adopting Renaissance and Baroquepainting techniques.”

"TREE OF FREECHOICES"
Patrick McGrath Muñiz
Oil and metal leaf on canvas
36" x 36"

Kent Townsend createsone of a kind furniture representing a unique blending of the beauty, elegance,and materials of the natural world, and the creative spirit of one’s imagination. Kent uses exotic woods and woodworking techniques rarely seen in modernfurniture making.

"BUBINGACABINET"
Kent Townsend
Bubinga wood, handmade silver pulls
Ten sided torpedo legs
36" x 48" x 18"

The opening of this showwill be this Friday, December 2nd, from 5 to 7 pm and the show will be up untilJanuary 6, 2012.

Jane Sauer Gallery is located at 652 Canyon Road,Santa Fe, New Mexico. The gallery hours are from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am - 5pm

For more information on the gallery and the artists please visit http://www.jsauergallery.com.

Remembering Ramón Frade & his drawings

2011-11-18T11:40:00.001-08:00

The exhibition Entrelíneas: Frade y el dibujo contemporáneo (Between Lines: Frade and Contemporarydrawing) at the Art Museum Dr. Pío López Martínez of the University of Puerto Rico inCayey opened at the beginning 2011. 35 contemporary artists participate in thisexhibition in homage to the Puerto Rican artist Ramón Frade and the creativeprocess of drawing. Among these artists I’m participating with two of mydrawings on paper: “Io Saturnalia” and “Arcadia”, both done in 2010.

Io Saturnalia (2010) pencil and ink on paper 12" x 8"

Last year while inPuerto Rico I had the opportunity to visit the museum and view some of the workof Frade I hadn’t seen before, like photographs, drawings and other studiesthis master painter executed for his paintings. I consider it important to mention that Fradeis not only considered one of the most important Puerto Rican painters of thepast century but that he was also an exceptional draughtsman, architect andphotographer. The experience was quite refreshing. In my opinion, thetraditional practice with the painter’s trade of preparing preliminarysketches, taking photographs and drawing has been forgotten by many in the contemporary“mcculture” driven by immediate consumption of technically undernourished productswith lack of content. In the exhibition Entre Líneas: Frade y el dibujo contemporáneo, the importance, soundness and validity of drawing as part of the visual repertoire and practice of the contemporary artist is quite evident.

Drawing, preliminary study and photograph by Frade

Frade's Study for El pan nuestro (Our Daily Bread) 1905

During my visit Ihad a chance to meet with the curator of this exhibition

Mariel Quiñones Vélez.Mariel very attentively guided me though the museum and talked about thecollection. I remember we talked about the importance of the process in art andpreparing sketches for a work of art. It is one big important part that ismissed by most people who visit a museum and see the works of great masters. And it is precisely this vital part of thework of the artist that this museum does great justice by showing us drawings,preliminary studies, photographic material, documents and even the painter’sown palette, elements that are so revealing of Frade and his work.

Photo of the Puerto Rican painter Ramón Frade

Furniture, easel, painting palette and other objects from Frade's studio

Me with Mariel Quiñones Vélez, the curator at the museum

To end theexhibition Entre Líneas: Frade y eldibujo contemporáneo, the museum invites us to mingle with the participatingartists on December 4th of 2011 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. for reasons that are beyond me I will not beable to be there with all of you but I encourage you to visit the museum, seethe works and meet these contemporary PuertoRican artists in a dialogue with the work of Ramón Frade. The exhibition will be held until January 10^th2012. During the holiday season the museum will be open to the public thefollowing days from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m.: December 27^th to the 30^th& January 2^nd to the 4^th & the 7^th& 8^th of 2012. Starting from January 9^th the Museumwill be open with its regular schedule. Formore information you can call 787-738-0650 or senda n e-mail at jonathan.berrios@upr.edu

From Saints, heroes and corporations: Archetypes in evolution

2011-11-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

In recent years my work has been evolving not onlytechnically but conceptually. From mypaintings of saints and corporations to the study of mythological subjectmatter and now astrology, there has been a guiding force behind this creative impulse. It hasbeen relatively recent that I have gown aware of this guiding force that is farmore important than it’s time/culture based visual expressions. I have come to the conclusion that saints,heroes, gods, monsters and evencorporations today are children of something called an "archetype”.I include corporations because our government considers them as people.Personally I see them closer to act like gods or monsters.

An archetype is a transcendental energy that findsexpression in various human forms and also in nature. It is a cosmic energytherefore it is beyond humanity. In astrology we see them as constellations andplanets that act upon our lives. In many religions they take form as deities orsaints. In popular culture we see them in their most trivial and superficialforms as pop stars and corporate mascots. Archetypes can be found everywhereand they inhabit our inner being. Innature different animals are possessed by these archetypes and for this reasonmany animist tribal religions see them as guardian spirits.

By studying historic, mythic, religious and contemporarynarratives long enough I have discovered recurring pattern that enables me topoint out the interconnectedness of it all. As an artist I find this quitefascinating and a tremendous source of inspiration. In 2006 I started painting catholicsaints and re’contextualizing these In the light of our neo-colonial consumeristculture. I started to wonder about exploring other possible forms. Eventually in2010 I grew interested in painting heroes and gods from classical mythology. After reading Cosmos and Psyche Intimations of a New World View by RichardTarnas I was drawn in to the study of archetypal astrology.

By exploring myths I found much relevance in astrology asthe myths find concrete expressions in our culture today. Greco-Roman Mythologystill lives on in our calendar, the days of the week, our zodiac wheel and theyare very much alive in us and allaspects of society whether we are aware of them or not. Today I’ve taken thetask of compiling an inventory of images from religious iconography, mythology,astrology, Tarot and twelve top global issues and putting them together in oneof many charts that I make with the intention of determining the underlyingarchetype. To find their correspondencesand relations has become my main focus in art. It is becoming evident in my latest project Mcolonial Citizen. I willsoon share more on my explorations on this subject and my latest project.

All images in this entry are taken from the drawing journals of the author. Copyrighted material 2011.

Painting Today, What does it mean?

2011-10-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

In an ageof fast food, fast cars fast information and advanced technology, why paint? Whatis it that drives me to dedicate my whole life to such an antiquated practicethat involves the use of long sticks with animal hair glued on the tips pickingup mineral pigments suspended in oil and applying and moving this substancearound and over a piece of wood or linen. Doesn't this seem awkwardly out oftouch and sync with our times? There are many ways to see this issue but thishas been a question I've had for some time and still I keep painting. Maybe Ialready answered the question without knowing it. Of course I’m not the only one or the firstto ask the question of why to paint today.

Me at my new studio in Savannah, Georgia

I rememberthis question really caught my imagination in a class I had at SCAD (where Idid my M.F.A. in painting). The class was “Painting theories and processes” andit was taught by Professor Craig Drennen at that time. The question took me bysurprise and everyone had different responses to it but what mattered most wasto stop and ask why. Conceptual art delves much into the “why’s” and there ismuch to be learned from this simple question. Painters seldom ponder on thenature of what they do but those who do, benefit greatly from possibilities theanswer may award. Many arrive to a satisfying conclusion and solidjustification of why they do what they do but often have to go through a periodof crisis before seeing the light. It is like entering a dark cold cavern and feelinglost and hopeless for a moment but then by persistence we may see the light atthe end of the tunnel. In this cavern we may find the remnants of primitivecivilizations and some of the first images made by man: paintings. Byre-discovering this perpetual mystery one may be possessed by the magic, theritual and initiation involved in the first human creations. There is somethingancestral, hidden and mysterious about painting.

Cave paintings at Altamira, Spain

We canstand in awe of a masterpiece and there is a catharsis. Our imagination fliesand then after a while everything falls into place, everything makes sense,just like a divinely inspired sermon on the mount. We understand, not in arational manner but in a much more profound way.

Allegory to Prudence (2011) By Patrick McGrath Muñiz

On display at Antigua Galeria de Arte, Guatemala.

Today weare surrounded by technology and our lives seem pressed between quick consumptionand working hard, making money to pay the bills. Now everything is downloaded, streamedor paid online. There are apps for everything and simulating reality on ourI-phones is our means of understanding reality Life really changed with digitalcameras, Photoshop, U-Tube, Facebook and our own blogs or websites. Now anyonecan be an artist, writer, movie director and photographer. So where doespainting fit into all of this? Even though painting has been manipulated, digitalized, uploaded, posted and downloaded, there is an essential part of painting thatremains resistant to change. There is acrafty hard-labor element about it. It requires patience, persistence and lotsof different skills. Yes, there is more than one skill involved in the act ofpainting and many take painting as just one skill. Some of the many skills are:Drawing, composing, mixing, conveying the illusion of the third dimension (forfigurative painters), creative thought, conceptual analysis, decision makingand critical thought. And I’m not even mentioning all the commercial skills involved.

My painting palette

So for those who think this is just an easy pleasant hobby-like task, thinkabout these skills as those required for any other job. Just think of how muchwork goes into a painting and how easily dismissed or unnoticed it goes by thegeneral public. Many of my paintings require days, even weeks to create. It isnot uncommon to see people go by and look at a painting for less than a minute.Have TV commercials, that last less than that, injected ADHD into our minds? Ormaybe it’s the 15 minute ones on U-tube. Did I mention paintings require attentionskills also?

Detail of one of my paintings "The Judgement" (2009)

By paintingtoday I reaffirm my connection to the past, I re-connect to my primitive ritualisticorigins. By painting as opposed to taking pictures with a digital camera andmanipulating them in Photoshop, I insist in the importance of hard manual workin creating a unique piece of art. Even though I take many pictures, work themin Photoshop and do collages, I see these as means to an end and my end is toproduce a painting. I respect the workof digital artists and photographers as they have developed their own set ofskills to make their work. Painting on the other hand is not a product of ourtime or recent history as photography, digital art or even conceptual art. If one wishes to know what the meaning ofpainting is just have a look at the history of it and that will give you a verygood sense of it. By painting today I invoke the inner abstract landscapes ofthe modern psyche, the spiritually elevated landscapes of Impressionism, theBaroque Catholic saints, the neo-Pagan gods of the Renaissance, the ancientEgyptian mummy portraits of Fayum and the magical animal spirits of Altamira. Painting transcends because it deals with thespirit inhabited in matter and brings everything back to life. Withoutpainting, we would be deprived of a vital part of our humanity. This is the mainreason why I paint.

Working on my most recent project "Mcolonial Citizen" twelve retablo paintings about social inequality in our Neo-colonial times, subject that I will write about on my next blog entry.

New website ,studio and gallery representation

2011-10-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Its been a while since my last post. A lot of things have happened since then and I thought it was about time to get back to blogging which I miss doing. I have been busy with new projects in a new studio located in Savannah, Georgia where I know live. All the recent changes in my life have been quite positive and have inspired new thoughts in my creative process as a painter. The new studio I now work in has excellent north lighting and great working space. I am already painting a lot more here. I should also take the opportunity to announce I now have new gallery representation at Jane Sauer gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Jane Sauer Gallery is a highly active and professional art gallery with an excellent reputation that has offered me an opportunity to show my work in NM and I am very grateful for that.

Tree of choices (2011) Oil and metal leaf on canvas

36" x 36" work available at Jane Sauer Gallery

As for my new website, my wife helped me a lot with that and you can now visit it at

http://www.patrickmcgrath-art.com/

I will be posting more information on these new projects I am working, previews of new work as well as of future shows and specific paintings I have worked on this art journal. Please feel free to comment, or post any question or suggestion you might have. I am currently very active working in my new studio, reason why I have been away from this blog and even Facebook. But I'm back and hope to be sharing my reflections and artwork with you through this media once more. So until next time, have a wonderful week and look forward to my future posts!

Re-Inventing Icons: Revising Christian Iconography

2011-06-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

As part of my upcoming solo show "Re-Inventing Icons" in Antigua Guatemala, I have revised my personal research on Colonial Iconography. Nearly five years after my Thesis project "Iconsumer", where I explored the relationship between Latin American Colonial imagery and consumer culture propaganda, my work has evolved. In recent years I've been more interested in the esoteric meaning behind art. Reading about Mythology, Astrology, Tarot and Alchemy has led me to the inevitable conclusion that behind Roman Catholic imagery and mass-media/consumerist propaganda, there are recurrent themes and patterns that become more visible after some study and comparison. After re-interpreting these images in paint, I have detected a constant re-invention of certain universal archetypes. Archetypes are the primary source that shape all the forms in the world no matter what time or country we live in. The archetypes are the universal souls breathing within any mythic, religious, contemporary figure or image one may encounter. For example the "Venus/Isis" archetype can be clearly projected upon famous female celebrities and models on TV as well as on the image of the Immaculate Conception.

"As above so below" 28" x 52" (Oil on canvas 2010)

By learning which common archetype lies behind any image brings new light to understanding the complex relationship and recurring themes present in past and present art. In my research I have gathered images that have served as visual agents in service of the interest of Colonial and Neo-Colonial powers. By Neo-Colonial powers, I mean modern-day transnational corporations with their mass marketing and consumerist agenda. Drawing the line from our present world culture to colonial and ancient cultures in these painting evokes themes that are timeless and transcendental. The idea of finding deep similarities between consumerist imagery and religious imagery has extended on to Colonial and Neo-Colonial issues in my recent project "Re-inventing Icons".

Allegory to Temperance 20" x 20" Oil on canvas (2011)

In this project I explore and re-interpret the traditional representation of Christian Icons, mythological and allegorical subject matter. This is done in the light of contemporary neo-colonialism from mass-media culture and consumerism. My work is the meeting point of 4 cardinal ideas: Colonialism, Neo-colonialism, Mythology and Religion. Inspired by the symbolism and imagery of these, I depict Icons that evoke the underlying primary archetypal energies that have influenced our world. Adopting Renaissance and Baroque oil painting techniques enables me to emulate indoctrination strategies that recall the time of the conquest and colonization of the Americas. This allows me to question today’s assumptions of the demise of colonialism with its ideological agenda.

"Globadoracion" 48" x 48" Oil on canvas (2010-11)

The opening to the exhibition "Re-Inventing Icons" will be held on June 4th 4, 2011 at La Antigua, Galeria de Arte. The gallery is located at 4a. Calle Oriente no. 15 La Antigua, Guatemala. The exhibition will be up until July 3th, 2011. If you happen to be in Guatemala or plan to be in Central America near those dates, make sure you don't miss the show. For more information you may visit the gallery website at:

Art in the Americas

Or visit my official website at:

http://www.patrickmcgrath-art.com/

You can also find additional information in Spanish and English at the following links:
Agenda Cultural de Antigua
Siglo 21 de Guatemala
At Guate.com

The Legacy of Campeche

2011-04-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

The second half of the Eighteenth century was a period of radical changes in the European and in the colonies of the "New World". Politics, Science, society, the economy and the arts all saw important changes. The mid 1700's is the time when the seed of a major revolution in human consciousness was being planted and the age of enlightenment was about to be born. The modern ideas of democracy, freedom and industrialization were about to launch us into a brave new world in the arts, science, politics and society as whole. While Francisco Goya was becoming a successful painter in Madrid and Amadeus Mozart a famous court musician in Salzburg, a young painter named Jose Campeche was actively working in the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico. Born in 1751, a self-taught mulatto artist, Campeche adquired a high level of mastery in the art of painting that soon became legendary in the region. Today he is considered by many as best painter of his time living in the Americas.

Portrait of Jose Campeche

Commemorating the life and work of Campeche and bringing new light into his work, The Art Museum of Puerto Rico recently opened the exhibition: "Campeche: Myth and reality", In this exhibit we may find original works from the first known Puerto Rican painter, from his early works to his later more mature works after the influence of Luis Paret, a Spanish court painter who was exiled in the island for a short period. The collection is truly outstanding although it may be disappointing in some respects. For instance some of the works in display are not originals but prints that do not make justice to Campeche's work. But overall the work gathered for this display gives a very good sense of this colonial master's achievements. This temporary exhibition will be open to the public all year.

Virgen del Carmen con niño por Jose Campeche

The Art Museum of Puerto Rico has also organized a parallel exhibition titled "Campeche: 200 years later". In this group show, twelve contemporary artists have re-interpreted the work of Campeche in what can be seen as an homage to the master but at the same time bringing up contemporary issues into his work. Rafael Trelles, Carlos Mercado, Garvin Sierra, Rigoberto Quintana, Antonio Martorell, Carlos Irizarry, Jorge Soto Sánchez, Jorge Zeno, Josué Pellot, Lorenzo Homar, Rosa Irigoyen and myself are the artists participating with our work in this exhibition. We all share in common being contemporary Puerto Rican artists that have a deep admiration for the work of Jose Campeche.

Sanctus Mater Silicona by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

One of the paintings I am exhibiting at the Museum is titled "Sanctus Mater Silicona". This oil on triptych panel is an appropriation of the many images of Madonna with child that Jose Campeche would have painted in his time. In this piece as well as in many others I have painted after this one, I have been inspired in the different perceptions of female beauty from colonial times to our own.

In a smaller painting "Allegory to Patriotism" I appropriate a piece from Campeche "Retrato del niño Juan Pantaleon" and imbue it with a new meaning relevant to the current prevailing imperialist pursuits. Since my thesis art project "Iconsumer" in 2006, I have been studying the work of Campeche and other Spanish colonial painters as I see an interesting connection between their times and our own. It is always good to look back at the past and not only learn how these great painters worked but also learn from the times they lived in and how they responded to it. Eventually with much study and reflection one can find many similarities between our time and theirs. Beyond the obvious colonial paradigm of Puerto Rico, the whole world is subject to a new colonization by consumerism, the corporate media and Imperialist exploration. As a painter living in a Neo-colonial age I always find much inspiration in painters as Jose Campeche and hope more people re-discover his magnificent work.

"Campeche: 200 year later" will be on display until May, 8th 2011 so try not to miss it. For more information on Museum location and hours visit the Museum homepage at: http://www.mapr.org/Informacion-General/Informacion-al-Visitante.aspx

To see more of Jose Campeche's work online you can visit the ICP National Gallery webpage

If you wish to see more of my work online please visit my official website at www.retabloarts.com

"Know Thyself" The most important art lesson of all

2011-01-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

According to the 2nd century AD Greek traveler and writer Pausanias, there was an important inscription on the forecourt of the temple of Apollo at Delphi. The inscription could be read by anyone who came on their long religious pilgrimage searching for answers and a look into the future. The inscription read: γνῶθι σεαυτόν "Gnothi Seauton" In Latin it would be "Nosce te Impsum" or "Temet Nosce" which translated to English means: "Know Thyself". This aphorism appeared on an inscription over the Oracle's door in the Matrix film series.

Over 18 centuries later many philosophical schools commemorate these words of wisdom. As an artist, a self-portrait comes to mind. Many artists in the past were aware of the importance of knowing oneself, not just on the outside but in the inside as well. At the moment we create art, we make a psychological self-portrait, whether we are aware of it or not. By being aware of it, the creative act can become an act of healing and self-realization. It is to no surprise that the famous inscription "Know Thyself" would be found on the ancient temple to the god Apollo, god of healing, inspiration and solar illumination. The inscription did not end there and there would be no room for misunderstanding as the complete sentence would read: "Know thyself and thou shalt know all the mysteries of the gods and the Universe." (Σαυτὸν γνοὺς καὶ πάντα γνώσει τὰ τῶν θεῶν τε καὶ τοῦ κόσμου μυστήρια).

Ancient temple at Delphi, Greece

There is much wisdom in these words and when one reflects on the Hermetic philosophy of correspondences, everything comes together making perfect sense. The Hermetic axiom "As above, so below" refers to the relation between the stars and the heavens with man and Earth. We are a microcosmic reflection of the microcosmic Universe. If we study and learn more from ourselves, we will surely know more about the Universe as a whole. If the practice of astrology has been seen for centuries as the alchemy of the stars and alchemy as the astrology of earthly materials then we may say that by knowing ourselves we will know more about the gods. In a way the gods live in us and its up to us to discover them by looking deep within ourselves.. Call them gods, great spirits, archetypal energies, they are very real and are as much alive in us as they are in the whole Universe. God is the many in one and the one in many. God cannot be limited by one number, therefore God and gods are in my view essentially the same.

"A tribute to Venus: Peace and Love" By Patrick McGrath Muñiz

24" x 26" Oil and gold leaf on carved wood 2010
Work Available at Mindy Solomon Gallery, St Pete, FL

When it comes to the so called "Contemporary art world" I have to wonder how much are contemporary artists aware of their own identity. How often do they question who they are, their past and where they come from? Plagued by a consumerist trend driven society and a sensationalist media culture mentality , what many call "contemporary art" seems to be playing the same illusory capitalist game of fame and fortune that determines whats "in" and whats "passe". They use prejudiced modernist assumptions of whats contemporary and whats not. "Originality" has lost its original meaning when its associated with hyped ultra-sensational shocking and disturbingly unique works that cry out for media attention. Spanish Architect Antoni Gaudi would have known better. "Originality" derives from the word "Origin". Originality is a search for our origins, it is to know who we are and where we come from. Originality is also about questioning the hidden presumptions about ourselves. History is constantly revised.

"Divine Inspiration" by Patrick Mcgrath Muñiz

23" x 15" Egg Tempera on amate paper 2010

What are the artist's motivations in art and in life? Is he or she doing art to gain celebrity status, or for the money (must be crazy), to "fit in" or be different, "original", create controversy and call the attention of the masses? Consider these questions. An artist who's just looking for recognition will have great disappointments in life when their work is rejected at an art show or when their Warholian "15 minutes of fame" are over. On the other hand if you make art because it calls you, because you feel deeply inspired or because there is an important mission you must carry out, those gods within you will guide you. If you make art in order to understand the meaning of life, the Universe will open up to you. Art created for deeper convictions other than to please the public and profit will have a much larger reward in the long run, keeping the artist's work alive in history.

Detail of "A Tribute to Venus: Peace and Love" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz
Work available at Mindy Solomon Gallery, St Pete, Fl

2010 had many lessons for me as an artist. All of my experiences in art have been good because even those one could call "bad" aren't because they taught me something valuable. We learn from our mistakes and we are learning from experiences all the time. Every experience in the life of an artist becomes a lesson when you think about it. From all the lessons I have learned so far I'm convinced there is a Master lesson above the rest.This Master lesson applies not only to art but to life as a whole. I still find myself learning from it everyday. The Master lesson is: "Know thyself". Because if you do, you will create art that is true to yourself and at the right time you will choose the right gallery, get into the right shows and even if you are not chosen or win any award, you will be happy because you know who you are and you know how good you are and you will just keep making art. There will be no doubt in your mind that you were born for this.

"Arcana 21" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

18" x 24" Oil on canvas 2010

I agree one should not make art to "fit in" but I think it is important to visualize yourself in the right places and with the right people, the ones you identify the most. If you study yourself long enough, you will notice that there is progress in your work every, month, every year, every decade. Whenever I think of what lies ahead of me, I am very pleased because it keeps me focused. I try to do better each time and compare myself not with others but with myself before and I know when Im getting better. Dont' expect outside support and approval. Find it in yourself. By knowing yourself you also see your own limitations. You will eventually find ways of dealing with and overcoming those limitations. But remember: If you truly know yourself, you will know that the gods live within you. The Universe will open up to you if you take time to really know who you are and with the gods on your side, there are no limitations.

Defining purpose for young artist's today

2010-10-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

"There is no escaping reason, no denying purpose, because as we both know without purpose we would not exist."

-Agent Smith from the film Matrix Reloaded

In this postmodern age of mass information and globalization, often young artists find themselves lost without a clear sense of purpose or any guiding light to their art creation. We are bombarded with so much information through the internet, that we often feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. During the Renaissance, young artists entered a guild and learned their craft by assisting a master. During the Baroque and Neoclassical periods, artists could enter an Art academy where they would follow very strict directions on how to draw, sculpt and paint. The purpose of an artist was defined mainly by the Church and State.

After an industrial revolution, the fall of the European monarchies, Independence in the Americas, democracy and two world wars, we entered into the modern age. Artists became revolutionaries with manifestos searching for hidden meaning in themselves and their art. The art world started to recognize artists not much by their effort, adherence to the rules and talent but by their originality, individuality and novelty. Culture decayed as one "ism" was replaced by another "ism" and many got their "15 minutes of fame". As progress and technology rapidly advanced, the arts had to catch up with the fast paced modern society and grab the immediate attention of the elite art connoisseurs. This attention usually had a very short memory span and as a consequence, art lost its substance and became a pure label and marketed logo. The shock value had replaced the transcendent value while deep meaning and direction was lost. Artists today are free to to whatever they wish as everything is accepted in this eclectic global age art world, as long as there is a market and audience for it. With so many options, materials, techniques and information at their disposal, artists naturally feel blocked and confused.

I find the so called "post-modern" age that we live in, most fascinating and full of possibilities where an artist is free to choose what to say and how to say it. At the same time there are so many artists and so many people who do not care about art at all. It seems there is not enough time, patience or serious thought given to art today. Consumer culture has taken care of the way we appreciate and interpret art. It has now become as disposable and trivial as any other consumer commodity. What could be the purpose for making art today? Here I have suggested just a few for those young artists who struggle to find purpose for making art today. Below I have listed seven ways of being an artist with a specific purpose.

An artist as a searcher for truth

Many artists consider themselves to still be searching for the ideal form or ideal art. They are non-conformist who constantly seek new ways of making art. They are eternal students and challenge themselves with each and every step. To search for truth in the world is a philosopher's job and an artist's one too.

An artist as a visionary/prophet

With much imagination, intuition and study, an artist can have the right sensibility to foretell the future and warn others about preventable disasters to come. As a visionary, the artist lives ahead of his time and recreates in his art what there is to come. Leonardo Da Vinci had such an intense vision of the future and he reflected much of this in his drawings.

An artist as a healer

The Chilean artist and author, Alejandro Jodorowsky once said: "Art that doesn't cure is not art." This is to say that art that transcends and becomes a memorable masterpiece is the kind of art that can move a soul and cure it. The artist who sees him or herself as a healer does not create art for selfish or trivial motivations. The artist healer may see our current postmodern condition as an illness and art is the cure.

An artist as a mystic

An artist that considers him or herself as a mystic, finds in art a way to understanding the hidden mysteries of the cosmos. Creating art is a spiritual ritual that connects the artist with the creator and with all of creation. Every movement, every color and every brush stroke carries a special energy that transcends the material level and speaks the language of the spirit.

An artist as a Myth maker

As Joseph Campbell would say, contemporary artists are the myth-makers of our age. Myths are beautiful stories that explain the nature of the Universe in terms that are easily grasped by a mind free from the chains of the logical reason and science. An artist that works motivated by mythology, constructs myths that are often relevant to his or her own time and culture. These myths are vital for any society as they provide the creative material that satisfies the need to find meaning for life and its cycles.

An artist as a revolutionary

An artist that thinks outside the box and questions the assumptions of those in power, is indeed a revolutionary. This kind of artist creates art that does not conform to the given rules or mainstream art world. His or her work is audacious and it shows us a different way of understanding art and the world around us. These agents of change often have a hard time getting accepted but their will is strong and their art eventually gets noticed.

An artist as a Chronicler/historian

This kind of artist looks more like a journalist that takes pictures and captures the crude reality of the world around him making a statement about it. By telling the story of his or her own time, this artist will aid future generations remember history and see past time through the lens of art. Every artist in a way makes history with every mark he or she makes whether it is figurative work or abstract. As Kandinsky would put it "Every art is a child of its time".

You may find yourself identified with one, some or all of these particular ways of being an artist. Feel very fortunate if you do for that means you are full of purpose and purpose is the heart and soul of every creation. Purpose defines creation.

All text on this blog entry is copyrighted material© by the artist and author Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Seven points of advice for young artists

2010-09-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

After giving an artist talk at my solo show “Era Dorada” (Golden Age) at the Sagrado Corazon (Sacred Heart) University of Puerto Rico, I was asked to offer some words of advice for young artists and art students. I gave them a few at the moment but after that I felt the urge to really think about the matter and write down a list of seven points of advice that could serve as a simple guideline for those who are starting out as artists. Of course this list could also be applied to any artist at any stage as in my case being a mid-career artist these seven points are the laws I try to live up to all the time. By following these seven points you may be able to channel and get the most out of your creative energies.

1. Read. Feed your brain with good books. Study as much as possible and make it part of your daily activities. Stay focused, keep your intellect alive and nurture your mind with healthy intellectual activities. These do not necessarily have to be related to art as everything in one way or the other informs art and will influence your creative mind. Be open to be challenged by new ideas and feel curious to constantly learn about new issues that are of your interest. Be continuously curious to learn, ask yourself questions and look for the answers. The internet is a great tool, use it properly.

2. Keep a Journal and document everything you make. Write and draw every day, make it a habit and a discipline. This will keep your creative flow alive and to know yourself. With this you will be able to hold on to new ideas. Much of the creative blocks can be avoided or removed by this simple practice. Do not worry if the drawings or writings seem stupid or irrelevant. This journal is private and it’s a way of having an intimate look into your inner creative being so you can access it at any moment. Affirm your thoughts and beliefs, write and re-write your artist statement. Document not only your ideas but also your work with a portfolio with good photos of your work. Start photographing even your drawings. In case your work is lost or stolen, you will have a visual evidence of your artwork. Besides being an effective professional tool it will allow to view your own evolution later on.

3. Make a work schedule. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with production at the studio. There are so many things to do that keep us away from making art. Assign yourself a time and space to work as much as possible but also leaving time for other important activities as well as a time to relax. Be realistic, know your limitations and be aware of your responsibilities. Start viewing your studio time as important as any other job, not expecting to be visited by a muse or inspiration but working a certain amount of hours a day. For an artist his or her work is central and he or she works as many hours a day as possible. Some artists work 7 to 8 hours a day just like any other full time job. Discipline is the keyword here.

4. Share your art. Art is not only about creating work hidden in your studio but also about meeting new people like artists, gallery owners, collectors, art lovers and anyone related in one way or the other to the arts and culture. Be open to share your art not only with other art related people but also with people who do not have any connection with art. I find this to be a perfect opportunity for them to learn something new and for myself an opportunity to hear a different point of view as I practice how to speak about my art.

5. Experience the world. Study nature first hand. Learn from direct experience as well as mediated experience. Learn to appreciate and experience what is around you. Go out and visit a museum, watch a movie, go to the park, spend some time with friends or join a group. Participate in healthy activities and expose yourself to the world. Live life outside the studio and allow these experiences to inform your vision of the world.

6. Be open to be critiqued Detach yourself from your work and listen to different points of view once in a while. Let go of your ego. This often hurts artists who feel they are too high above everyone else. Be open to be critiqued by other artists as well as people who do not have anything to do with art. Learn how to defend your work objectively and without getting too personal about it. With mutual respect we can listen and learn from even a child. Your art will have a different response from person to person and it’s good to take note of these individual reactions. Also be aware of who and what kind of person is giving you advice. Always be yourself and carefully examine advice from people who want you to be like everyone else or like themselves. Be ready to question the reasons. Critiques are a healthy way to learn and grow as an artist.

7. Dare to be different. If you see most artists painting large canvases, paint on small panels. Go against the mainstream; avoid becoming an imitator of current styles and trends. The best artists I know of make their own way and do not follow the masses or make what everyone expects them to do. Look into yourself and search for those qualities that make you especially different from other artists. Explore and take these differences further with your work so you may stand out of the crowd. This could make a huge difference on how others view and remember your work and you as an artist. For this it is important to follow the advice #2.

Hope these words of advice are of help to those young artists out there who wish to pursue art seriously. As a last word I should add that in this life I’ve learned that being an artist means much more than just having talent. Many good people out there have talent but do not take themselves seriously. I’ve seen poorly skilled art students and artists persist and keep practicing non-stop and after years of hard work they have become accomplished artists. So I say it’s not a matter of talent but on how much you wish to become something and how much you work for it!

All text on this blog entry is copyrighted material© by the artist and author Patrick McGrath Muñiz

"ERA DORADA" Reinterpreted myths for a global age

2010-08-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

Next thursday September 2nd of 2010 I'll present my newest work in an exhibition titled "ERA DORADA" (Golden Age) at the gallery of the University of Sagrado Corazon in Puerto Rico. On this solo show I have included 22 pieces that are composed of drawings and paintings in ink, tempera and oil on canvas and panel. Inspired in Western mythology, religion, art and colonial history I have reinterpreted some of the myths and doctrines of our own Global age.

"Deuscoverymiento" (2010)

"ERA DORADA" (Golden Age) responds to our global age with its current crisis and prevalent mythology. In these oil and tempera paintings on canvas and panel, I have created an anachronistic imaginary world, where pagan gods, heroes and saints are resurrected from the vestiges of a post-consumer landscape. As they emerge from the ruins of a declining empire, we are confronted with the survival of the myth of the "Golden Age". This myth presents a Utopian existence when life seemed to be unspoiled by the proposed set of values from a culture based on profit and consumerism. The work opens up a Pandora's Box of questions about how we got to our present global condition.

"The Secret Box" (2010)

Inspired by recurrent Classical and Christian Iconography in Western art, I paint on small "retablos" adopting Renaissance and Baroque painting techniques. This enables me to emulate previous strategies through indoctrination devices that remit to the time of the conquest and colonization of the Americas. Painting allows me to recreate intimate theater stages where I set up and orchestrate mythical and historical figures into satirical narratives that mirror my world today. Exposing a dialogue with history and mythology allows me to question today's assumptions of the demise of colonialism, borders and the myth of a new global age of peace, prosperity and equality.

"Obamus the lightbringer" (2010)

With the ruling omnipresent corporate global economy that diffuses and perpetuates its myths and doctrines over the globe through mass media we may ask ourselves: what hidden agenda do we finally serve by adopting these myths and doctrines? Where do our views of the current world come from? How was this information modified over time our attitudes towads nature, history and ourselves?

"Arcana 21" (2010)

"ERA DORADA" will open on September 2nd at 7:30 pm and will be exhibited at the gallery of Sagrado Corazon University until October 29th of the present year. For more information in Spanish you may visit the University website at:

http://www.sagrado.edu/noticias/descouvery.htm

Thank you very much for your support and please feel free to contact me by e-mail in case you have any questions regarding my work. You can e-mail me at: retabloarts@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you, seeing many of you at my show and hope to keep producing good work and sharing it with all of you! Future shows will soon be announced!

All text and images on this blog entry is copyrighted material© by the artist and author Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Reflections on numbers, shapes and colors in art

2010-08-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

"Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand which plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul."

-Kandinsky

In recent years my research has led me to find out some interesting connections between forms, colors, numbers and divine archetypes. Of course I will not be the first or the last to find spiritual truths hidden in the colors of my palette, compositions and even the number of colors and shapes I use. In the past it was not uncommon to find painters experimenting with alchemy and studying astrology besides theology and philosophy. Phillip Otto Runge, a Romantic German painter from the nineteenth century often imbued mystical qualities in his work. Runge believed that every form and color besides describing reality in a painting, they also revealed universal truths. Runge, a Christian considered the primary colors to be the sacred colors of the Trinity, equating God with the color blue, The Holy Ghost with yellow and Christ with red.

Morning by Phillip Otto Runge, Oil on Canvas 1808

A very common religious theme during the Renaissance was that of the Holy family, depicting the Child Jesus, The Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. One can find in numerous depictions, certain colors repeatedly used for each one of the members. Usually The Virgin Mary is dressed in blue and red or white while Saint Joseph is wearing purple and orange. These colors are splendidly painted in the compositions of Italian painter Raphael Sanzio. The coloring and triadic composition vividly idealizes the serene figures. This recurrent use of color to identify specific Christian Icons has the purpose of teaching the gospel through images easy to remember for the illiterate.

Holy family with palm tree by Raphael Sanzio, Oil on tondo canvas (Unknown date)

Modern painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky, credited with creating the first abstract painting. wrote in 1911"Concerning the spiritual in art". Influenced by music and theosophy, Kandinsky in his time, developed not only a new way of painting but a new way of thinking about paint. Painting after all in its essence is an abstract substance. Colors can have a double effect upon us. First and obviously we feel attracted to colors by looking at them but this occurs at a physical/senses level. If we keep staring at a painting for long enough we might start feeling spiritually elevated (or depressed, depending on the work, vibe and intention of the artist). This mysterious feeling of lightness, internal peace and joy is transmitted by a painting the same way as a beautiful classical tune does. It soothes the soul in the most sublime way and this is what drove Kandinsky towards abstraction and the study of the mysteries behind this experience.

Composition VII by Wassily Kandinsky, oil on canvas, 1913

In "Concerning the spiritual in art" Kandinsky notes that different colors evoke different reactions on the human soul. For instance blue is cold, distant and celestial. Yellow is warm and terrestrial. Mixing yellow and blue create green which is immobile and calm like vegetation, a union between the terrestrial and the celestial. These associations not only come fourth from experience with nature but with the subjective experience with paint itself. As with colors we can also respond in different ways to form. A triangle will communicate to us differently from a circle or a square. Number in a painting also plays a very important part. We certainly do not interact in the same way when we are confronted by a single painted portrait as we would do with a whole battalion of figures in a large composition. Besides having natural associations, colors, forms and numbers have cultural considerations and personal interpretations as well. Aware of this we can carefully venture into the subjective world of art wearing a mystic's robe and understanding art spiritually rather that materially.The following is just an overview of how one may interpret some forms, colors and numbers in a painting:

Numbers:

One- The individual, the unity, the Uni-verse, the absolute God, the monad, the whole. the planet, the sphere, dot or single circle According o art theorist James Elkins, "Paint adds like this: 1+1=1. Contrary to a mathematical mind, art is experienced as a "whole" with everything related to each other and being part of the same thing.

Sun god Shamash receiving the solar disk, his emblem of power, relief 9th century, Babylonia

Two- The pair, male and female, duality, deadly opposition or romantic encounter, the line with a beginning and end. Two is also becoming fundamentally conscious of ourselves by consuming the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve by Albert Durer , engraving, 1507

Three- The Trinity: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit or the Mind, the Soul and the Body. The triangle or pyramid is the establishment of a relationship through reconciliation. Out of the thesis and anti-thesis a synthesis is born. In Christianity there are three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. Three is associated with the spiritual realm. Three is an artist, his material to work with and his inspiration or concept. Three is a couple and the love that unites them.

Traditional diagram used to described the Mystery of the Trinity

Four- Material creation, substance, an artist with his material to work with, his inspiration or concept create the masterpiece, this is four. Four elements (fire, air, water and earth) are needed to describe matter. Four are the cardinal directions, four seasons and four the primary colors (Red,Black, Yellow and White) for the ancient Mayans Egyptians and Greeks. Egyptian god Horus had four sons who guarded the four canopic jars into which the four most important organs of the deceased pharaoh were kept. In Christianity there are four evangelist that are represented by four sacred animals. The cross has four ends.

The Celtic Cross

The Zodiac wheel divided up in four parts that define the winter and summer solstices and spring and autumn equinoxes.

The four Egyptian canopic jars that kept theorgans of the deceased Pharaoh.. Duamutef, the jackal headed god represented the east and kept the stomach, Quebehsenuef, the falcon headed god represented the west and kept the intestines. Hapi the Baboon headed god represented the north and kept the lungs. Imseti, the human headed god kept the liver and represented the south.

Seven: The sacred number. Seven are the colors of the rainbow, the traditional musical notes, the wonders of the ancient world, the number of Chakras in the human body, the vices and virtues, the days of the creation in Genesis and the days of the week. Seven is the union of three spiritual principles with four material principles. It is the number of growth, and completion.

The Menorah is a Jewish symbol candelabrum with seven branches, used as a portable sanctuary and a symbol of universal enlightenment.

Shapes:

Circle or dot: The atom at a micro-cosmic level , the solar system as a macro-cosmic level. An apple, an egg and a human head are all derived from the idea of a circle. The circle is organic,it pulsates with life, its life itself, full of potentiality, the cell , the microscopic organism in evolution and also the Sun and the Moon. It is also accepted as the symbol of eternity and never-ending existence.

Single Cell Plant

The Cylinder  or line: Phallus, temple column, tree, building, sword, serpent, action, vertical or horizontal trust and movement, road, direction, arrow  and bullets.

Corinthian column

Square, rectangle or cube :  House, temple, man made, box or container, a product of culture. Enclosed space, cage, nature reshaped and repackaged by the logical and "square" minded.

Temple to Bacchus at Baalbak, Beirut

Triangle or pyramid: God's supreme wisdom, The Trinity, spirituality, eternity, life after death, ascension, if it points to the sky, descending if it points to the earth. Human's stairway to the heavens,  Sacred in ancient Mayan and Egyptian civilizations.

Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico

Colors:

Black: In alchemy blackness is called the nigredo and is considered the "materia prima" from which the philosophers work is to begin with. It is earth, excrement, and black bile. The impure, chaos, lead, death, the underworld, primordial darkness. It is absence of color and therefore or life.

White: The sacred and pure, perfection, illumination, innocence and chastity. Unicorns in medieval art are white. The "albedo", second stage in the alchemical also represents the Moon, water and phlegm. A white flag stands for surrender and peace.

Yellow: Divine splendor, the Sun, solar light, gold, also denotes jealousy, ambition, greed. In alchemy it is called Citrinitas and means "yellowness". It stands for urine and air. It is also the color of Apollo, Sun god, pure spirit and intellect.

Red: Passion of Christ, love, blood, Ares, god of war, agitation, physicality, energy, virility, health and strength. In alchemy it is called "rubedo" and is symbolized by the "glowing lion" It is fire and the last stage in the alchemical process revealing the philosophers stone.

Blue: Celestial, distant and cold, blue is the color of the Virgin Mary, mother of God, often associated with the Holy Ghost and the Heavens. It also stands for revelation, wisdom, the sky and the seven seas.

Purple: Imperial power, Royalty, truth, justice and temperance. Priesthood. The color of Jupiter, king of of the Olympian gods, In Christianity it is associated with God, the father.

Again these are just some cultural interpretations of some numbers, colors and forms mostly informed mostly by Western Judeo-Christian tradition. For further reading in the subject I recommend J.C. Cooper's Dictionary of symbols, Wassily Kandinsky "Concerning the spiritual in art", Signs and Symbols in Christian art by George Ferguson and Barbara G Walker "symbols and sacred objects". In future blogs, I shall talk in more depth about each one of these colors, shapes, numbers and their specific meanings in art.

A new large format painting is born out of my studio!

2010-07-02T15:36:00.000-07:00

After more than a month of intensive work in my studio spending more than 8 hours a day painting, It is time to get back to blogging. It is easy to get burned out when you spend about 12 hours a day every day of the week in the same spot painting large and medium sized oil paintings. I can recall dreaming of paint and seeing paint everywhere. It is also necessary to stand back once in a while, contemplate what has been done so far and take note of the work . At the moment I have completed a good amount of paintings and drawings for my upcoming solo show titled "Era Dorada" (Golden Age in Spanish). This body of work explores the relationship between mythology, religion and the corporate colonialist project mostly known as Globalization. Here I shall talk briefly about one of the paintings that deals with all of these issues. The title of the work is Deuscovery Miento

Deuscovery Miento Oil on canvas 50" x 38" 2010 by artist Patrick McGrath Muñiz

As the title suggests, the work is inspired in the miscalled "discovery" of the new world by European explorers in the fifteenth century. One can call a discovery when something unseen by the rest of humanity is first found by one human or one human civilization. If we are to call a "discovery" the famous event occurred in 1492 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in Guahani (modern San Salvador island) we must then assume that there were no other inhabitants in these islands or that these were not humans. In any case the perpetuated myth has been created in order to glorify the conquerors and colonizers agenda over the native peoples of the Americas. We grow up learning these myths in school. In order to know the truth, It is necessary then to unlearn what we are conveniently taught.

Detail of Deuscovery Miento: Christopher Columbus carrying a banner the reads: "Putocracia Imperare"

History has become manipulated pieces of information used to indoctrinate and turn us into happy submissive consumers and believers of the status quo. As an artist I look through history books for inspiration but I also find mythology reappearing though the past as well as in current world events. I start seeing patterns and similarities between what has happened before and what is happening today. What we call globalization today is nothing more than an extension of colonialism conducted by large transnational corporations. What used to be another culture's ancient religion, today we call mythology and by doing so we invalidate it. In the end everything tends to move in one direction: Globalization or control over the globe.

Detail of Deuscovery Miento: a Group of colonizers

In this painting I have reinterpreted the arrival of the European explorers to the Americas by incorporating pop culture elements that refer to our own time. Some of the characters are better known than others but they all say something about the theme of conquest and colonization either by means of religion or consumer media propaganda. The colonizing forces have been placed on the right side of the composition while the colonized natives are found at the left side. Both sides are comprised of characters and icons from different times and culture but share common traits either as colonizers or victims of colonization.

Detail of Deuscovery Miento: The meeting point between colonizers and natives

Above a detail of the meeting point between these two groups, the natives offer gifts , that include precious stones, their idols, natural resources and the Earth itself. The colonizers have brought their own gifts to exchange as well. These include, plastic junk from the consumer culture fast, food, a tv set and a dollar bill offered by Columbus.

Detail of Deuscovery Miento: Gifts from the natives

I have included indigenous, African and Latin American men and women to represent the people vulnerable to colonization. The three main gifts they hold represent three stolen elements from Africa and the Americas: Land, represented by the Earth, Natural resources, represented by the bowl of precious stones and Culture, represented with the Taino Cemi or religious idol. The latter also stands for polytheist religions a people's history and cultural diversity.

Detail of bottom part of Deuscovery Miento: Predella

On this piece I have implemented a monochromatic trompe l'oil frame. Trompe l'oil is a painting technique that creates the illusion of a three-dimensional object that stands out of the canvas, in this case an illusory frame which containts a predella. The predella is a mini-narrative of paintings or sculptures located at the bottom of an altarpiece that complete the story of the main piece above. Here I have represented the world with a globe that reads "Universal". This serves as both a reminder of how much we are influenced by Hollywood films and at the same time how conquerors and corporations presume to posses the "universal" gospel of truth which gives them the right to own the world. On the left side an oil rig, a maritime power symbol of corporations and on the right side a 15th century European caravel, a maritime power symbol of colonialism.

On the far right side of the composition we find two characters embracing in the background. They are representations of Hades, the ancient Greek god of the underworld and riches, and a Corporate Ceo. Next to them I have included Cerberus , the tricephalus guadian canine of the underworld. It makes sense to think of a god of the underworld to be the god of riches also ,as gold, silver and other precious minerals come from mines and black gold (oil) comes from under the earth as well. As it seems, corporations have made a deal with Hades, or Pluto as the ancient Romans would have called this deity. In Christianity the figure that most resembles this archetype is the devil but Hades holds a function that the traditional devil does not seem to posses or at least not that often and this is to be the lord of money. Christianity as with other current religions limits the spirit world into two realms: good and evil. There seems to be very little space for gray neutral gods in their view. On the other hand the ancient pagans viewed a world filled with gods and deities that were neither good or bad, they just served their own interests just like corporations do today. Reason why I find the pagan gods to be perfect metaphors for the corporate world.

Upper right detail of the painting Deuscovery Miento

On the four corners of this work I have painted four female figures that function as allegories to the four most influential mass media today: The tv and big screen media, the internet, printed press and radio. They read in Spanish: "Creo lo que leo, Creo lo que veo, Creo lo que encuentro y Creo lo que oigo". Translated in English this would be: "I believe what I read, I believe what I watch, I believe what I find and I believe what I hear". Media plays a vital role on the way we understand history and current world events so they make up the four cardinal directions of our senses as this painting suggests.

In conclusion the work inplies its message with its title: Deuscovery Miento. "Deus" meaning god in Latin, "covery" a play between "discovery" and "cover" implies a "cover-up". The letter "Y" in Spanish means "and". Miento is the word in Spanish for "lie" So as the epigraph above the work reads: "Novisimo et Acuratisimo Deus Cover y Miento Global " (Newest and most accurate divine cover up and lies around the globe) .

All text and images on this blog entry is copyrighted material© by the artist and author Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Painting Religion and Mythology in a Global Age

2010-05-09T09:48:00.000-07:00

Mythological and religious themes have a long history in the tradition of painting. If one studies the art of the Renaissance for instance, examples of these are quite numerous given the spirit of the time. Artists of that period viewed classical and religious themes in the light of humanistic principles that characterized their time. They represented mythological stories and Biblical narratives in ways that made these relevant to their own experience in place and time. It is not uncommon to see paintings by Raphael or Titian where Roman soldiers in a Passion of Christ scene are represented as Italian soldiers of their own time. In mythological scenes, someone like Botticelli would paint Venus and the graces as women who were considered at the time in Florence to be the most beautiful.

"Birth of Venus"

Tempera on canvas by Italian artist Sandro Boticelli

To find out more about this artist visit:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandro_Botticelli

So how would an artist today re-interpret old mythological and Christian narratives in the terms of their own time and experience? First of all Christian themes are well known in contemporary western culture to the point that they almost become "cliche". Christian imagery is much more recognizable than most images from mythology. While Christian Icons have been spread out to the masses, Mythological scenes are mostly found around intellectual circles who enjoy good literature and art. And when mythology leaks out to the general public it does so in the most distorted forms, in films like Disney's Hercules or Clash of the Titans. When mythological stories are manipulated and distorted we do not suspect a hidden agenda but just lame entertainment. When Christian icons become manipulated and distorted in some way it seems to be done by an artist and with a specific purpose or agenda usually related to the Pop art movement.

Michael Jackson portrait by American artist David LeChapelle

To see more of this artist work visit

http://www.lachapellestudio.com/

Last Supper by American artist Ron English

To see more of this artist work visit:

http://www.popaganda.com/blog1.php

From the angels to the Last Supper, contemporary artists have often appropriated and imbued these well known icons with new interpretations and personal meaning. These artworks can question the assumed religious establishment and prevalent beliefs in our society. They can also serve as a reminders of old celebrations, practices and stories that need to be retold in contemporary terms. These artistic interpretations can make us aware of the value we place upon mass media, consumer objects and the way we experience pop culture day to day.

"Variantes para una crucifixión"
oil on wood by Guatemalan artist Alfredo Garcia Gill

To see more of this artist work visit:

www.artintheamericas.com

But what about myths? Even though popularized in film, literature and art, myths seem to belong to a different realm. We do not treat myth in the same way we treat religion. For religion there is a reverence or irreverence that people choose or not choose to have. Its almost like taboo and it happens with politics.as well. People either keep quite to stay safe or take sides and become passionate about certain issues. In any case the subject of religion in art can become troublesome and uncomfortable to most. This does not seem to be the case with myths. Myths are different. Ancient religions that believed in the existence of many gods are now treated as mythology because no one, except for Neopagans and other New Age sects truly believes in them.

Pagan high priestess offering a hand shake to a N.C. Bible Believer who refuses her peace gesture while shouting passages of the Bible. For more information on this incident visit:

http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4391/pagans-christians-collide-at-poteet-park

Not only do we refer to ancient religions with many gods as mythology but also other current polytheistic religions as well. Ever wondered why is Krishna and other Hindu deities are found in books on mythology? For a Hindu, Krishna is as real as Jesus. So why not consider Jesus part of mythology too? We can see mythology is a word with negative connotations that we use to distant ourselves from gods and other divine entities we do not believe in and negate as possible truths.

"Jesus Land"

Oil on canvas by American artist Patrick McGrath Muñiz

to see more of my work visit
retabloarts.com

In our modern language we call myths to anything that is a false story or anything that is not fact. I think this makes a tremendous injustice to the ancient myths of Rome, Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Mesoamerica. Their stories explained natural phenomena and moral teachings with such beauty and wisdom that many of them have deeply influenced our own Judeo-Christian traditions to this day. For example, the garden of Eden, the devil, the angels, Noah's ark, and a crucified savior born from a virgin along with other stories from the Bible can be traced back to its ancient roots in Babylonian or Egyptian myths. In fact, many of the near eastern religions existing in ancient Rome before and by the time of early Christianity shared similar beliefs and rituals. These religions basically told the same Jesus story with a few variations. "Mythological" figures such as Orpheus, Mithra, Adonis and Dionysus as well as others had much in common with our Christ including a birth from a virgin, miracles, crucifixion, resurrection and promise of salvation through their sacrifice.
As Saint Augustine once said: "Whatever has been rightly said by the pagans, we must appropriate to our uses".

2nd century amulet depicting the crucifixion of Greek god Dionysus to learn more about this and other similar myths I recommend watching the first part of the movie Zeitgeist at: http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

Mythology is very much present in our imagination as well as the way we experience the world today. Many of the stories and archetypes of heroes, villains and gods are still being projected onto celebrities, politicians and even forces in nature. There seems to be a innate human need to find the divine or supernatural in the world around us. From comic book heroes to the way we call our our planet, mother Earth, as if we were referring to the ancient Greek goddess Gaea., we not only anthropomorphize nature, we deify it.

"Gaia Altarpiece" Oil on canvas 48" x 48" By French American artist Elsie Russell To see more of the artist work visit: http://www.parnasse.com/erlist.htm

Monotheistic and Patriarchal religions have repressed polytheistic tendencies in the past but it has been unable to stop it from reemerging specially since Neo-platonist early Renaissance. In this global age that we live in, I cannot think of a better language than that of myths to describe whats happening all around us. If we use the term "myth" in the modern sense, we can say that live in an age of myths. There is the myth of "green corporations" with their "green washing", the myth of a "global village", the myth of "borderlines countries" and the myth of a illuminated populist leader that will save us all. Today there are many myths about beauty, culture, art, justice, war, sex, food, energy and many other issues that consciously aware artists should address in their work. As a painter who is constantly adapting sacred Icons and symbols to reinterpret old stories in contemporary terms I find the world of myth infinite in sources for inspiration. That is the reason why I have decided to adapt and incorporate the language of myth into my new work and here is one example of what my new work is starting to look like. On my next blog i shall present and explain my current artist statement.

"Obamus, the Light Bringer"

Egg tempera and gold leaf on wood triptych 18" x 13" (2010)

by artist Patrick McGrath Muñiz

To see more of my work visit my official website at:

www. retabloarts.com

All text on this blog is copyrighted material© by the artist and author Patrick McGrath Muñiz

The 7EVEN guiding principles of my art (part 2)

2010-05-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

On my last blog entry I started a list of seven principles that guide my painting practices at my studio. Ideas have been evolving and I must confess that I'm constantly revising myself in order to improve my teaching art philosophy. Some changes have been made to this septenary structure but It keeps evolving. For now I will explain these initial guiding principles in order to avoid confusion. On future blog entries I shall keep redefining these.

In art, things that seem quite complex are actually reasonably simple and easy to understand. When it comes to developing a preliminary sketch or study for a painting A thought it born, inspired by a world event, mythology, history or personal experience. I usually find connections between two different stories, one from the present with one from the past. I draw the general forms and create a composition. Then I make studies of the different parts for this composition. I go to the specifics of it. It’s that simple. These first three steps make up the three first principles or "Trivium" that I have categorized as: thought, general form and the study of its specific parts. This triadic process defines how mind moves matter and ideas are materialized on paper as preparatory sketches.

Study of Vitruvian Man with Zodiac Wheel

by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Within the septenary system there is a division between three and four. Three often represents matters of time and spirituality (The Holy Trinity, The past, Present and Future and other similar concepts). Four often represents matters of form, physicality and space (The four cardinal directions the four elements, the four humors and other concepts). This is the reason why I have divided "The 7EVEN guiding principles into two parts. The first three called the "Trivium" concern ideas and preliminary drawings and the last four called the "Quadrivium" deals with how I incorporate these drawings and ideas into a painting or finished work.

The human head divided into three parts face and four parts head

Illustration provided by the artist and author Patrick McGrath Muñiz

Once I’m satisfied with the idea, the composition and its components I proceed to the next sequence of principles to be implemented. I am now ready to paint. The "Quadrivium" is a fourfold stage process of painting that not only illustrates the four parts of my painting practice, it also embodies the four seasons in nature, four cardinal directions and alchemical processes. I shall explain these relations in depth later on. The following remaining four principles are related closely to the process of materializing ideas and fixing them onto a surface as paint.

4. THE PRINCIPLE OF SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Preliminary drawing for "The Path" Charcoal on gray paper 18" x 24" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz (2008)

Once all of the parts are solved and a composition is clear and concrete in my preliminary sketches or journal, I measure the elements in my composition; make the proper adjustments and placements in space. This is the part where I make sure everything is in proper proportion and perspective. I apply the golden mean to my composition and make sure there is a good grade of symmetry, harmony and proportion between the parts. Of course this is more easily said than done and not always one can have it perfectly right but at least try and filter any defects as much as possible at this point. It is of vital importance that every component of the composition including the conceptual core is examined cautiously. All corrections are made as the drawing is not only completed but also transferred onto canvas or panel. This part is known as the "underdrawing". The "underdrawing" is like a solid structure or inner skeleton that holds everything together. I may reproduce my drawing accurately on a primed and toned panel or canvas by various means. A projector, a grid system or transfer paper would do.

Copy of a Rubens I made for a class I offered on Old Master techniques. Here I used a grid system to transfer my drawing more accurately.

I like to compare this part of the process with the season of spring, love, air and youth. It is like falling in love and the first kiss. Everything feels new, pure and fresh. It is a very exciting part of the painting process and one of the most enjoyable moments in the birth of a work of art. A defining element in my work is the sense of humanity, humor and personality in my characters. These qualities are fixed onto the picture at this part of the process. With the principle of spatial relationships I make sure all the parts of my composition live in harmony with each other before moving up to the next principle.

5. THE PRINCIPLE OF ILLUMINATION

The principle of illumination applied to the oil painting on canvas titled "The Path"

At this stage I start shading and defining the drawn forms by creating the illusion of the third dimension. It is very important to solve light and shade or value issues before going into color. This was practiced by most academic painters of the 19^th century French Academy. This part of the process is also called an "underpainting". It makes much sense to work on a monochromatic (with variations of a single color) "underpainting" because one is not distracted by many vivid colors that compete with each other for attention and often swallow the well rendered forms. It is better to solve one problem at a time so illumination comes with what is known as a “Grisaille”(French term for an "underpainting" executed with grays).

"Grisaille" step completed for the oil painting on canvas titled "The Path"

If the "underdrawing" is to a painting what the skeleton is to the human body Then the "underpainting" must be to painting what the muscles are to the body. With light, shade and the grays in between, the artist endows the drawing with a volumetric body. By illuminating or lighting a drawing the artist crosses the threshold of linear drawing to the world of painted forms. I can see the principle of illumination connected to the intense light of the of summer, strength, fire and maturity. When I work with grays I can meditate on the meaning of light and darkness. In my work I often present a visual dialogue between negative and positive forces in history, mythology, religion and politics. The predominant grays reveal that most things in life are not black or white but rather different gradations of either.

6. THE PRINCIPLE OF CHROMA (Color)

Finished version of "The Path" Oil on canvas 18" x 24" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz (2008)

Once the "underpainting" or "grisalle" Is fully resolved and dry it is then time to unleash the wild living creature called color. In Western painting traditional practices, line and drawing have often been associated with the methodic organizing and rational mind. With color it has been the opposite. Color is often seen as life, creation, and pure expression. Unrestrained color can become chaos and ruin any painting as each color competes with each other and fight to take over the territory . Color is subjective and the perception of it may vary from person to person and culture to culture. If the drawing represents the skeleton, values represent the muscles then color must certainly represent the skin. Its outer appearance, its superficial look may be deceiving. It is like the label or wrapping of a consumer product concealing the true contents. At the same time color can beautify and enhance the facade of any object. It mesmerizes the senses, sweetens or spices up anything to be blissfully consumed. A mastery over this principle makes any artist into a master of illusions.

"Who watches over us" Oil and gold leaf on canvas diptych 20" x 20" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz (2006)

The principles of color can be associated with the multicolored falling leaves of autumn and with water reflecting the color of the sky and a rainbow crossing over the horizon. Color can be applied heavily or thinly as veils of subtle semi-transparent color called “glazes”. I aim towards unity when I use color on my work, so when I apply a color on a specific part, I then spread some of that same color on other parts around that area. Color is emotional, subjective and poetic so imagination and personal associations play an important role in choosing the right palette for you. In my work color is limited and used with moderation. I do not trust color as much as I trust form. But as with anything else, it’s not a matter of how much of it you apply but rather how well you apply it.

7. THE PRINCIPLE OF CONTEMPLATION

With a simple painted ball I have illustrated the three previous principles

With the Principle of spatial relationships I create an "underdrawing"

with the Principle of Illumination I create an "underpainting" or "grisaille"

and with the Principle of chroma I have added color

As we move on to the seventh principle, the painting or drawing in question should be completed. The principle of contemplation reenacts a part of the story of the creation In the book of Genesis when in the Seventh day of creation God decided it was time to rest. I find it highly rewarding to sit back after a long day of studio work and contemplate my creation. It is also a good time to analyze and study the work under proper light conditions. Sometimes I feel compelled to make a few touches here and there, add a detail, a glaze or darken an area. In any case, these changes are minimal as they are given at this point.

Detail of "The Judgement" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

As a basic rule, I will not photograph a painting or take it to a show unless I feel proud of the piece. By contemplating the work for an hour of so I make sure the work has the right hues, with right elements in the right values and right relations with each other. The focal point of the composition is located at an interesting strategic point of the space and it is full of purpose and meaning. When everything seems right, I sign the work and consider it done. I like to think of this part of the process as old age, winter, earth, and history. It's related to the fact that I am moved by the past as much as by the present and the work itself becomes a part of history. The work I produce remits to the work of many of the old masters and it is to these and other ancient sources that I owe much of my inspiration.

"The Judgement" Oil and gold leaf on carved wood triptych 23" x 24" By Patrick McGrath Muñiz (2009)

I found this latin quote quite interesting and relevant to this last principle:

“respice, adspice, prospice" (Examine the past, examine the present, examine the future)

Detail of "The Judgement" by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

This concludes the seven guiding principles to my art which I'm sure will be useful to other artists as well. They are an attempt to reconcile many different philosophical and art practices I have studied and followed throughout my life. As I have said before, ideas keep evolving and the more I study and research, the more sense these principles make. From the seven chakras, to the seven days of the week named after the pagan gods I find many interesting connections that have enriched my life and art with mystical implications and deeper meaning hidden behind every creative act in my studio. As I see it, painting is truly a ritualized magical practice that elevates the soul on a seven step ladder toward s the heavens. It is a reenactment of divine creation that brings us closer to God.

All material including text and images on this blog post is copyrighted material© by the artist and author Patrick McGrath Muñiz. This material may not be reproduced by any means without the artist permission

The 7EVEN guiding principles of my art (part 1)

2010-04-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

The number seven is a number that has captured my imagination and deeply resonates in me. There are so many philosophical systems and religions that have given this number a special place that there must be something sacred about it. Just to give a few examples: SEVEN is found 735 times in the Bible. SEVENFOLD is mentioned 6 times and SEVENTH is found 119 times. In Genesis, in the Seventh day of creation God decided it was time to rest, relating the number with completion and perfection. There are seven deadly sins, seven virtues and seven liberal arts. Seven were the wonders of the ancient world and seven are the Hermetic principles. Issac Newton identified 7 colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Seven are the notes of the western musical scale and there are seven chakras or energy centers in the human body. The recurrence of this number goes on and on across ages and cultures and areas of study.

The seven Chakras with their corresponding colors located in the human body.

In 2007 I remember painting my first series of saints. They were seven in total. That year I got legally married on July 27 and then by the Church on August 17. My wife and I did not choose these dates, they were the dates available for us to get married. Mysterious number 7 seemed to be following me.

In 2008 I decided to explore the different relationships of the number starting with the seven days of the week named after the gods and seven astral bodies known to the ancient world. Since my paintings always relate and react to our times and being our time defined by this phenomenon called “Globalization”, I decided to address seven global issues that I thought were of key importance (Energy sources, The Environment, Wars, Migration, Corporate power, Media and Consumerism). I related these with seven archetypal figures that are a syncretism between classical mythology and Christian iconography. This is how the work “Syncretisms” was born.

Drawing and painting inspired in the figure of the Virgin Mary and part of the work Syncretisms

Today my ideas keep evolving but I’m still deeply inspired by the mystery of the number seven and how to make this ancient mystery more relevant to my art studio practice. After studying and reconciling different religious and philosophical traditions that dealt with the septenary system, I started to think of my work in seven terms. Not only have I identified certain qualities that describe the work, I’ve also identified these with seven stages of the creative process. So I came up with an ordered sequence of seven principles that apply to my own art practice experience. Even though related, these in no way are modeled after the systems studied. These are rather redefined according to how my own art studio practice and the way it has worked for me almost every time, freeing it from any constraining theory. These are my first three guiding principles in art:

1. The principle of Thought

“Mens agitat molem” The mind moves the matter - Virgil

Often in popular culture cartoons and comics an idea is depicted by a light bulb above a characters head. It is not difficult then to connect ideas with light. It is the inner Sun light that we all carry within our minds

I like to think of my creative work starting not as a line or brushstroke on a surface but in the mind as an abstract idea. Art is primarily an idea before becoming matter. For this reason a healthy creative mind must be nourished with vital intellectual pursuits such as reading, writing and drawing. Keeping an art journal, brainstorming regularly and jotting down ideas either as drawings or writings keeps the mind busy and productive. An art journal is the womb where great works of art gestate.

My art journal

Most of my ideas come from studying history and contemporary culture. I often quote both historical and present day figures in my work. Someone like Leonardo Da Vinci would perfectly exemplify the practice of keeping an art journal. I would suggest drawing and writing every day to keep the ideas in constant flux. I am reminded of Pliny the elder's aphorism “Nulla Dies Sine Linea” (Do not let a day go by without a line).

Detail of "Alternative Energy Sources under the Sign of the Sun" Work by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

2. The Principle of Form

“As above, so below” - Hermes Trimegistus

In a drawing form is composed by lines and governed by both the mind and hand. A line is an idea taking on a physical dimension on paper or any other surface and becoming a word or a drawing. A line can be described as point A connecting with a point B, therefore we can understand it as a means to connecting.

In this second stage I start finding interesting correspondence between my idea and the way I represent it formally. I build up and organize a composition, conceptually as well as formally. At this point I also study the relation between the negative and the positive forms in my composition.

Disneyfied saints, graphite on paper by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

These first two principles occur in the journal and separate preliminary sketches. The first is a thought. The second is thought becoming matter and finding new ways to relate with each other.

Preliminary sketch for "Magna Regina" (Great Queen) work by the artist

In my work I frequently bring together icons from different times and cultures. To bring together and reconcile past and present times, cultures and beliefs into a harmonious unity is one of my aims in art. Two is the number that eloquently expresses this creative approach.

The Moon seems to embody this second principle as it may be seen as both a thin curved line and then as a fully formed circle. It is the principle of line becoming form. We are able to see the Moon thanks to the reflected light of the Sun. In the same way the principle of thought defines the principle of form.

3. The principle of Anatomy (the study of the parts)

"The kingly crowned head, the vigilant eye, the counsellor heart, the arm our soldier, our steed the leg, the tongue our trumpeter." - Shakespeare

Anatomical charcoal study for "Insula Ignominiae" work by the artist

On this third stage of the process I then proceed to take notes of the anatomy for my models. Being the human figure the main protagonist in my paintings I find it very important to dedicate myself to the study of their parts, from bones to muscles to clothing. When I refer to anatomy I do not limit the term to just human anatomy but I go beyond the human body to also study animals, trees and what humans wear.

Study of camera man and coin symbols for Magna Regina work by the artist

There are basically three types of drawings: contour, gesture and modeled drawings, that is with light and shade. These are the three types of approaches I take with my anatomical studies. By doing so, I learn how to represent my characters accurately endowing them life. My primary interest here is to focus on how the line expresses personality and vitality.

Portrait charcoal study for "Insula Ignominiae" work by the artist

While drawing or painting from photographs I regularly refer back to classical models, nature as it appears and my mental image of how things should look like. These three sources inform my work. While the first principle was about the creative thought and the second about the thought becoming form in a whole composition, the third principle guides me through the specific parts of the composition. By focusing on specifics I also make sure there is diversity in forms and ideas within the whole of my composition.

Sanguine study for "Exodus Exvoto Profugus" work by the artist

This concludes my first part dealing with the guiding principles of my art. These first three principles can be applied to drawing as well as paintings but most of the time they are reflected in sketches and writings contained in my art journal. They serve as the basis for all of my work. On the next four guiding principles I will talk more about issues that concern finished work and completing paintings.

Drive- thru salvation and other marketing strategies

2010-04-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday On my way out of the local market I encountered an interesting sight. Several young girls wearing shorts on the side of the street holding big signs that read: “ Cristo Salva, oramos por ti, Servi- Carro” (Christ saves, we pray for you, drive-thru.) I found it curious how this church has borrowed an idea that is common practice for fast food chains. After a brief Google search I found out that even the Catholic Church and other churches in the United States have “Drive-in” prayer locations. Someone might say it is quite acceptable to have this sort of thing in a car culture society and he or she is probably right. But if Christianity adopts the strategies of the corporate world then it should be of no controversy that I may have in my work a dialogue between Christianity and Consumerism. Living in an island with so many car dealers right next to other commercial lots rented or bought by churches brought me to the conclusion that marketing strategies can work for almost every institution today.

Church in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico that looks more like a store. The sign reads: “Blessed Church invested with power”

I’ve noticed that many of these new churches spread out across the country are almost undistinguishable from other type of businesses just by looking at their front window. After all, many of these churches offer “service” as they call it to their parishioners, a different type of consumers, religious consumers. I also understand how some people may feel offended by this that I’m saying because they see religious practice as a sacred realm that should be vertically above everything else in society. This might have been true when the church was built in the center of a Latin American colonial city like Antigua, Guatemala. The Medieval gothic cathedral in many European towns is still the tallest building in town. Architecture and Urban planning often reveal the priorities of a society.

Main Cathedral in Antigua Guatemala

Now compare both of these pictures above. We may be aware that there is a huge difference between Catholicism and other protestant denominations. But what happened with the way many Christian churches are built in a consumerist age? They had to compete so they got their own TV channels, logos and brands, relocated in malls and commercial lots and now they also offer fast food drive-thru salvation. They became another consumer commodity. Faith has been reduced to a mass produced merchandise displayed on multiple horizontal shelves to be compared with one another, bought and consumed. Of course it is sad to see how a consumerist society has reshaped religion to its own image.

Panis Beatus (Holy bread) 15” x 23” Oil on wood (2006) by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

The same marketing and consumer rules apply to everything even politics. This was self evident with the political campaign lead by our now present Barack Obama with his very effective use of the web. The emblematic circle with the sun rising from the horizon logo that reads “Hope” or “Change” was another strategy borrowed from the corporate realm. Politics has also been branded , repackaged and sold in the same way as religion.

Obama political campaign imagery remitted to old revolutionary “Che” propaganda. Both icons have been massively appropriated for t-shirts and other consumer items ultimately transforming the meaning of the figure. This kind of straightfoward bold image has proved to have a special appeal iwith the masses

Now, what about history and mythology? I recently went to see the movie “Clash of the Titans” a remake of Desmond Davis 1981 classic film. Rebranded, repackaged and sold once more but as a total disaster of the titans. If you thought the old version was far removed from the original narrative, this latest version didn’t even look like classical mythology at all. It was deprived of real content, humanism or any transcendental message or lesson present in the original myth. The film is made for the senses, all about cool special effects to capture the eye not our mind.

Poster image for the 2010 remake film "Clash of the Titans"

The reason for this may well be the same reason why today logos and brands are even more important that the product itself. In Naomi Klein’s book “No Logo”, the author illustrates successfully how corporations have become increasingly more involved in marketing their logos and brands than even more than their products. Production has gone to the side and now goods are manufactured in sweat shops in China, Indonesia or El Salvador. It is irrelevant how it’s made and under what conditions. What matters is the “cool” aspect of it, the label and the brand. We have become more and more seduced by the appearance of things than by its content. This must be perhaps the golden age for graphic designers as advertisement has outgrown what it sells. In the same way this affects the arts, literature and film. It is not important how true you are to the story or how good the story is as long as it has a “sex appeal” and it sells. In order to sell have an eye catching cover or poster and a sexy subject and you are a star, an artist. Content is disposable, make it seem nice, sexy and appealing to the masses. This is why a colorful corny movie like Scooby Doo has better success at the box office than a lesser known brilliant film like Amenabar’s Agora. After all, most people go to movie theaters to have fun, not to think or learn to think.

Magna Regina (Great Queen) 24” x 25” Oil and gold leaf on wood (2007) by Patrick McGrath Muniz

Real history and Mythology are irrelevant to the masses today and this is quite convenient for established religious and political institutions to maintain their power. If people don’t know their history they will not question the status quo the wonder and why history repeats itself again and again. If people don’t learn about mythology they will never know that their religions derive in great part from mythology. Also what we often call mythology today used to be religion yesterday. In the same way religion today will someday in the future become mythology. When one learns from the past, one becomes aware of what really happens today and others can’t see. One can see hidden connections that most will oversee or refuse to see. As the world becomes more globalized we will see more fast food religions pop up, more consumer goods, more distractions, and more “fast” “sexy” “fun” “Have it your way” products everywhere to make us all happy. The perfect drug for an amnesic society that rarely sees what we are doing to the planet rarely sees the consequences of their actions and that just cares about the moment.

The Visit 36" x 36" Oil on canvas (2008) by Patrick McGrath Muñiz

It might be a good idea then to establish a drive-in with consciousness. Prayers are good but they seem worthless without proper action. Instead of prayer, send a message quoting history and about our future and what we should do to start changing old patterns and become better citizens of the world. Good art can do this! Great masterpieces from the past transcend because of this quality. They can be understood in different ways by different generations. By reading the classics and being exposed to great paintings, we start seeing ourselves and the world around us in a different light. This would be crucial in order to start making changes in the way we live and consume. But then again a transcendental message in art takes time to read and be understood and no one has time for it in a “fast” “sexy” “fun” car culture society. Instead why don’t we drive-thru at well known fast food place, “have it your way!” and order some blessings with some prayers on the side?

From Paganism to Consumerism: Exploring Syncretisms in Art

2010-04-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

I’ve just noticed something quite curious looking through my last four art journals. I felt compelled to write about it and at the same time share my findings in my blog. Page after page my art journals are filled with a persistent interest in finding correspondence in many philosophical systems. Why has this occupied such an important part of my art practice? Many things have influenced this persistent thought and activity. I could certainly trace it back to the time when I was working on my M.F.A. thesis at Savannah College of Art and Design.

At my studio in Alexander Hall, SCAD 2004

While at school I asked myself some serious questions about my cultural heritage and upbringing. Who am I? What are my origins? What makes me different? These are profound, sometimes traumatic but crucial questions every artist must ask him or herself. I found myself between two worlds: Embedded in my veins is a mixed cultural heritage half Irish American and half Puerto Rican Even and even though I’m aware of these influences, I do not allow this cultural identity to dictate my creations as I am also aware that I live in the age of information, in a global age where global culture is shared by everyone through the web. Globalization was at the core of my thesis as I started finding interesting similarities between Latin American Colonial Art and American Consumer culture spread out around the world. It was a good way to reconcile my dual cultural heritage and incorporate them into my work. This was my first attempt to synthesize and recombine history and culture with a personal approach. This was quite successful and it motivated me to develop a deeper and more complex arrangement of religion, politics and historical figures and objects in my next art projects. I chose to retain the “retablo” format as it communicated like no other format religious devotion and brought up to mind Christian imagery and history. As for the allusions of fast foods, well known corporations and consumerism in general, well they kept appearing and repapering because I constantly see them everywhere I go and it has affected me as an artist.

Partial view of a wall of my studio at SCAD

In 2006 I presented my thesis show “ Iconsumer” at Hall Gallery in Savannah, Georgia. In 2007 I showed it in the Museum of the Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “Iconsumer” was a show dealing with devotional Christian Icons and Consumerist propaganda painted in retablo triptychs.

Partial view of Iconsumer 2007 in the Museum of the Americas, San Juan PR

Later that year I showed “Iconsumer Media” in the Museum and old convent of Las Capuchinas in Antigua Guatemala. With the new body of work I had emphasized the idea of a “Mediatic culture” manipulating information and pointing the way to new saints and consumer products. Now I was not only tying up religion and religious culture with consumerism but also with mass media and indoctrination strategies. The work seemed to be taking little steps ahead and kept evolving.

Introducing my work to the media in the colonial convent of Las Capuchinas

In 2008 some mythological figures started to show up in my work and I then “Syncretisms” was born. A Syncretism is the reconciliation of opposing beliefs by combining practices of different schools of thought. We can see many examples of this in literature and art especially during the Renaissance when humanist thought pervaded and merged classical ideas with Christian images. In the Caribbean many Catholic saints were syncretized with African Yoruba religion Orishas. By means of syncretism many of the ancient pagan gods have been able to survive Christian persecution hiding under the guise of saints and virgins. After watching a documentary titled Zeitgeist I became more interested in doing some research and developing a new body of work that could incorporate classical figures into the already evolving narrative that I had begun with saints and corporations.

Inspired in the figure of Christ and also the Greek god Apollo I created this piece on renewable energy. I felt this archetypal figure being a bringer of light must be a source of energy.It was not difficult to see a connection here with our current global issue of renewable energy.

I showed “Syncretisms” at Witzenhausen Gallery in New York. The show was composed of seven drawings and seven paintings based on the seven days of the week and seven gods. In this work my intention was to synthesize Christian Icons, Classical archetypes, with current global issues. I became preoccupied with finding esoteric meaning behind my symbols, including those that seemed most superficial like corporate logos and car models. I guess this urge to find hidden meaning behind everything has always been with me as an artist. So I took it a step further and studied pagan classical traditions from different sources and studied how ancient gods, festivities and symbols became Christianized. It became quite fascinating to me as I could compare how the corporate economy does the same thing as it appropriates particular identities of cultural groups and becomes one of them.

Conceptual guiding map to my work

I began to see even more connections between marketing and religious indoctrination. Everything started to make even more sense to me. Globalization had not started with the Christian enterprise in the Americas but far back in the late fourth century BC with Alexander the Great conquest and spread of Hellenic culture over the known world. From this thought is how the Syncretism’s came about.

Syncretisms at Witzenhausen Gallery, New York 2008

Syncretisms lead me to the project I am currently working on. ERADORADA or GOLDEN AGE is the culmination of some years of work, profound reflection and study. With the accumulated knowledge and experience of my previous work this new body of work brings many of those myths and doctrines from our current global age and embodied in the form of classical heroes, gods, saints and other historical icons. This has been the result of so many hours of research and an persistent curiosity in looking for significant correspondence between many philosophical systems that have driven the world to be westernized or as we may call it today globalized.

Infant Informaticus 8” x 11” Egg tempera on panel, carved and gilded wood.

This is the way an idea may evolve. It starts with an awareness of who we are and in what time we live in. We start asking ourselves what has influenced us and inspired us in art as well as in life. We might be reminded of the ancient Greek aphorism found at the Oracle of Delphi that reads γνῶθι σεαυτόν “gnōthi seauton” (Know thyself). To know who we are we must look back at history and learn from it. History tells us the story of our origins and who we are today. We also look at nature and what’s around us. Ive created this “Trivium” or triple way pyramid that has guided me through the creative journey.

I’ve talked much about it in my classes and keep emphasizing its importance as any art movement in history can be traced down to any one of these directions in the Trivium triangle. There is much more to say about the matter but I do not wish to make my blog entry too long. For now these are some ideas that I put forth in order to start exploring in next blog entries the fascinating connections between these Christian doctrines, Pagan Mythology and the Global issues of Media and Consumer culture.

An art studio as an art school

2010-04-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

After some long hours of work (around seven to eight a day) a thought came to my mind. By spending so much time every day painting I start seeing my studio as a school. There is so much to be learned and unlearned from it every time you start working. Everyday I feel like a student learning from some exciting new discovery Ive made on my own. I enjoy sharing these personal discoveries in this blog with anyone interested.

Im aware that most of these discoveries are not really discoveries in the sense that someone else might have found out about it centuries before I did . This reminds me of those old history books that tell us Christopher Columbus "discovered" the Americas like no one else lived in the "New World" (New for the Europeans).An artist sensible enough to history will question these cultural assumptions. In an artist studio, the painter is challenged by constant unquestioned assumptions and rules that the painter must confront every time he or she is in front of his or her work.

Going back to a few studio "discoveries" that I wish to share:

Not long ago I had a color palette placed right beside me. After some time twisting and turning to pick up some colors from my palette on to my brushes I decided to change position and have the palette in front of me instead. This might be an obvious practice to many painters but something easy to forget with time and that was precisely my case. This is the reason why I think many of us should teach, in order to keep good studio habits fresh and alive by means of example. By keeping colors right in front of your painting, painting becomes a more direct and immediate activity.

The whole idea of creating a color palette is to facilitate the painting process, to paint faster and more effectively create and match colors. By placing a large glass or plexi glass palette in front and between the painting and myself I keep a good distance from my work. This allows me to see the whole while I work on the details. The problem with working too closely is that one looses focus of the whole picture and everything ends up in dis-harmony in the process.

I would say that an arms length is a proper distance with small works. I remember using long sticks attached to my brushes when working larger formats. Not only was I able to "see the whole picture" while I worked. My painting was even looser, more expressive and fluid. The Mexican muralists like Diego Rivera and Siqueiros often used to work like this with very long brushes.

Something else I have learned or evolved to do in my studio is to keep fewer brushes when I work. Not only do I do this to spend less time cleaning and avoiding having to deal with dirty brushes but also I found that most of the time I ended up using seven brushes. These seven brushes are photographed below

Now I use just seven brushes that do most of the job. I also use a small rag or piece of cloth to wipe out mistakes or colored glazes and a palette knife. I use my fingers as well. Many painters from the past like Leonardo and Titian were into the habit of using their fingers to paint. The more direct one can handle paint the more control one has over it. Just make sure you are not using toxic pigments and make sure you don't bite your nails and wash your hands regularly. The seven brushes I use are composed of three small long liners, three medium sized filbert brushes and one relatively large round brush. Numbers and sizes vary according to brand but all of these are usually taklon synthetic or natural sable. Ive been surprised of how long my cheap brushes have survived and I suspect it has to do with what I do with them after every use. I dip them in olive oil and leave them resting over my working table. Olive oil is a very slow drying oil. In fact it does not seem to dry at all therefore not allowing paint in the brushes to dry. Of course when you use these brushes again you must make sure you wipe the olive oil off of them. Otherwise your painting will not dry either.

The script, liner or rigger brush (all different names for this tiny long haired brush) are among my favorite brushes. With these I manage to get most of the minute detail in my small format and retablo work.
I normally use three of these brushes at a time. A 20/0 a 6/0 and a 0. One will carry the dark colors, one the middle tones and the third lighter colors. I wipe out the paint off the brush when I go from one color to another.

I use number 2, 4 and 6 filbert brushes to paint larger areas within my composition. The same as with the liner brushes, I keep three for three values: light, middle and dark tones or values. The larger round brush I occupy to blend edges which is so important in this kind or realistic old master rendering. One must keep lines to a minimum in order to convey a convincing sense of atmosphere and what Leornardo Da Vinci would have called "sfumato" (foggy or airy blending). I shall write more extensively about these terms in future entries. For now what I find relevant to mention is that good quality brushes are surely best to anything but a painting depends much more on how you use your tools than on what kind of tools you use. You may use crappy materials and produce masterpieces. Its how you use them what really matters. That is why I do not favor any particular kind of brand of oil paints or brushes. I would advice try them all if you can and stick to whatever suits you best. I have my personal preferences of course but these have changed in recent years.

On the photo above you may appreciate how Im blending my painted contour lines in order to maintain some tonal unity and the illusion of an atmospheric"sfumato". The painting Ive been working on is my own version of the three graces re contextualized with the themes of consumerism, corn production and genetically manipulated organisms. I have borrowed Mayan glyphs and classical poses and combined them with contemporary issues. It is titled "The survival of the Graces" . I shall post a photo of the work once it is completed. I wish to thank all of those who have commented on my blog and facebook. I thank you all for your support and are more than happy to receive your comments, suggestions or questions. I'll keep blogging every week and soon will deal more with conceptual issues which Im sure many of you will appreciate reading.

In search of an Ideal palette

2010-03-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

In my last blog entry I explored a closed controlled oil painting palette in a linear method. That is to say that colors were mixed horizontally across the palette from left to right or right to left on four rows. I have limited my palette on purpose from four to seven colors and there is a reason for this. According to Euphrosyne Doxiadis on her book "The Mysterious Fayum Portraits the great painters from antiquity such as Apelles, Aetion, Melanthius and Nicomachus used only four colors for their paintings. White, Yellow ochre, Red Earth and black seem to be the preferred color palette not only for these great masters of antiquity but also for the lesser known authors of the surviving Fayum portraits found in Hellenic Egypt. It is amazing to see how well executed these portrait are and with so little. These have never ceased to capture my imagination. Below an example of one of the portraits I am referring to.

Fayum Portrait of a woman Louvre Museum , Paris

Our modern color theory teaches us that we need only the three primary colors (red, blue and yellow) to make any other color. Even though many of these portraits have traces of other exotic pigments, most of them are painted with a four-color palette. One might think this palette will limit the range of possible mixtures creating a monotonous painting but to the contrary, the range of colors is maximized and at the same time color harmonies are even richer. The color black obtained from soot or carbon is a much cooler black than other blacks. Also known as Vine black, when white is added it becomes a cool bluish black.

Classical Tetracomy

Other paintings and mosaics found in Pompey follow this principle which is also a reflection of the fourfold world view shared by Greek and Roman cultures. The world was divided in four cardinal directions, as well as four seasons. In the diagram below we find an interesting study of the four bodily fluids or humours according to the classical tradition. Ancient medicine was based on this system. What I find particularly interesting about this as a painter is how colors were believed to correspond to these four seasons, cardinal points or humours. The colors are always the same: white, black, yellow and red. Even though Phlegm is represented here with a light blue triangle, it was usually associated with white.

The Greeks were not the only ones to believe in the sacred tetrachromy composed of red, yellow, black and white. On the other side of the Atlantic the Mayan and Aztec civilizations held the same four colors to be the most basic colors of the Universe. It is truly amazing how much one can stretch the color spectrum with Lead White, Vine Black, Red Ocher and Yellow Ocher. It is said that Rembrandt Van Rijn used to work on such a limited palette. Specially if the painter is specializing in the painting the human figure, you probably will not need much more than this. Im aware this makes no sense to most contemporary painters who have access to such an infinite variety of synthetic vivid pigments available in the market. But following the same modern premise of "less is more" one can find beauty and truth in limiting size, amount and variety. This may well apply to food in many cases.

Mayan Calendar

Kala Chakra Mandala

Astrological calendar

One may find truth in many shapes and colors. Ive seen perfection embodied in a circle. From the Tibetan Mandala to the Zodiac wheel, from the planets to the atoms, nature has a favored the globe and the circle over and over and this is also reflected in the sacred symbols of many ancient cultures. Going from the four-fold world to the circle has taken me to the next experiment in studio practice. Why not create a four-fold color circular palette? Would this be the ideal palette? The linear closed and controlled palette has its cons. One cannot be as flexible with mixtures and make new ones up along the way as with the traditional oval shaped open palette. As I mentioned on my previous blog entry, the latter also has its cons as in many occasions it becomes chaos with unstructured muddy colors running wild around the surface. So why not have both palettes come together in one? Here's what I found out from my little experiment.

Four-fold cross like color palette

The human eye has an organic tendency to look at everything in a circular motion. This might be the reason why we feel more attracted to rounded shapes like oval shaped palettes which are favorites among art students and professional painters alike. Square or rectangular linear row like palettes can become constraining patterns too boring for the mind so I decided to make a variation on it using the same seven colors I always use. I could have done the experiment with four colors but I believe seven will give up more color variation and richness to this equation. A few days ago a kept thinking about the Sun and our solar system and an idea hit me. Why not have Titanium white at the center of my system. It is pure light and the most important color of all because it is the sum of all colors. This served as an inspiration for my new palette. Light after all is the center and main protagonist of painting.

Our Solar System

First of all I establish the center of my Plexiglas palette and have plenty of Titanium Oil color placed there.

I place the color Raw Umber on my extreme left side of my palette. Raw Umber is one of the best colors to start with in an oil painting because it dries very fast and serves perfectly well as an underpainting with a neutral greenish brown that becomes grayish when mixed with white and that is not distracting to the eye.

I add a few drops of Clove Oil to my Raw Umber color and then proceed to create a short value scale mixing it with white. I have four middle values between pure white and pure raw umber.

Vertically above my white color I have Blue black or Indigo color place and mixed together in four middle tone values with white. This color can be very blue or very gray depending on your principal mixture and departing point. Ultramarine blue with Ivory black or Indigo blue seems to be a good choices but make sure to add some clove oil drops to make sure it dries slowly on your palette. Ive noticed dryness in the environment have a serious effect on your palette. That is why I sometimes add more than one drop of Clove Oil. When humidity is high in the environment one drop would suffice.

I then Add Yellow Ocher on the middle part of my next horizontal left to right row. Ivory black will be placed at the extreme right side and mixed with yellow ocher to create a darker version of this color. Yellow ocher can be mixed with white to have some lighter versions of the Yellow Ocher. I have noticed that Yellow Ocher chromatic qualities are enhanced by adding a little of Indian Yellow to the mixture. This is one of my favorite colors specially when glazing.

Vertically below the white center I added Cadmium Red Light and Alizarin Crimson with enough space between them and white. The red don't require much clove oil to retard the drying time. They are slow drying pigments already, specially Alizarin Crimson. Still I add a drop to each so I can work with these colors for an extended period of time (about a week).

Once this is done I have each scale of the yellow row mixed with each scale of the red row. creating a fifth leg to the cross shaped color palette. This leg has now created a nice flesh color in different values. I do the same with each leg or row of my palette creating a beautiful color asterisk shape (*)

The spaces between become open spaces where one can mix glazes and additional colors. In the end of the painting session my closed controlled palette looked more like a psychedelic color wheel than a relatively clean linear closed palette. It is like having the best of both palette systems and working circularly around the white. The results in my paintings were quite impressive as well. I shall soon document these once they are completed. For now I want to conclude that no matter how many colors you use, how is the shape of your palette or in what order you work, make it meaningful. Have your palette be a part of your philosophy. Make the process relevant to your way of thinking. I find myself thinking in crosses, septenary, four-fold systems and circles. These numbers and forms seem to re-connect me with the origins of the Universe. Buddhist monks meditate on sacred Mandalas. As a painter I find myself in a trance like state when mixing colors in my palette. These are the mysteries that make art so interesting and imbue it with deep mysticism.

The evolution of an oil painting color palette

2010-03-20T15:16:00.000-07:00

In recent days I have been engaged on various projects in my studio. Most of these projects consist of oil paintings on canvas and wood panels of different sizes. For all of these I use a consistent palette with predictable results that enables me to keep the work under an relatively speedy and ordered process. By having all of my colors premixed on my palette I avoid wasting time between focusing on a composition and mixing colors. By just concentrating on picking up colors from the palette with my brush and adding them to my composition, the process of painting becomes more direct, engaging and less distracting.

First of all I want to emphasize as I have done previously in demos and classes that there is no "one" way of doing art and the reader and art student should assume that this formula may work for some forms of painting and may not be well suited for other forms of painting. In my case, it has proven to be the most effective when it comes to small and medium sized highly detailed and well rendered realistic oil paintings on canvas and panel. I have worked with this palette on a few occasions for bigger works but this required using more painting mixed on a larger palette.

In an older post on this blog I already mentioned the importance of the use of this palette. It is called a "closed" palette because it leaves little or no space for mixing more colors once it is completed. An open palette is what most painters learn to use and use it freely mixing colors without any specific order. A traditional "open" palette is composed of an "spectrum" place where one adds the color, usually on the outer rim of the palette and the "atrium" (place where one mixes colors together, usually at the center of this palette.) This is the palette that most artists I know currently use. I myself worked with it for some time and it was the first palette with which I learned to paint much to my own frustration. One thing is for sure, it has been the most popular and preferred palette in history. Of course this doesn't mean its the best palette we can use.

"Open" oval shaped palette v.s. "closed" rectangle shaped palette

As the term "open" implies, this is a painters palette that allows you to mix new colors at any time while painting and even though one may follow a specific order from values to chromatic intensity, it is a very flexible palette, allowing certain chaos to reign in it. It is a wonderful palette to use and in some works I still find myself making use of it. But some it has some problems. These problems may give a hard time for some painters who are looking for order and structure not only for their ideas but for their colors as well.

Many of my most disastrous paintings have been produces by the "open" palette. First I found myself trapped with many odd mixtures I could not replicate once the colors dried. Also I found it quite easy to break with tonal and chromatic unity using a wide range of colors on an "open" palette. I remember giving up painting for a while and going back to drawing after feeling frustrated with the chaotic muddy mixture of colors I had created on my palette. Then I studied under Rose Urbina a professional portrait artist who had studied and followed the tradition of John Singer Sargent. She introduced me into using the "closed" palette for a portrait. Pre-mixing all of these colors on my palette took over an hour. Very boring after a while but the results of it made every minute of this portrait painting worth it.The idea was to have as many value scales of strips as possible of every color one used on the painting allowing more richness in light and darkness of each color. By having white mixed with black and all the grays in between on a horizontal strip of the palette, one could mix these with the different reds below, graying and de-saturating these in turn. The "closed" palette did limit a bit my color selection but in turn it added more richness to my values and values (light and darkness in colors) has been the major concern of the great European masters from the Renaissance and Baroque.

My studio setup left to right: color palette, laptop and easel with painting

Over time I experimented over many different surfaces and used many palettes but have returned once more to this "closed" palette. at the end of each painting session I have evaluated the creative process analyzing everything from the brushes and colors I use to my palette and the way I arrange and mix my colors. If one is aware of this and is willing to get rid of bad habits and willing to spend more money on better art supplies, it should be no surprise that the work in turn should improve. I shall write more about these issues in future posts but here I have turned my attention towards my palette.

7 color palette

Here's my most recent palette photographed with the seven colors I use identified. I have used only Raw Umber mixed with white with 8 value scales between these two colors. This is my first strip

On my second strip I have mixed Ivory black with Yellow Ocher having at least three or four values in between and from Yellow Ocher to white, four values in between. Then on the lower strip I have mixed Alizarin Crimson with Cadmium Red Light having at least two to three variations in between and from Cadmium Red to White mixing at least four value scales. The last value strip is composed of a bluish black mixed gradually with white. The bluish black may be indigo blue or Ultramarine blue mixed with Ivory black. A drop or two of "oil of cloves" may be added to each of the seven colors. This will extend the drying time of the oil paint allowing you to work on a painting for about a week instead of a day or two without using the clove oil. The palette is a clear Plexiglas 18" x 24" over a cardboard painted gray. The neutral gray ground will give you a correct perception of your true colors while the Plexiglas being a nonabsorbent surface will keep the paint wet for a longer time and it is also easier to clean with a palette knife. As one may see in the picture colors may be mixed between the horizontal value scales I have described creating a much more complex diversity of colors. A "closed" palette like this one will enable you to paint human figures, animals and landscapes with rich values and in chromatic proximity to the work of the "old masters" who did not use a wide range of bright colors like most painters use today . In no way it should limit your imagination to have a limited color palette but on the contrary give free reign to it and total freedom to concentrate on your own compositions. If you enjoy the colors of Leonardo, Caravaggio and other great painters from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, you may wish to consider using a color palette similar to this one.

How to paint like Peter Paul Rubens

2009-11-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

After studying the work of the seventeenth century Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens in College, books and at the museums, one can conclude that there was not only one set of steps or fixed formula this particular Old master followed. In art school I was taught that he started out with a "grisaille" (underpainting with grays) and then glazed over this underpainting with transparent colors. This seems to fit perfectly well into the nineteenth century French Academic painting protocol but Rubens to me seems to be far more spontaneous and even less methodical. Before the French Academy there was little or no systematic way of teaching painting. You learned how to paint becoming an apprentice to a master in his workshop and every master had a different approach to their craft. Having a closer look at the work of Rubens at the Metropolitan Museum , National Gallery of the Philadelphia Museum of art, the work seems to reveal a different set of steps. I had already thought about this debatable issue a time ago and devised for my Old Master techniques class two useful demos. These demonstrate the two possible ways that someone like Rubens might have worked. The first follows the protocol I was taught at The Savannah College of Art and Design. The second derives from my own observations on the different noticeable layers Ive studied of Rubens work. Ive written many notes about how he worked by observing his work up front. What I'm showing here is super simplified information. Both protocols should be valid approximations to the original. Of course there are many books on techniques of the old masters but they don't seem to agree all the time on how a particular painter from the past painted so most of the time I find it even more useful to go on directly to the work of a painter I admire and see for myself what the painting has to say about how it was done. Every time you go to a museum you should be able to learn something new about art. Take many notes and make the museum your school. That is my best advice. So here I share with you my two demos. Enjoy!

Note: I have substituted Flake white by Titanium White for those who are afraid of being poisoned with lead.

I myself use Lead white as it gives a warm, metallic semi translucent and fast drying quality that is so much appreciated in the work of Old masters.

Sharing my own approach to painting Sixteenth Century Venetian Way

2009-11-27T05:42:00.000-08:00

Venetian painters at the time of Titian used a different technique from that of

later painters. The modern artist usually paints the forms directly on the canvas

with color mixed in his palette. This is essentially a one‐step method, although

the artist may paint over a preliminary sketch. By contrast, theVenetian painter

from the sixteenth century used a two‐step method. First, he defined the forms

of his composition in monochrome, and only after that was completed he applied

color. When he applied color, he did so in translucent layers called glazes.

To demonstrate the Venetian method of painting for this book, I have illustrated a

step by step of the process. The intention is not to show how exactly someone like

Titian painted this picture (The Gipsy Madonna) but to illustrate the main steps of

work in a simplified demonstration of fundamentals. By emulating this process one

can understand the importance or order, structure, discipline and patience involved

in making a painting. Something that most of the contemporary art world has forgotten.

This is the original Gipsy Madonna painted by Titian in 1510

The following is part of a demo I used in a class on how to paint like the Old Masters .I taught this class at the Maitland Art Center.

Step #1: “Bozzetto” ( Preliminary Sketch)
Prepare a pencil preliminary study of the composition on paper

Step #2: “Disegno” (Drawing)
Transfer and draw the composition on to canvas with vine charcoal.

Step #3: “Sotto Disegno” (Underdrawing)
Draw and re‐define lines with Burnt Umber and Turpentine
(This is called “The Sauce”)

Step #4: “Imprimatura “(Toned canvas)
Over the underdrawing, apply a light tone of Venetian Red or Red
Ochre (PR101) with a mixture of linseed oil and turpentine.

Step #5: Togliere Strofinare” (Wipe out technique)
Wipe out the strongest lights in the composition. This is done with a dry
fine cotton rag and gently rubbing out the selected areas where the
lights are supposed to be.

Step#6: “Sotto Dipinto” (underpainting)

With black, white and yellow ocher paint and define values with grays

present in the composition.

Step #7 Velaturas (Color Glazing)

Thin color glazes are applied using the “motherload” glazing medium. Semi‐dry

paint scumbling is applied over the dry glaze. Additional elements in the

background are added to the composition. You may apply various layers of glazes.