WORK

I always enjoyed more using dry graphic techniques like pencil, crayons, pastels, etc whereas I disliked working with brushes and wet media. Traditionally graphic techniques using pencils, ink or crayons have been associated more with drawing than painting.

I decided to pursue a technique that would allow me to paint and draw at the same time.

After working with some printmaking techniques in those early days I found a lot of satisfaction in using an etching needle to draw or scratch lines on the surface of my work.

I started investigating with different mediums until I found a wax based medium which I would mix up with the pigments in order to give the paint the flexibility needed to be scratched without cracking, allowing me to draw lines and shapes with fine detail.

Why do I enjoy working this way? It is hard to explain, although this technique involves a lot of planning and preparation, there is also a lot of spontaneity in it, both in the painting and the drawing side, allowing me to meander through (to get lost in it) like if I was daydreaming or meditating, opening paths to other places…. The best I can describe it is like doing a jigsaw.

First I have a desire to achieve this idea in my head using a certain composition and color palette but the final result is never certain. As one line leads to another, shapes are created and grow with each other and finally when the process comes to an end, everything fits in place.