Like many of my projects, I began with a vision in mind that I presumed simply needed extraction to the canvas. Semillas was developed through many studies and iterations. Kali also embodies shakti – feminine energy, creativity and fertility.
I was also inspired by artworks of the Hindu goddess Kali who represents elements of death, time, and doomsday and is often associated with sexuality and violence, but is also considered a strong mother-figure and symbolic of motherly-love. In the experimental stages of Semilllas, I began working with the elements of fire and gold on both visual and thematic levels. I can say that it is the tiny figures inside those droplets that ultimately inspired the title Semillas, which means ‘seeds’ in Spanish. Whether these memories subconsciously inspired me, I cannot say for certain. The gilded fire droplets in the painting harken back to those ink fireballs from my youth. It is entirely possible that these memories were woven into the content of Semillas, but to me this is hypothetical. How those oil wells could burn incessantly, too powerful to be extinguished, and fill the sky with clouds of smoke as far as the eye could see. Like the ink ablaze in the basement, I remember finding this storm of fire utterly terrifying and almost other worldly. Several years later as an adolescent, I recall images of Kuwait’s burning oil fields on the nightly news. Only after escalating my stomp up to a full-fledged freak-out dance was the fire puddle finally extinguished. Startled, I attempted to stomp it out, but only succeeded in getting the flaming ink stuck to my shoes. Then, to my surprise and panic, little fire balls of ink began to drip from the ignited pen, creating a flaming puddle on the floor. The plastic case bubbled and shrank as it burned. Here’s what was featured in the catalog:Ī childhood memory encompassing this fascination involves me as a curious six-year old boy, lighting a ball point pen on fire over the concrete floor of my basement (much to the chagrin of my parents). As is the case with any literary task I face (including this one), I landed a lot of help. This created the unavoidable need to describe the painting.
The ARC requested a writeup for this piece to be included in the Competition Catalogue. From here it was transported to Barcelona, Spain and shown as the featured piece in the 2016/2017 ARC collection at the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM). From Denver, Semillas was shipped to New York City where it was shown at the Salmagundi Club. Semillas was first shipped to Denver, Colorado where it was shown at the Abend Gallery and then purchased by Fred Ross, Founder of ARC.Īs a winning work, Semillas was part of a traveling live exhibition. To my utter astonishment, it won Best of Show in this competition. I submitted it to the 12th International Art Renewal Center (ARC) Salon, the largest and most prominent competition for classical realist artists with thousands of works competing across nine categories. This painting eventually began to be recognized. The painting was named Semillas, which means ‘seeds’ in Spanish, for the tiny figures inside each droplet which fall from the fiery image of destruction. Rather than nesting the destructive elements in the painting, my vision was to embed the generative element instead. My vision was to likewise create a painting that represented the cycles or dynamics of birth and death-but inverted. In a way, I see Semillas as a ‘sister’ painting to Venus. Semillas was a struggle in its own right (as most of my paintings are), but in comparison to Venus, it took months, compared to over a year. While the developmental strategies were similar, I was able to use these schemes in a much more efficient way. What I now understand, is Birth of Venus served as the benefactor of Semillas.
Semillas represents my second large scale figurative painting.
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