“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will”.

(Georges Bernard Shaw, Irish writer)

WHY FANTASY ART?

I have always seen drawing as a way to relate to paper and make visible that which emerges from my imagination.

Since adolescence I have been fascinated by fantasy illustration, especially the works of the greats, such as Roger Dean, Rodney Mattews, Boris Vallejo, and Chris Achilleos among others.

Inspired by their creativity, I began developing, little by little, my own style. Initially I worked in pencil, focusing on drawings of fantastic beings, some of which are included here, which I call “Black Series”. Later, now in color, landscapes and imaginary constructions began to emerge.

The inspiration for all of this was found in part in nature; in its abrupt and extreme forms (canyons, waterfalls, cliffs); and in part by the structures built by determined human beings, (towers, castles, bridges of all architectural styles) the taller and more expansive the better. And of course in the inspirational music of  Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, and Enya among others, that always accompany me in the long hours facing the drawing table.

EVOKE AND AWAKEN

The intention behind exhibiting my works is to stimulate the imagination of the viewer. In the same way that I create my work, I imagine worlds, people and histories, and I pretend that the viewer's perspective will bring a new story, different from my own. My job is to make a suggestion: to offer a launching pad from which the imagination can fly. I present a still frame from which every individual can envision their own movie.

The intention behind exhibiting my works is to stimulate the imagination of the viewer. In the same way that I create my work, I imagine worlds, people and histories, and I pretend that the viewer's perspective will bring a new story, different from my own. My job is to make a suggestion: to offer a launching pad from which the imagination can fly. I present a still frame from which every individual can envision their own movie.

On a different note, I sometimes feel the need to use illustration as a way to represent real situations and events through metaphor. I prefer not to explain the intended significance, allowing each to discover their own relationship to the work. I trust that their interpretation will be just as true, just as valid, as mine, and perhaps even more imaginative.

Only rarely do I create a metaforic work whose concrete message I want to convey. In these cases I include the corresponding explanation.

For some reflections and a little bit of history about Fantasy Art click here