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Antonio Gomez

Artist Statement

My encounters with color began in my childhood. Being the only male in my family and having few friends, I found myself alone in my room, sitting for long periods of time at my desk. I enjoyed these long periods of seclusion, where I was able to create my stages or sets with colored pencils and not only imagine, but reproduce prominent figures of cartoons, those histories projected with a wealth of colors by the house of Walt Disney, that today I remember vividly. In school, I always placed extra effort on projects that required drawing or the use of color. The responsibility of family became a determining factor in my choosing engineering as a profession, though I continue to enjoy working with colors. Being the only male as I mentioned previously, I often accompanied my father when visiting his tiles factory that he himself started as a young man, these visits included the supervision of the warehouses where the special oxides that are used in the production of the mosaics were stored. My fascination with color has always lived with me, and after the death of my father, I was assigned as a production manager, where for the next eight years I was able to learn through experimentation. The years passed and after the death of my mother, the mosaics factory had to close its doors. I worked in other fields that required my knowledge as an industrial engineer, although I always found time to continue my experimentation with color. As if it were my destiny, I met Laura Ortiz, a teacher at the Pan American University, who was instrumental in furthering my interest of art history, my fascination with color, and the art of expressing my feelings through the arts. Later working with Roberto Uribe (a painter from Jalisco ) I learned techniques in acrylics & oils, and then with Dr. Ayotl at the Ayotl Cultural Center where I continued my interest in Prehispanic Art. Worked in tree Art Galleries on Puerto Vallarta, after that I moved to San Antonio, where I met Gini Garcia. I assisted with the color management at her blown glass studio, where my fascination with color was renewed. That same year, while enjoying a weekend in Port Aransas with friends, Lyle Williams gave me a set of watercolors, gauche and some great paper giving me an excuse to apply the emotions and colors on them, and always finding new ways and medias to express myself.