Peter Gaztambide
Mixed Media Artist
When I started my voyage as a young, self-taught artist, I was told in so many ways that there was nothing new under the sun. That everything had been done or tried before in time. So, I tried this, then that in order to disprove this notion. I even went back to school in 1987 and got a BFA at the University of South Florida. It was there that I learned to appreciate art history and everything that had been done before I came around the art scene.
I compare art to cooking. There are many ingredients that you put together in order to create your recipe. You combine them,test them, substitute some of them,add color as you would add spice to your food, and they start to take shape. I am not going to describe in detail my work for it would be like giving you my secret recipe. Rather, I will describe in general terms the different media and techniques that I use in making my art work.
I start out by making marks of all kinds on the surface of the paper or canvas with graphite,colored pencils,India ink,gesso,acrylic paints,etc. Either before or after this marks are made, I will also collage paper, fabric or other material onto the surface of my support. After this I start using other more traditional materials such as oil paint,oil pastel,grease pencils and the like to start the final stage of the piece. This is where you start giving the work its direction and your concept starts to take hold of the image. This is where the hard part begins. This image is my language waiting to be discovered. I approach it and look at it long and hard before I work on it any more as the piece sort of talks to me into painting it. An area blue, another green,yet another some obscure color...then maybe scratch it or scrape it or add more or less color. I'll play with it or work on it some more... some more of this or less of that. A dialog starts between it and I. I'll paint some more or less and will be thinking back and forth not only about the piece but about everything and anything that comes to mind. I'll keep working in particular and in general or even start a new piece.
Imagine doing this for over 30 years! After a while you develop what is usually thought of as your style. I like to think of it as my language,not Spanish or English, rather my pictorial language.
My goal is to find a way to express through my artwork something that captivates you as a viewer like a good recipe would captivate your taste.
I compare art to cooking. There are many ingredients that you put together in order to create your recipe. You combine them,test them, substitute some of them,add color as you would add spice to your food, and they start to take shape. I am not going to describe in detail my work for it would be like giving you my secret recipe. Rather, I will describe in general terms the different media and techniques that I use in making my art work.
I start out by making marks of all kinds on the surface of the paper or canvas with graphite,colored pencils,India ink,gesso,acrylic paints,etc. Either before or after this marks are made, I will also collage paper, fabric or other material onto the surface of my support. After this I start using other more traditional materials such as oil paint,oil pastel,grease pencils and the like to start the final stage of the piece. This is where you start giving the work its direction and your concept starts to take hold of the image. This is where the hard part begins. This image is my language waiting to be discovered. I approach it and look at it long and hard before I work on it any more as the piece sort of talks to me into painting it. An area blue, another green,yet another some obscure color...then maybe scratch it or scrape it or add more or less color. I'll play with it or work on it some more... some more of this or less of that. A dialog starts between it and I. I'll paint some more or less and will be thinking back and forth not only about the piece but about everything and anything that comes to mind. I'll keep working in particular and in general or even start a new piece.
Imagine doing this for over 30 years! After a while you develop what is usually thought of as your style. I like to think of it as my language,not Spanish or English, rather my pictorial language.
My goal is to find a way to express through my artwork something that captivates you as a viewer like a good recipe would captivate your taste.
