Angela Navarro
Anfractuous rising, 2020, mix media on canvas, 30 x 48”
Describe your artistic style in three words.
Bittersweet, dynamic and introspective.
What's inspiring you right now?
My work undoubtedly reflects my state of mind. Clean long defined shapes and lines appear when I am settled and at peace. Textured, dry lines and roughed up forms when I am anxious and restless. I think the months of confinement added to the already piping hot socio political crisis we live in, are showing on my artwork. So, I would say that right now is mostly anxiety and fear.
The conversations I've had with friends, mediated by digital space (which all together heightens my desire for touch,) have challenged and inspired me in profound measures.
What do you do when you're feeling uninspired?
I stop and let my brain get distracted with the mundane: cooking, laundry, brushing the dog, perhaps even cleaning...
Once I am ready to pick up the brushes again, I go back to basics and reduce my palette to two or three colors.
I pre-mix my colors, which will last 6 months or so, depending on how careful I am. If I am still not happy with what I have, I might start working on a new shade. Lately I am finding myself very comfortable diving towards some unsavory pink tones, a very very dark blue and a borderline yellow that I have been dragging alongside last year.
I let my instinct take over and I try to make the unpredictable choices. This messes up the composition but opens more possibilities and gives me directions that I wouldn't have taken otherwise.Also, I remind myself that I am only putting paint on a canvas, not curing cancer. If it doesn't work out I can paint over!
Tell us something unique about your process.
Every painting is a journey. It starts with a background color and some gesture lines. You could say I use automatic writing to establish the basic rhythm of painting. Then I fill up the gaps and I start looking for relationships and patterns within the shapes and areas that are coming to be. I also take pictures to help me assess the composition. I stare at the painting a lot. Once I have clear direction, the painting process becomes a dialogue between me and the canvas.I don't rationalize the next steps too much, trying to stay away from second guessing myself, which is never good. I try to let it flow, so it is the painting itself that tells me what to do next.
What advice do you have for other artists?
I am weary of giving anybody advice because what works for me might not work for them. But if you put me on the spot I would say that whatever you create it has to work for you first. Obviously keep a critical eye but stick what it is most fulfilling.
Anything else you'd like to share?
I would like to thank Big Medium for their work to support the artist community. And to everybody else, please be kind and thank you for wearing a mask.
When you are a bird that can't leave the tree #1, 2020, mix media on canvas, 24 x 36”
When you are a bird that can't leave the tree #2, 2020, mix media on canvas, 24 x 36”
Things I find on my backyard, 2020, mix media on canvas, 36 x 36”
This one have seen a lot, 2020, mix media on canvas, 24 x 30”
Big blue and orange flower, 2020, mix media on canvas, 48 x 48”
Those are look at me flowers, unlike other flowers, 2020, mix media on canvas 40 x 30”
Composition with yellow and black dots, 2020, gouache on paper, 6 x 9”
Angela Navarro is an artist based in Austin, TX. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the Facultad de Bellas Artes de San Carlos in Valencia, Spain. She doesn't like to write bios, but she is more than happy to answer any direct questions. Find her at Canopy!