Page 14 - TOP 10 CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS - Volume 5

Ygartua is a genius
Ygartua is a painter most often translating the bold paintings a year for his gallery; Paul is prolific and creates
strokes of his life into the more subtle finer strokes of his new works daily. He says a good artist should be able to
work. His bold strokes and color show his extraordinary paint fast. The great ones do. Gainsborough, like Paul,

ability and confidence to work in any medium, any style. rarely went over the same brush stroke twice.

Composition, color, perspective, form. Paul Ygartua told At an Ygartua show, about 2 years ago, I was approached
me those were the four things he looked for when creating by an architect who commented that the artist

or evaluating art. This came in response to a question was a genius. I asked how so? He said, ‘look at all
of mine about a new painting by another artist in my these paintings (there were dozens) there is not one
collection. He then went on to give a detailed academic mistake, everyone is perfectly balanced, colored and in
like analysis of the canvas. Paul is not a teacher: he has perspective.’ He proceeded to go through the collection

been a full time painter for the last forty years. He has showing examples, adding ‘you can’t look at one picture
never taken students, but he can talk academic art with and say ‘that color is wrong or that line is off.’ He was
ease and insight. He is a genius. These are a few of my right. Ygartua is a genius.
perspectives of that genius.

Paul is best known to the general public in our part of
Paul paints 8 to 10 hours every day. If people are watching the world as a muralist. Paintings 20 feet by 50 feet on
in a public place; like his gallery, that’s fine with him. He the sides of public buildings. He does them free hand! No
is supremely confident and goes about the business of projectors, no graph grids, just give him a high lifter, a

creation. If someone interrupts to ask a question he is brush and paint. The ability to freely compose on such a
always poised, with a friendly insightful response; but he large scale is amazing. Those who wonder what it would
keeps painting. Ten-hour stretches are not uncommon. have been like to watch Michelangelo at work have their
TOP CONTEMPOR ARY ARTISTS I remember reading about a famous Canadian artist About 4 years ago, I was showing Paul a small
chance; Paul should sell tickets.

who couldn’t take the pressure of having to produce 18

MUSICAL INTERLUDE, 2018 ACRYLIC ON CANVAS 48X84 IN. | 121X213 CM.

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