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Hector Sandoval
I was born and raised here in San Antonio, TX, surrounded by my large and deeply loving family. My earliest memories of creative expression date back to my childhood where I’d color and draw in my grandmother’s kitchen. She would often paint small miniatures and dollhouses and spent many hours teaching me how to paints with acrylics and water colors. After her passing, my desire to create seemed to go dormant until the onset of the pandemic, which catalyzed a reawakening of sorts. Compelled to take up a brush and canvas, I wanted to return to those days long ago in the hopes of finding comfort and focus during quarantine. Social media is an increasingly prevalent part of our daily lives, making it easier than ever to lose touch with those around us. It’s important that we engage with written, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic forms of art as they represent our most authentic human elements and help connect us with others. Through my art, I hope to remind people of the importance of simple connections that come about through everyday experiences.
Resume (PDF)
Work Samples (PDF)
MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST
Artist Style: Visual Art: Abstract, Environmental, Impressionistic, Landscape/Cityscape, Nature/Wildlife
Artist Medium: Acrylic
Artist Statement of Work
Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):
I primarily work in acrylic paintings on canvas but have begun to strengthen my experience using fluid paint and oil pastels. In my process, I try to find a reference that’s connected to me and present my feelings on it through the palette and arrangement of its subjects. Photographs work best, but pieces of literature, music or film can also be fantastic sources of inspiration. From there I create a very simple preliminary sketch of what want to include in the piece and then transfer it to a canvas. The initial drawing is simple to allow for spontaneous additions to the work later, which I feel add to its honesty. I understand that my process will always be able to benefit from growth and differing perspectives which is why I try to leave space in any painting for last minute changes or inspiration. While not occurring often, those moments where ideas suddenly pop into my mind are the ones that seem to make the greatest impact on my art. Some of my favorite subjects are landscapes, people, and abstract focuses and I work hard to explore and develop different techniques for presenting each. I've also made works inspired by forms of pop culture such as the game franchise Pokemon, which I find to be an inspiring take on finding adventure in your own back yard. In evaluating what drives me as an artist, the feeling one gets from seeing a blank canvas stands out and the possibility that comes with it means more than anything. It’s certainly enough to pull me through rough weather and 8am traffic on 281 just for the pleasure of coming in and creating something new. When speaking to people who see my work, the inspiration usually comes across clearly, but they seem perplexed as to why I represented it with bright or unusual colors. The vivid colors represent the feelings I experienced while at the location or in that moment, and help convey that to the viewer, as is my goal. My art is for the people in my life and for the people I haven’t met yet; people who have something with which myself and everyone around me can relate to and create new, unexpected connections with. Through painting, I seek to remind, inspire and provoke positive feelings we can all share in and propagate together!
Culturally Specific Art Category
Select Culturally Specific Art Category:: Hispanic or Latino/a/x
