Dragon heart (2005) Drawing by Martz

Alvaro Reuben Gutiérrez Martínez is a self-taught artist who was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1976 and through the years has become well known for his realistic portraits, still lifes, and wildlife paintings. An artist since childhood, Alvaro has worked in watercolour, colour pencils, acrylics, graphite, charcoal and pastels before finding his way to oils. Alvaro has always strived to make his work look real and his goal for better than life reality is apparent in his stunning images of still lifes and portraits. Due to his studies, Alvaro is able to combine his gift of realistic portrayal with techniques of the classical masters to create unforgettable images. When he paints a subject he also concentrated on his painting surface, color, line, structure, shape and composition. “My work is very intuitive and dependent upon a foundation gained through my continuous quest and from some good instructors along the way. I get into a dialog with the canvas and let that conversation carry me through to the finished work. The most important elements for me are strong composition and structure. I try to make color and the way paint is applied work for me. I love everything about paint, and I want the viewer to sense that in my work. My second love is drawing, and I can't resist making lines in the paint as I go. I may use a heavy pencil, willow charcoal or oil sticks.” Although Alvaro enjoys painting still lifes, landscapes, seascapes and wildlife, Alvaro's first love is portraiture and the human figure, which he paints from life because of the value he places on the interaction and relationship between artist and sitter, and on the gesture, crucial to capturing the character and mystery of the subject and to his enjoyment of the process. “I find in my art a sense of self that makes me feel unique. I look for subjects that are beautiful, vivid, and realistic, yet sometimes a bit bizarre or thought- provoking in that realism. I enjoy looking at a common scene or subject and probing more deeply to see it at an uncommon angle or from an arresting point of view. Dramatic contrasts of values also appeal to me, and I can get lost in that joy of carefully applying my colors and seeing something literally burst forth from that paper in a startling three-dimensionality, realism with a twist.” Alvaro is a painter who loves colour and working from life. He has received numerous awards for his oil still lifes and wildlife subjects. He also teaches and gives workshops in acrylic and oil painting. Alvaro has gained national and international recognition as one of Colombia’s up-and-coming new artists. “I have never looked at my work and made the decision that I've reached my goals as a painter. I don't know what it will feel like to do that. In the meantime the quest keeps me searching and growing in a craft that I truly love.” At the present, Alvaro continues working on the creation of new projects because he knows that in the near fu...

• Nationality: COLOMBIA
• Date of birth : 1976
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary Colombian Artists