New to ArtMine : Color

“The craving for color is a natural necessity just as for water and fire. Color is a raw material indispensable to life. At every era of his existence and his history, the human being has associated color with his joys, his actions and his pleasures.” – Fernand Leger.

Color has been an informative element throughout the history of art. During the Renaissance, the ultramarine pigment was more expensive than gold, and thus was used in paintings to establish social-class. Contemporary art such as the spot series by Damien Hirst, focuses on the relationship between, and the representation of different colors.

There is a scientific reasoning for how color happens, but this information holds no relevance to humans, who attribute color to their lives in more sentimental ways. People claim ownership over colors by declaring their favorite from a young age. Artist’s declare ownership by manipulating the use of color to create meaning. Whether your favorite color is orange or blue, the wavelengths of light reflecting off of these works are sure to captivate and energize you.

Jean Lahoud

Jean Lahoud, who is primarily a painter, but also dabbles with photography, believes that a painting should not resemble reality, which is something that “can be easily captured in photos.” Lahoud compares his art to an abstract effect much like a dream. He says, “both are highly imaginative and rich in twisted realism.” His paintings show chaos through various elements, such as his style of brush strokes and his use of an earthy color pallet with random bursts of vibrant colors. Through his painting, Lahoud feels that his art allows him to connect to his deepest inner thoughts and beliefs.

Cindy Parsley 

From a young age, artist Cindy Parsley, has been fascinated by the relationship between color and nature. Her paintings are brought out through many diverse forms such as “nature, people, and, sometimes, pure emotion,” says Parsley. She is able to capture her inspiration of nature by building up scenes using elements of color and texture to create a sense of atmosphere. Parsley hopes to engage the viewer with “vibrant colors to harmonize and beautify your world” in hopes of bringing out an emotion of “empathy and acceptance” with her audience.

 Bimbi Larraburu

Argentinian artist Bimbi Larraburu went through careers in Advertising and Architecture before finding an abstract painting workshop and immediately knowing that painting is what she was meant to do. Since then, she has worked to find a way to put the imagined worlds within herself onto her canvas. Not one to shy away from a blank canvas, Larraburu stars by layering colors randomly onto her canvas, then picking out the element that will guide and in the end, complete her work. She says, “the result is always an abstract piece of art where the energy, emotions and colors reflect the creation of my runaway hands while playing with expression.”

Noel Ortiz 

Artist Noel Ortiz used the visionary tools that he has acquired from years of being an engineer, such as perspective and dimension, to create unique abstract landscapes. The vibrant color and built up texture represents “the rapidly changing light of its skies and landscapes.” Through texture and bright colors, Ortiz is able to show the viewer “both real landscapes and imaginary.”

Luz Benavente 

Artist Luz Benavente gets much of her inspiration from the nature that surrounds her and wants to recreate the feeling of being under a tree for her viewers. Benavente is able to convey this by layering various materials to create a sense of depth in her abstract pieces. Her color pallet is often based off of the natural colors of decomposing plants and leaves, which also help to create “the sensation of standing in a forest.”