María Pilar García: colour and light

María Pilar García , was born in Zaragoza, but after living in Madrid 27 years, she feels like a Madrilian.

Although she does not come from a family of artists, she was very much influenced by her father, who was fond of painting. In fact, he would have liked to study Fine Arts, but he could not due to the Civil War.

Since she was child, María Pilar liked to paint and even won several prizes for children's paintings.

María Pilar got married and came to Madrid. When she was 24 she already was a mother of three. She had to stop painting for a while and dedicate her time to the family.

Some years later, with a little bit more of time, she went to a drawing class, as she felt she lacked that important tool in order to progress with her painting. Her teacher encouraged her to start studying Fine Arts. Although she did not pass the exam the first time, she tried again and succeeded. She started her studies in 1995 and finished brilliantly.

Since 1998, while she was still studying, she took part in several exhibitions at civic centers.

But again, the family needed her and she interrupted her pictorial activity until 2005, although she still participated at some exhibitions. In 2009 she designed the scenography for the opera Orfeo for the Company Camerata Lirica, based on her paintings and made with projections.

She also designed the scenography for the Magic Flute projecting videos of the deep space made by the Hubble.

Currently, she is preparing a new project for several Lied concerts. She will use a series of paintings made on plastic with water as background.

María Pilar met Miguel Tugores , director of the DEARTE fair and he encouraged her to take part in the fair in 2010 .

This has been an important event for María Pilar , as it has been the first step into a 'profesional' activity. During the fair she had the opportunity to make her work better known. Until now she already had found a small market for her paintings, but at a reduced scale. She also met other artists and discovered that all have the same concerns.

For María Pilar paintings are an answer to a question. A painting is an object that answers. Behind each work is an idea. She tries to copy reality using a range of light. In fact, we could say that her paintings are explosions of colour and light.

She considers that every work of art has to contain poetry.

When an artists gets known, his or her signature is a label of quality, but one has to be careful not to become a production factory.

For her each painting involves an exercise of thought. One starts from zero and has to consider what and how you want to express something. The painting talks to her directly and makes her put or take away things.

When she starts a painting, she puts the canvas horizontally. First she just walks around the canvas seeing the painting in her head. Little by little she visualizes the work and really makes no sketches. Once she starts painting, the painting is already finished mentally. This makes her paint quite fast. First she paints with a paint roller, then with brushes and finally with her hands.

She things that experiments in art is something common during the first years of an artists, while he or she is still looking for a style. She experimented painting on plastic. It was a very enriching time as it allowed her to control these materials.

At the moment she is focussed visualizing colours and light, but maybe she will also use drawings in the future. She wants to represent light through colour. For her light is a dream and becomes a reality through colour.

She considers that her art is ' conceptual ', it is was lies behind an idea. Drawing is not in fashion any more, because it has been substituted by photography and cinema.

She also believes that everybody should express what they feel regarding a painting with no restrictions. The important thing is to reach the public and that your work is appreciated.

In due time we will be able to see more of María Pilar's projects. She faces a future full of challenges and innovations which she will overcome and defeat successfully.

@Copyright 2008, 2009 Mª Dolores Diehl Busch. All rights reserved.
Sponsored by Keydomo S.L.