Page 11 - YGARTUA : The Work Of A Genius

PAUL YGARTUA: THE WORK OF A GENIUS THERE IS AN ENERGY, A HIGH WHEN CREATING?
Creation and interpretation is Paul’s life. In painting he is at home in
all mediums and prodigious. His styles include Realism, Expressionism,
Abstract Expressionism, Post Modernism, Surrealism, Abstract
Surrealism and Future Conceptualism, a revolutionary technique
developed and created by Ygartua. His continuous study and work on
techniques and painting mediums are apparent throughout his vast
body of work.
Paul Ygartua is an artist whose versatility is reflected in his work. He is
among those who live elsewhere than their birthplaces. He was born
in 1945 in Bebington, Cheshire (Liverpool) England. After graduating
from the Faculty of Arts and Industrial Design at Liverpool Art College
in 1965 he immigrated to Vancouver, Canada. From then on painting
became his whole existence.
Paul Ygartua is a painter and muralist with bases in Canada, France,
Spain and England. He has single handily painted some of the largest
public space murals in Canada and the United States. His most famous
works are his “Heritage Series” depicting North American Natives and
other ethnic and cultural groups.
He is renowned worldwide for his monumental murals. “The World
United” 100x25 feet | 30,48x7,62 meters being one of his most
notorious, commissioned by the United Nations for the United
Nations Pavilion at the World Expo 86 Vancouver and his largest to
date “Legends of the Millennium”, over 9,000 square foot 24x390 feet
| 7,31x118,72 meters.
The American website ASKART considers it probably the largest mural
ever painted by a single artist. His most recent mural in 2013, United in
History, commemorating the history of Denny Island and The Heiltsuk
Nation, Bella Bella, Pauline Hilistis Waterfall and the Hereditary Chiefs of
the Heiltsuk Nation, Bella Bella dubbed him The Mural Miracle Maker.
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When you are influenced by everything around you, whether it is the
people in the world, their culture or nature itself, it is emotional and
personal. It is these emotions that one tries to express, an inside
view of your thoughts, your feelings and your ideas. I sketched, as
a child, with my Mother, who was also a painter. When we returned
to the Basque Country, Northern Spain, my Father’s birthplace, for
the summer vacations, I used to work alongside her on location. I
attended the Liverpool School of Art in England, specializing in Gold
and Silversmithing. I took life-study but I didn’t take Painting and it
wasn’t until I immigrated to Canada that I changed direction and
started making a living solely from my art in 1970.
My family and I have always travelled extensively and throughout my
life I have been influenced by other cultures. My interest, no doubt,
comes from my Basque Heritage, the oldest white race of Europe. This
influence has also directed me to the varied subject matter I seek
out when living in other countries. In the early 70’s I started painting
the North American Native, I found strength and a passion for a race
struggling for their identity similar to the Basque People of northern
Spain. These influences dominated my work for many years; even
today I still feel a need to create with a passion and strength that
captivates our mind and soul. I like to stir one’s emotions; I like my
patrons to feel this energy that runs through me.
I search for interesting subject matter that has vibrancy and
movement; then incorporating this emotion into my subject involves
the viewer, transporting one to another world. The challenges of
different subject matter are always inspiring and fascinating; I enjoy
working straight eight to ten hours, intense, with high energy; this
becomes a real physical workout on my larger works. I generally work
on 4x4 feet paintings and larger. Murals give you a vast expanse, the
largest canvas you can ever hope to get, expanding your perimeters
and challenging yourself to the highest limits. When working freehand
with no scale or projector, you must imagine the image, see it in your
mind’s eye and envision the painting mural finished. It is an addiction