Joan Colomer
« BACK
JOAN COLOMER — For Colomer, painting is primal. I can't think of living without doing it. To say it in other words, I live to paint. This consistent and driving force in his life led him to constantly self-analyze. If I paint a landscape or even if I decide to paint a concrete object, it is because it has brought to my mind some remembrances and associations that I have to express urgently. Something very different is the result. I never know which way the painting will go while I'm working because sometimes the painting comes to life and develops its own destiny.
To Colomer, the sky sets the tone and intensity of the work. It is the most important part of his piece. Slowly, one color calls another; it's nearly a question of obedience. I can't force the harmonies. They just flow from my hand. For Colomer, the harmony just happens. When asked who his artistic heroes are, Colomer eloquently replies, I'd like to have Beruete's touch, Sorolla's light, Hopper's balance, Corot's gracefulness, Daubighny's vision, Monet's color, Vermeer's mystery, Mauve's atmosphere, and Velázquez's knowledge. The influence of each can be seen in Colomer's work.
The roots of my artistic expression are both deeply cerebral and emotional. I realized this one morning, looking at my father, who was about to start a new work. He stood there, looking at the white canvas, for a long time. I tried to feel what was happening in those moments, an impulse, and urgent necessity of self-expression. That is the origin which later becomes an intuition, a thought's structure, an artistic design creation. Having everything ready, his hand started to form. At that time I realized that Leonardo was right, 'Painting is a mental act.'
