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My Grandfather's Paintings
So there it is, as always, a paintbrush in my grandfather’s hand every time you see him. Since he was very young, my grandfather José Manuel had a strong attraction to the art of painting. He never had an official art teacher, but anyway over the time he managed to paint as an artist. There is a wide variety of reasons why he paints, which include the unique sunset in 'Cerro de la Bufa’ and among all the city with vivid blue sky of Zacatecas, the detailed colonial architecture of Fernando Calderon’s theater or even a Huichol with his peculiar sandals and colorful pouch crossing the street. Within the diversity of compositions, my grandfather also paints things like fruits or vegetables mixed up together, people in the neighborhoods interacting or popular spots of a place with the shape of different things he imagines. Whatever the reason it is, there is always a purpose for my grandfather to paint. From religious paintings for the local church to artistic masterpieces full of meaning, all of them are paintings from my grandfather which by the time have become popular in the art community. My grandfather’s favorite technique to paint with is pastel chalk, he has tons of collections with this technique in which he creates completely new colors. There are some other techniques as scratch, watercolor and oil painting and my grandfather has good skills at them as well. The famous artist Francisco Goitia once said he wanted to have the hand of my grandfather for watercolor painting because it was very precise. This hobby of painting became a lifestyle to my grandfather, he started to read and study himself about art and that’s when he knew he was giving a meaning to each painting he made and of course that was art. It doesn’t matter what day or time it is for my grandfather to paint, one time my grandmother told him to go to the church on Sunday for mass and he declined, she got really mad at him and went by herself. After the mass, my grandfather had painted a Christ for my grandmother which made her cry, that same painting is now valued for about $20,000 pesos. My grandfather never commercialized his artwork and therefore he kept most of his paintings, by the way some of his collections were sold to government offices or banks in Zacatecas. My grandfather’s artwork has been exhibited in Mexico City, Aguascalientes, Durango, Saltillo, San Luis Potosí, San Antonio, Texas and Washington D.C. He has been awarded by government officials several times for his contribution to the art and culture in Zacatecas. This art environment of painting is still going on nowadays and that is what keeps alive to this man of 98 years who has lost his wife but not the taste in painting and the meaning it gives to his life and to the life of others. My grandfather currently paints about 2 paintings per week. Wordcount: 494
