Emergence, a painting by Andrew Velez

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Hello! It's Amber here. This post is going to be the first of our weekly "museum picks" section of the blog, where Suzy and I will each pick a favorite piece currently on display at the FAC, and share some thoughts, photos and information about them (with copyright permission of course!)



This week, I have chosen a painting by local artist Andrew Velez: Emergence, 2010, acrylic on canvas. It is currently on loan, courtesy of the artist, in our gallery of Southwest art.

I was captured by Velez's sharp details that continue through the planes as they recede in space. I love the sharp contrast between the warm greens and earth tones in the foreground, and the cool icy blue tones in the background, and the balance created by this stark juxtaposition of color temperature. I love how the saguaro in the forefront is cut off at the top, giving a sense of a full, overflowing landscape, and a sense that nature is uncontainable. Velez's detailed brushwork is incredibly impressive, reminiscent of the level of detail in a Northern Renaissance Nertherlandish still life. It is a level of detail that is impossible for the human eye to see on a singular focal plane in real life, making it a quite surrealistic landscape. On his website, Velez states:

"To enter these places and encounter its beauty and solitude is truly a surreal experience, an experience that I try to capture in my work."

Velez has definitely captured this feeling of the surreal beauty of the American Southwestern landscape in Emergence, and his other paintings evoke this magical, otherworldly feeling as well.

Velez lives and works in Colorado Springs. You can see more of his work at his gallery, Velez Gallery, in Old Colorado City: 2904 W Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80904.

You can also read more about Velez on his website: http://www.avelezart.com, or visit his online gallery at http://toltecstyle.com.





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