Shantal Ferrer: Capturing Life

ARTIST STATEMENT

Our eyes are like a camera, and life is the muse. In my life, my Mexican heritage is what I capture the most. Using oil paint and pastels, I was able to create physical representations of what comes to mind when I recall my culture.

Although I was born in the United States of America, Mexico is my second home. When walking the streets there, vibrant colors surround you such as lime green, magenta, orange, yellow, red, teal, and so many more. Therefore, in my art, I aimed to incorporate as much color as possible to truly capture the beautiful loudness of Mexico. Additionally, I applied the oil paint a bit thicker in certain areas in order to enhance the texture because oddly, life in Mexico feels way more textured. My primary goal was to illustrate life as an individual of Mexican descent. My abstract pieces correlate more to the busy life in the city, whereas the representational pieces better illustrate the tranquility of Mexico’s countryside. All of the pieces exhibited are inspired by moments I have lived and memories I cherish. Because of this, when creating the pieces, I felt as if I were scrolling through a mental camera roll searching for the perfect picture to paint. However, during the process of painting I realized that no matter how hard one aims to recall, a memory can never be perfectly recreated. Instead, what truly stays forever are the feelings pertaining to that moment. So, all of the paintings for “Capturing Life” aim to do just that; Capture the way life felt in the moment I depicted.