“Gentle Flow”
gouache on cold press paper
9×12″ (23×30.5cm)
2024
$150
This painting is very special to me. Since begining this piece, it’s been an anchor to the enjoyment of the creative process. In September of 2023, I started a Masters of Artistic Production program at the Polytechnic University of València. While I did learn about various approaches to creating visual art, the academic approach to creativity had a negative effect on my relationship with creating works.
When I started painting in 2018, youtube was my teacher. In discovering the visual art production process from the basis of my personal interests, I was able to develop my creative voice more intimately.
School affected the creative approach in that I now had an obligation to create work that was outside of what my inner voice desired to express. Though I’m grateful to have explored new methods of creation (performance, engraving, installations, etc.), these works occupied the time and energy I’d otherwise have dedicated to creating works more aligned with my being’s expression.
Because the school works hadn’t felt personally aligned, I’ve been reserved in sharing them on social media. Despite the impact, I am now feeling excited to start sharing the works I’ve created over the past year for the Master’s program throughout the upcoming weeks. I’m recognizing that they’re still expressions of my Self, regardless of how they came to be. I’m especially excited to share my thesis, which discusses the impact of the Spanish invasions of Abya Yala (aka the Americas) on one’s ability to connect with their native heritage.
“Gentle Flow” has accompanied me through my travels this year, including the week I spent in the Peruvian Amazon (pictured above).
Robert Castillo 