I'm Carlos. I paint in oil, on wood panel and canvas, and I paint things you can recognize: a sunset over the sea at golden hour, men working the land at harvest, the light on a beach in Puerto Vallarta, a scene after Rubens.
I love abstract work. But I want the person standing in front of my painting to understand what they're looking at. So I practice the craft — drawing, proportion, light — until I can make a real image, one that holds up. No matter what I try, that's where I always end up: representation.
My process can be slow and indirect. I size the panel, draw the image in, lay down an underpainting, block in the base colors, and then build it up, layer after layer. I usually don't work alla prima though some sections may have only a couple of layers. When the painting is finished, I varnish it once it is thoroughly dry.
My originals are one of a kind. My prints are open edition, printed on archival paper, hand-signed, embossed, and made in my Los Angeles studio.
I paint this way because of what I want you to feel when you walk away. A painting made in one sitting can move you. But a painting that took days — hours upon hours of layering —I believe can move you more. At first sight there's almost too much to take in. I want that to stop you: a little shock, a little awe at what it took to make it. Underneath all of that, I aim to give hope, faith and a little peace.
