Paco Muñoz Santana is an award-winning Spanish artist who has exhibited his works nationally and in France. His art explores the infinite beauty that he finds in the sea or the sky. This serves as a vehicle for him to speak of the soul, as well as the ephemeral and the intangible. Above all, Santana endeavors to create moments of silence, emptiness, and peace. Having a realistic style with minimalist lines and a touch of surrealism, Paco Muñoz favors a pastel palette. We sat down with Paco Muñoz to talk about his current projects, inspiration, and the start of his artistic career.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I think it is something you are born with, from the age of 20 I began to paint continuously to connect with my inner world.
I had never thought of dedicating myself professionally. Education and society work perfectly to keep you away from your essence and true happiness. After several years of working as a chemical analyst, I realized I only had one life and that painting was my passion and what really made me happy. That was when I decided to skip the implanted mental schemes and dedicate myself to it fully. Although the road has not always been easy, nowadays I feel very happy to have made that decision.
Can you talk about your artistic influences and other artists you are most inspired by?
There are two artists that have always fascinated me. One being Salvador Dali for his genius to give life to the unreal. Secondly, William Turner inspires me, with his lights and fogs.
Although my greatest inspiration is nature, especially the sea and the sky, its colors and changing shapes that mostly fascinate me.
I would like to find a way to capture on canvas such subtle and ephemeral beauty, it is a continuous search for how to paint those intangible things that touch the soul.
Do you prefer to work alone or collaborate with others?
I have always worked alone. It is a very intimate act in which I need silence and solitude for everything to flow.
On occasion, I have painted with an audience, but it is harder for me to connect with the painting in this setting.
Although, the idea of collaborating with someone can be interesting and a challenge. At the same time it is an opportunity to learn, share, and evolve.
Can you tell us about a project you’re currently working on?
I am currently working on my “childhood” series, something that has been consuming me for some time.
It is a personal search to unite, in a harmonic way, my more mature and perfectionist side with my inner child. A spontaneous drawing is perfect as it does not care about logic or aesthetics and I can talk about my experiences and my inner world.
I believe that being able to unite the inner duality in my works leads to creating a painting that never arrives. There is always a certain feeling that something is still missing.
I am also working to prepare my next exhibition in Normandy for the summer of next year.
What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t an artist?
This is a question I have thought about and been asked a lot. In the past I dedicated myself to other things and I discovered that it was not my path.
Now I can’t think about doing anything else. It is true that at some point I would like to share my knowledge with children, although I think I will be the one who learns from them.
In the end, everything in my life revolves around painting, if I can’t paint nothing else makes sense.
Have you found any other artists on SINGULART whose work you admire?
There are many who I really admire, one of them is Javier Torices, but there are a lot of magnificent artists on SINGULART.
What advice would you give to young artists starting out?
I do not usually like to give advice because what may be good for me may not be for others. However, from my experience I can tell you that you may encounter a lot of obstacles and impediments. Many hours of frustration and discouragement, it is a profession with certain stigmas, probably in your closest circles is where you will receive the most criticism. The idea of giving up being an artist and to devote your life to professions that can offer greater economic stability may cross your mind. You must listen to your inner voice and make your own decisions.
Being able to surround yourself and relate to people in the artistic world can be a great help and facilitate the way.
But above all, it is a profession that comes from the heart and can only be done with love and for love.
