The Naked Truth
Call for Entries Accepted Artists
Artist Damian Chavez
Los Angeles, California, USA
Seated Voluptuary
Graphite
Artist Statement
Whenever possible, I use the finest materials for their handling qualities, presence, and permanence. I idealize the things I find most appealing. Often the images have a female likeness—using the feminine persona allows me a freedom not attainable by other means. Even the intimacy of portraiture gives way to the mystique of archetypes.
The artistic license offered by the ancient mind is instrumental in surmounting the restrictions of contemporary life. My personal experiences, influences, and unorthodox training have allowed me to work in a completely unique way by a synthesis of traditional and non-traditional methods, ignoring fleeting trends or rigid formulae.
In entering the “spirit” of sincere classical art, I experience a mode of expression that is sensually rich, unfeigned in its display, noble in its aspiration, and perennial in its pleasure. This is not the product of nostalgia, asceticism, or the opposites of these.
This kind of understanding is without chronological or geographical boundaries. I do all of this while trying to be aware of art and its simultaneous psychological, philosophical, and decorative functions. Ideally, I’d like to delight and remind the viewer, using the art as a suggestion, of the wider implications of this kind of reflection.