Today we’d like to introduce you to Francisco Andrés Carrión.
Francisco Andrés, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
As a child, I was exposed to art at a very young age by my father, whom worked as a museum curator; every once in a while, he would take me to his work place where I wondered around surrounded by the sights and smells of art. This experience will be within me only to resurface later in life by chance. Discouraged to become an artist, I moved on to pursue degrees in engineering and chemistry and to work in the oil and gas industry since my early twenties, but the urge to draw and sketch and paint never left me.
One time, I decided to hang up one of my watercolor sketches at work. It caught the attention of my co-workers, and by chance, one of them knew about the Houston Watercolor Society, a type of organization I had no idea knew it existed, and suggested I should send a piece to one of their contests. To my luck, their next contest, was the 40th International Watercolor Exhibition. Very reluctantly, I submitted a painting of a group of three oil workers on a platform, to my surprise I was later informed that the piece was accepted, winning a spot on the contest among international competitors. Later it was brought to my attention it was a great accomplishment for a first try.
This event greatly encouraged me, started to take my art more seriously, and was just the starting point of much more to come. Not long after, during an exhibition, one of the attendees suggested I should look into applying to be part of a show, of course I did, winning a spot in the Houston Bayou Art Festival, one of the largest in the country, By the next year, I was doing shows and exhibiting my paintings regularly, to much public acceptance. Since then, I have collected numerous awards, including a prestigious Lloyd Albers Memorial and in 2017 opened my Studio/Gallery where my paintings are permanently on display. If there is a plan for each of us, for me, painting and becoming an artist had to happen, of course with a bit of luck. Currently painting, my exhibitions and my studio gallery take most of my time, sometimes even more than what I still call my “real job”. If I became an artist, by chance, or because I had that deep within me, and somehow had to come out, whatever it is, I feel truly thankful and blessed of being given this opportunity.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I use a traditional approach to produce realistic paintings of industrial landscapes, inspired by classic American illustrators, as well as by contemporary realist masters. My aim is to convey my admiration and respect to human engineering, structures and machines that we, fueled by our intellect and curiosity, have built. Witnessing the function and operation of these machines and structures is a very humbling experience, land rigs in Texas, platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, refineries in South America, tankers in the North Sea, etc., all painted with incredible cadmium colors, and contrasting with beautiful landscape backdrops. My paintings attempt to depict all these aspects, but most importantly, the inspiration I feel for the people, the workers, whom make all this possible, whom make the gears run. Being part of the oil and gas industry during my entire career, and having made my life in Houston, injects a sense of pride and belonging that urges to be conveyed. I have always done so, but now with my paintings, feel I have found the perfect channel. In short, my paintings are a reflection of the industry that I feel so proud to be part of, and that has given me everything I have.
Any advice for aspiring or new artists?
If you are sincerely passionate about something, whatever it is, positive things will happen. I have a tendency to visualize myself in the future, where I want to be, and based on experience I can tell you most of the times this has materialized, reason why I try to avoid negativity as the plague, I’ve never believed in luck or chance, but in hard work; yes some aspects of how I became an artist may have happened easier; or I was in the “right time at the right moment”, but can proudly say that, once there, I have put on a lot of work, energy to keep it going.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My paintings are permanently exhibited at my Industrial Fine Art Gallery and Studio just minutes away from downtown Houston in the heart of the Washington Avenue Arts District and Houston’s historic First Ward located at 1824 Spring Street, in the former Harris Moving & Storage Building. You can also visit my catalog online at www.industrialfineart.net.
Contact Info:
- Address: Industrial Fine Art Gallery and Studio Spring Street Studios (Studio 235)
1824 Spring Street
Houston, TX 77007 - Website: www.industrialfineart.net
- Phone: +1 713 202 9420
- Email: info@industrialfineart.net
- Facebook: @industrialfineart
Image Credit:
F. A. Carrión
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