Atabey Painting

ARTIST STATEMENT There have been three great passions in my life, fly and travel the world, which led me to graduate as an International Flight Attendant and Air Operations Management in my youth, to be an Early Childhood Teacher and express myself as a Visual Artist. For a life time, I have treasured independent self-taught studies in art and I have been always fascinated by the expressive freedom and visual impact of Abstract Painting, in particular by the emotional color use of Rothko and Richter and the Gestural Expressionism of Pollock. Years ago, I had the wonderful experience to be an Art Gallery Director in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which not only allowed me to represent great artists, but to get deep into the insight of their creative process; then I decided to start creating my own Art. I do not follow the same working process on every piece, I begin with an inspirational idea, but I focus on expression instead of design, allowing the materials to create their own dialog. I constantly experiment with color and texture, mixing and overlying pigments and acrylic mediums, using brushes, rolls, squeegees and palette knives, and applying washes and transparencies in some areas to achieve dynamic and unpredictable color-effects, as well as unexpected structures, which the spectators often associate with recognizable symbols and images depending on their own life experiences and cultural background. In my paintings, I try to express my inner feelings, my love for nature and my vision of the world, as well as the cultural and ethnic richness of my beloved Island of Enchantment.