Mr. Castro´s stilt houses / Los palafitos del Sr Castro Painting

"I love to paint. It gives me joy and energy. Looking at my artwork you can see many different eclectic styles along different periods in my life”. In order to really grasp Pato Casagrande's painting, it is necessary to know her roots and experiences. Daughter of a Finnish father and a mother from Santiago, Pato grew up in a large house in Adrogue raised by her grandmother, a trapeze artist in her father’s circus. It is her grandmother who instills in Pato, half in German, half in Spanish, an education strongly oriented to freedom, principle and autonomy, along and in between rich meals and accordion melodies, love for animals, plants, fascination with vibrant colors and, most specially, respect for noble values Her artistic call manifested in her early childhood. Painting was a game she learned to play all by herself. Lates in life she took formal painting classes at several workshops many of them with her Adrian Lirman who was key in tutoring her to become the artist she is today. As a young woman, she mothered two children (Julieta and Vicente) with whom, between laughter, games, spend many years of great joy growing together. During that time continued painting for her own pleasure. Nowadays with her children grown up Pato dedicates herself full time to her art, making a profession out of her passion. Pató´s painting career is segmented in four different creative periods. Initially preferred abstracts compositions (using mostly oil paints and spatulas), later she shifted to bright colorful imaginary animals (She usually refers to these periods as a sort of Animal´s Carnival), more recently she crafted images combining mixed techniques with collage to create shamelessly happy images. In her fourth and current period, Pato has returned to her first love, abstracts but now she enjoys to express herself creating simpler images (enjoying the freedon of not needing give any meaning to her creations) using strong spatula strokes to compose forms that somehow reflect the multicultural heritage she carries in her blood. Pato paints every day, gives painting lessons and organizes painting workshops for private entities. She also oversees the marketing and selling of her artworks in Argentina and abroad.