A Moment of EVIL

The origins of this painting began in late spring.

The weather was becoming humid and hot. Spring would slowly turn into Summer. I was feeling very uncomfortable on my daily traveling commute during this time. People on the subway were feeling very irritated as there was a lack of air-conditioning. I would be a witness to many pushes and shoves between commuters. There was a feeling all around that was uncaring and rude. It was something I was constantly ignoring, but not happy with. I just tried to immerse myself in other things but would always get a reminder in some shape or form. In the background, shootings and violence were on the rise in Toronto.

CityNews Toronto image

I was trying to work on something different to keep my mind off of things. But, I was struggling with the idea I wanted to do, or a composition at least. The heat was keeping me indoors with its humidity and I wasn’t feeling very clear about what I wanted. Then, a few small events occurred during the week that would shift my mood to that of disgust and anger. Whatever previous ideas I had originally, had evaporated.
I was angry, not in an outburst sort of way, but shimmering like a pot of boiling water about to spill over. It wasn’t something obvious or something directed at a specific person. I wanted to understand where my contempt was coming from and whether it was warranted. I didn’t want to be feeling this way, but ignoring it wasn’t helping.
I began to look into doing some research into these criminals, reading articles and listening to various taped interviews. The information collected from psychologists seemed to suggest various factors. The most common one was a dramatic event in their lives that happened, led them to this path. Some had embraced it and others appeared cold and unfeeling to what they had done.  No remorse or feeling in their reaction. There was a truth that was very ugly and much more disgusting. The actions and behavior of these individuals I do not condone.

Listening to these interviews made me think about how others interact with daily life. This idea of distortion and the perception of a disturbed individual became something I felt needed exploring. The hidden anguish was something more human, yet, felt very biblical to me. I came up with a drawing that was the view point of a distorted messiah. I  didn’t want to make it super violent because it would take away the point.  In some way, my choice not to create violent imagery was a subtle “middle” finger to everything that was going on.
When I reminisce about this painting, I feel as though I had anxiously overworked it. Perhaps, I could have pushed this concept much further. The heat and the humidity was a factor. Some things I might have done differently, from a technical point of view. For all its flaws, the energy in it is still there, simplicity, raw, and reflected the mood I was in. In that regard, I find it very appealing. Despite it all, I still feel very fortunate to get a finished painting out of this. So that is enough.
Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

DECISIONS are Heaven and Hell

This started out as a need to do an idea about Good and Evil.
I had been out shopping, browsing for books and later CDs at HMV.
At the listening station, a particular album cover caught my eye.
It was the latest release from a band called Heaven and Hell, formally known as Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio, their second vocalist.

Now, I had been a fan for a long while, so it was nothing new for me to listen to. What really caught my attention was the album cover which had this demon, which was titled “the Devil you know”.
I was left with this feeling of wanting to express this inner turmoil.
I also wanted to interpret this a little differently, and avoid portraying this battle with a Renaissance approach.

My feeling was to make good just as interesting and mysterious as evil. Another aspect I wanted was tension in the body. I chose a drawing that spoke to me more than a facial expression did.

The drawing composition came to me rather quickly, however there was a long struggle through variations of color. It was on my third attempt that I found the brownish tone which I felt contained the warmth and drama I wanted.

The inspiration of the color scheme came from an unlikely source,
the packaging of a box of chocolate chip cookies I had been eating during the process.

An unexpected gift for me. I was very pleased with the results.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

FISHTANK in the bedroom

I had been drawing non-stop while commuting to work on the subway everyday.

The idea of deep thought and the body language of people was something I continued to be interested in. Seeing the faces of others and their posture made me wonder how other people went about their day. There was also this desire to draw fish and aquatic things.

I was in the process of decorating my apartment and this interest in a Fishtank became stronger. It was then I decided that I wanted to paint one. I chose a sketch that had been in my scrapbook for a while and proceeded to work on this.

I was so interested in fish that I went into a pet store and took some photos of aquariums. My purpose was to capture some of their movements, but when I started to take photos, all the fish in the tank looked my way and became self-conscious. This was both strange and amazing to me, but it didn’t always work. So I was forced to improvise some of the material.

The main figure had come from one person sitting across from me on the subway in the early morning. It felt like he was in another place, his thoughts completely absent and indifferent to my presence. I wanted to capture that feeling, and brought that into the tank.

Fishtank hangs in my bedroom currently and I am still very pleased with how it all turned out.
It was worth it.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com

WELCOME

For about a year, there were some thoughts that I had wanted to keep a record of in a way that I couldn’t under normal circumstances.

History has a way of getting lost if you don’t document it.

People try to remember things and pretty soon the facts become myths. You forget how and why you ever got started.

I decided to create this page, this creative diary, to speak about my art, and to share some moments about how things came to be.

Mostly, I wanted to record the memories I have had along the way.

Personal vision is my guide.

Victor Ramirez

*THE ART OF VICTOR RAMIREZ*© All written articles and visual images are the copyright and creation of Victor H. Ramirez-vichramirez2015, and not affiliated with rhometechdesign.com