Today we’d like to introduce you to Michal Romero.
Hi Michal, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been inclined to create things. The youngest of 5 children and born to older parents, I had the privilege of being left alone to draw, paint, and imagine for hours and hours. In grade school, I excelled in art and music but had no big plans for myself upon graduation. Going to college seemed like the most sensible thing for me to do, and visual art was the most natural thing for me to study.
As I progressed in college, a whole other world emerged before me that was new and foreign to me. I learned about art in depth and its history and movements; I learned my creative process personally on a more sophisticated level and developed my skill set and style.
When I started grad school in 2009, art became my work—my job. It was no longer a practice. The art program that I studied within was small at the time and it championed conceptual art in a sort of late-oughts, post-modern culture. Some of the younger faculty sought to update the program by pushing us to develop ourselves using a more contemporary approach. This meant asking ourselves, “What are we trying to say?” while we developed our style and worked rigorously with regular critiques. After finishing from the 3-year program, I taught as a college adjunct professor for one year, then stopped teaching for 2 years so I could grasp my place as a post-grad in a world still recovering for the financial crisis of 2007. The world had changed which meant the art world had changed. I needed to figure out where I stood as an artist.
In the years that followed, I created tons of work, but as my shows and exhibitions dwindled, it was clear to me that regular income needed to take the front seat. In 2015, I started teaching high school art and did so for 6 years. In 2021, I left the profession to recalibrate and focus solely on creating. I was able to produce two new bodies if work during this time and am still painting. Currently, I’ve returned to teaching part-time. I love talking about art and my experiences have shown me how important fine arts’ existence is in schools. With my newly-balanced schedule of teaching and creating, my art maintains its quality and trajectory.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Any time you are following a pursuit that traditionally had little to no place in a capitalist culture, there are struggles. It takes an iron will to keep going. Also, one doesn’t have the creative energy to produce work if one is worried about money or food. Therefore, most of us need steady income, since art sales and commissions don’t come in regularly. So, teaching art works for me. I’m naturally good at teaching and enjoy the interaction. As you get older and wiser, you find ways to survive that suit you
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I work in oils, watercolor, graphite, and acrylic. My latest work is on paper and medium-to-small scale.
I create abstract landscapes that are rooted on the notion of spirituality and nostalgia. The landscapes are more like mind-scapes because it reflects the pathways and space inside my mind. Nostalgia is present in my work but not overt. It’s more evident in the mood that is exuded through the colors—as if in a dream.
My work is weird and evocative. It’s unique, beautiful, honest and personal. I go to faraway places in my mind and work through many dense thoughts to create it because I’m compelled to. It’s fine if people fully understand it initially, although I believe that they will in time. My art requires several viewings before you see its layers of depth. It’s a general fact that viewers will pull something different for a good work of art through viewing it over time.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
Honestly, being alone on the “blue room” (which was a large laundry room off the kitchen leading to the back porch) in our old house in Athens, Texas. There, I drew and drew and drew and took myself out to the backyard and played by myself until my mother called in for the evening. It’s a wistful and beautiful memory. To this day, while I love socializing, but I absolutely love being alone with my imagination.
Pricing:
- $1500
Contact Info:
- Website: www.michalromero.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/michalromeroart
- Linkedin: Michal (Durham) Romero
Image Credits
Gary Logan
