"Stefany" Pablo Pekoc

“Stefany” Pablo Pekoc. Oil. 39” x  28.5”

Originally, the painting was to depict Atalanta, a character in Greek mythology, a virgin huntress unwilling to marry. Though by the final stages of painting my friend and model Stefany,  I personally enjoyed her life story much more than Atalanta. The original purpose of the painting explains the choice of color and pose of the painting. Red being the color of love or lust and warmth, but "Stefany" stands in a colder tone and is in the action of putting her hand out as if a gesture of giving is implied.  She symbolically is wanting to give love to another but cannot because Atalanta swore virginity. 

A number of artists, in past times, used their art as a way to express themselves very personally or to a greater extent the current events around them. However, when the time comes for me to begin work, I do my best to detach both myself and the current events from my work.

Honestly, I feel that is impossible to do fully. The reasoning behind detachment for me, is during my life, I have come across countless others who's lives are decided by situations around them or by other individuals. I have always tended to be extremely fearful of not being who I feel I want or need to be. 

My view of my work is this is what I can create and I do not allow outside influences. I am the one to choose how I move my brush or mix a color. I want my paintings to be their own. In a sense "speak for themselves" which is how I choose my subject matter. 

I'm highly influenced by the works of the Old Masters.  I tend to pick specifics of past movements I enjoy and compile them to make up my paintings. Its really just what I find to be the most beautiful. I don't deny there being a deeper meaning to a lot of my work, but in all honesty, I'm fairly happy with that deeper meaning never coming to the surface for others or even myself. The viewers can simply just admire and nothing more. 

When it comes to the choice of making all my own materials, I can say no one else on the planet has the same paints as me. I can say I've made vine black from a grape vine that my father and I planted. Bone black is from the animal bones found in the forests.   In response to not having realistic access to ivory, I decide to make ivory black from my own baby teeth and of those of my friends. I have made every pigment in a historic palette and a modern palette. From Cobalt blue from actual Cobalt metal to lead tin yellow type one and two, which is the bright yellow used by Rembrandt. 

I do all this to understand my materials to the best extent possible as well as allow myself access to the best materials possible not available any other way. It is a lot of work and seriously dangerous at times trying to put together recipes from books written hundreds of years ago.

I have been asked many times why I even bother, I just simply accepted at this point that not everyone can understand and there is no reason to try and explain. Just do what allows you to be the better artist. 

“At 19 years old, Pablo Pekoc is the youngest of six gifted artists currently studying at New Mexico Highlands University.  Pekoc is a tall lanky young man who sports a flowered baseball cap and two snakebite rings. He’s articulate and smiles easily.  When he discovered BBC’s Power of Art documentaries, he learned everything he could about the Old Masters.  When asked where he hopes to be in a decade, Pablo says, 'Wherever I am, I will always paint.'"  Interview by Beth Urech, Las Vegas Optic Columnist

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