Transmenu powered by JoomlArt.com - Mambo Joomla Professional Templates Club

Writer: Annesha Hutchinson

Miguel Antonio Venezuela is a pioneer of the airbrush painting technique. He is a mediator of the real world that is visible with the naked eye, and the mystical world that is discernible only by our vivid imaginations. Using his tools and talent, he is able to bring dreams to life; calling them out of our minds and onto paper. He is a translator of beauty who is present for the whole world to see in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Venezuela’s entire life has spiralled around the arts. At the age of four, he painted a magnificent mural. His mother leads a Mexican folkloric dance group which he participates in; and his children, amazed by his talent, spend hours late at night watching their father create a masterpiece. Art is more than just a form of expression for him-it is his way of life, culture, history, and his very breath. "I’ve always been a homeless dog," says Venezuela, "going here and going there, leaving home late at night, not coming home and seeing sights, seeing pictures…learning [about] new places, of new cultures…and that has inspired me, and that has taught me to [produce] a wide range of pictures, [and maintain] a wide spectrum in everything that I do."

Venezuela grew up in the state of Veracruz, Mexico; in a small town called Tlacotalpan that is centred in the arts and exposes its inhabitants to artistic expression at a young age. He attended a university-based school that allows its students to become art teachers for youth. Schools such as these have been integral in keeping the Mexican artistic culture alive for several generations. "All the people of my state are always very colourful, they always have a passion for the arts," Venezuela explains, "They have a tremendous artistic expression that just wants to come out of them all the time.

Before arriving in Canada three and a half months ago, Venezuela had travelled to South America, Mexico, Japan, Rome, Milan, Italy, and almost all of the states in the US. With pending permits to paint in Los Angeles casinos and invitations to paint in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Dubai, Venezuela’s popularity is international. From east to west, Venezuela can find a fan who remembers his mystical airbrush pieces from fifteen years ago. In Brazil and Mexico, major T.V. stations have interviewed him. In Canada, Venezuela has yet to find comfort and fame through mass media productions. Nevertheless, he has contemplated settling down in Canada due to his interest in our multiculturalism.

Venezuela’s talent is truly intriguing; one has to wonder whether he has developed this skill over time, or if it is a natural dexterity he was born with. Communicating to the world through such vast images proved to be the voice of his soul. "The passion for artistic expression through…the use of hands and the use of various tools to create images has always been within me from a very young age," Venezuela says, "I have [always] wanted to paint. I have wanted to make something out of nothing, you know, put colours on a canvas…Of course, while I was going to the institution my technique [improved] and I learnt new methods of doing things. But, it is from my soul, from my original method of doing things, that I developed this technique. The passion and the fuel was already there, [but there was a] spark added through the institutions that I went to [as well]….At my base, everything has been [directed] towards art, towards painting, towards communicating with the images, because a picture is worth a thousand words."

Focusing on mystical rather than realistic images is an expression of Venezuela’s personal and cultural ways of regarding the world. Mythical and mystical ideas are interpretations of reality that are embedded in the Mexican culture, and help people to understand the world around them. Through depicting images that are more imaginative than real, Venezuela is able to express himself in a way that is understandable to a wider audience. "It’s hard to define what’s real from what’s not real," he explains, "What’s real to someone, it’s surreal to someone else, or it’s [un]realistic. So your way or view, your point of view, might not be as real as someone else’s, it’s just the way you interpret things." Venezuela’s own technique is somewhat mythical, as he uses fire to add the finishing touches to a painting.

Venezuela’s inspiration stems from everything and everyone around him. The thrill of creating art in front of a live audience has been an inspirational high that feeds his career and maintains his interest in being an artist. When the audience appreciates Venezuela’s art, he is encouraged to amaze them even more and to fill them up with energy through the vivid colours he uses.

"I would be painting and I would see the crowd, I would see the women, I would see the men…and especially the children, the young children. Every time I would do something like, add the planet in there, or finish the painting up, you know, they would look at it and they would stare with amazement…and then after that they would clap and clap and I [would just be] radiating with energy when that happened. So, that was a main inspiration for me; to see the emotion that it instilled within the people, the reaction that I got from painting. Just through me expressing myself on a white piece of paper with different colours…that would put a smile on someone’s face [and] they would go home and think of art, they would remember art, they would want their kids to develop art and that would keep me going. It is why I have been doing this for twenty years or more."

Travelling the world has left Venezuela with many memorable experiences. From meeting the late Bob Ross, who was amazed by Venezuela’s unique talent and offered him admission to his art school; to being able to reach poverty stricken and disabled children, the people whom Venezuela has met though his art have truly left a mark on his life. Venezuela also recognizes the combined contribution of his loved ones, his mentors, teachers, audiences, and other interested individuals, who join together in an indirect communal effort, and thus help to create the success surrounding his artwork.

Working on the streets of Toronto can prove to be an insecure job, especially with our cold winters. Venezuela voiced an interest in settling down in his own space and possibly opening up a gallery: "I am going to find a space where I can shut myself out and record my experience of the past 20 years, which I have spent travelling and painting, so that I may create something at another level, something that is a bit bigger, you know, that is canvas style, [or] mural style." Venezuela would also like to go to an art school to fine-tune his technique through learning the theoretical applications of art.

Teaching others about art is important to Venezuela, since it is a medium that allows everyone to be the same. "It is one of my projects in the future to go and paint for people who have disabilities and for people that are in wheel chairs, or people who have special needs, just so that they can experience art as well," Venezuela says, "Sometimes I have people…who are in wheelchairs and they come and [try to] watch us out in the street, but they don’t have the opportunity because no one gives them the space. And it shouldn’t be like that, everyone should be entitled to watch art…So in the future I would really like to have the opportunity to work in special areas, where everyone can see, you know, in a special place where art is meant to be expressed fully, very fully, so that everyone can experience it, just like the person in front of them is experiencing it."

For Venezuela, art is truly for the audience rather than the artist. While he does admit to the amazing thrill which he receives from painting for an audience, as well as an artist’s need for an audience, Venezuela also says, "In every [place] that I have been, whether it be…South America, North America, Europe, Asia, whatever-even here in Canada, from seeing Hindu people, Hispanic people, Caribbean people, black people, white people, Jewish people-anything, everything, and from all cultures-it is truly in the arts that I have seen that we are all the same, and that there is no difference between people. The emotions are the same…joy, anger, frustrations, passions, sadness…I would say that all of us street [entertainers], whether it be artists, dancers, singers…we need a little bit of more support from people…the government…because what we truly do is we allow for people to take a break. We create a magical space where a person can step in, stay there for a while, be safe, and be very entertained…they can let go of all their worries, all their troubles, all their thoughts; the past, the future, and they’re just in the moment."

Venezuela is constantly travelling and changing locations. At the time of writing this article, he could be found just outside of the Eaton’s Centre and across from Dundas Square in downtown Toronto.

Quick Questions:

Favourite Colour?

"I like purple, a lot. Purple signifies protection. [I] feels secure with purple."

"When somebody [I know] and somebody that [I’m] close to, when they say, ‘I love you,’ that really inspires [me]."

"Try and keep on practising and put a lot of effort into what you do. Develop your passion and don’t give up. The work of an artist is not an easy one, but if you don’t give up and you have a passion for it, you will eventually develop it."

Interview Translator: Alejandro Ramos

Photographer: Grace Mendoza // Designer: Alexandra Pokras