for the auric/aura art:
I don't see auras on people. Rather, I intuitively sense energetic states to a high degree. I seem to know where emotional and psychic pain and suffering are hiding in someone, or were hiding in someone deceased. I often can also correctly read their strengths and weaknesses while looking at a photo, or holding their hand, or meditating on their presence. When preparing to paint these pieces I do much historical research on the particular being and then forget about it--because for me, historical facts can only serve as a foundation toward understanding an individual's true nature. Personal politics and intimate circumstances must be understood intuitively. In this subconscious space there is no time, and important insights are related immediately. While painting I strive to listen very intensely to what their energy tells me, and what the work is telling me. My own hallucinations and perceptions filter this somewhat, so the more I stay neutral the more I see, and it is then possible to overcome illusion. My vision is to merge my figurative comic art skill (the drama and the foreshortened shots) with my fine art training (background abstraction, and color/edge work) to create imagery designed to pull the viewer into an energetic reality that will spark personal transformation. I want to relay the authentic power in the subjects of my paintings (or the foolishness and greed) and stimulate the viewer's awareness to a new inner life. for the women art: These are just playtime...a merging of color, destroyed edges, neat poses, and different sizes of paper or canvas. I still employ realistic figures in an abstract background but I'm not interested in saying much, I want to get the essence of the feeling or look I'm after in as little time as possible. Felipe Echevarria 2009
