Cándido Camero 2017

Luis Álvarez Roure painted this portrait of Cándido Camero, using oil on canvas, and it feels like we're catching the painting in the middle of the act. The loose, drippy strokes of red create the feeling of a work in progress, almost like Roure is showing us his process right there on the canvas. The way he's built up the face with these rich, earthy tones is beautiful. Look at the way the light catches his forehead, how Roure uses these quick, confident strokes to give Camero so much life! The red of the shirt, it's not just a color, it's like a raw nerve, full of energy. And those drips? They're like the painting breathing, refusing to be still. It reminds me a little of Marlene Dumas, in the way that the image is allowed to stain and bleed into the white of the canvas. Roure isn't trying to hide the mess, but makes the mess the point. Art isn't about perfection, it's about the conversation, the back-and-forth, the beautiful, awkward dance of making something new.