Brushstrokes of emotion

By Monika Repcyte | January 26, 2023 Comments

The expressive paintings of Spanish artist Andrea Castro depict the depths of human existence which cannot be translated into words. Neat and subtle portraits of people are animated by clashes of color and additional details, such as embroidery, all of these contributing to a powerful emotion. The way Andrea presents her characters was born from the inner need to speak her mind.

How would you present yourself in one sentence?

Simply as an artist that explores emotions and daily situations through her art.

You say that you consider art as another language. When was the first time you understood you’d like express yourself by creating?

Words for me have always been difficult. I’m not a shy person, but I find it very hard to express myself aloud. So at one point, when I was still learning to paint and draw, I knew I could copy anything but it didn’t express a thing. So from there I started working towards a work that tells something, and that something for me are the words that I can’t say aloud.

The portraits you create have a special psychological dimension - it seems that you create distinct characters, who tell different stories. Is emotion the most important thing for you?

I think right now it is. I’m fascinated by studying how we all encounter similar situations with different emotions. As I always had a very hard time sharing my own emotions, I could say I got very interested in the subject when I started to use painting as an emotional language. So for now yes, the emotions and the comunication between each other are the most important things in my work.

What is the work you’re most proud of?

I would say two works: “Shame”, an oil on canvas I did last December that talks about the resistance we put ourselves in out of shame. The second one is titled “The mask of Truth”. It’s a 1x1m painting that took me three attempts to get the result I wanted, but in the end I was very happy with the result. After finishind it I felt I was starting to see myself clearer. And right now I’m working on something new: I’m cutting some of my paintings to create collages from them. It’s something I’m totally inmersed in, very happy and scared about how it’s going so far.

 

Have you ever thought of painting different kind of paintings?

Of course! Always! And I’ve tried it too. But nothing good comes out of it. I even have some personal paintings unfinished because they distance too much from my main work. But anyway I’m always trying to evolve from what I do, thinking about how I can show what I want to say better with my art.

What are your biggest ambitions right now?

Finding a strong voice with the artwork I create. One I can feel proud of. That seems a little bit difficult to achieve because I just “like” a painting for a few days (or even a few hours) before starting to “dislike” it. I mean, I always feel the need to improve my last artwork, so I’m never satisfied with what I do.

Also, my other big ambition this year is to keep being a full time artist. I just hope I can keep selling my work to make a living doing the only thing I can do: create.