Raymond Bonilla’s education in art history covered the Renaissance and a bit of what followed, then Rembrandt followed by a jump to impressionism, followed by modernism and abstract expressionism in the 20th century. Studying illustration and new media with the intention of pursuing a career in computer animation and video games, he was introduced to the works of the Brandywine School by his professor Alberto Rey at State University of New York at Fredonia. “I had never seen painting like that before,” he says. “I was struck by the way N.C. Wyeth and Howard Pyle worked with color, light and pigment.”
Regroup, oil on panel, 18 x 36"After receiving his MFA at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, he was an illustrator and worked on his own easel paintings between jobs. Alberto Rey had told him that if he was going to make a painting about something, he should have experienced it. He discovered the book of essays, Hawthorne on Painting, by Charles Hawthorne (1872-1930), in which the artist says, “Anything under the sun is beautiful if you have the vision; it is the seeing of the thing that makes it so.” Also, “Paint what you see, not what you know.”
Soon, oil on panel, 18 x 18"
Brian’s Gift, oil on panel, 12 x 9"
Bonilla’s studio was just beyond the washer and dryer which he passed every day. “One day the sun came in and hit the laundry detergent,” he explains. “After reading Hawthorne, I saw this thing and knew I didn’t need to go anywhere to get ideas. I can just be here. I started to sensitize my eyes to different moments.”
He says, “I strive to create art that records my observation of the world around me, whether it be a direct observation or a statement of internal reflection. Ultimately, I seek to make work that is a ‘visual journal’ of the human condition.”
Together, oil on panel, 24 x 24"
Lost Summer, oil on panel, 24 x 18"
His paintings reflect moments in his life with their own narratives that elicit a personal response in the viewer. Lost Summer is a view through a kitchen window to his wife’s garden. In the foreground is a jar of dead roses, their petals fallen to the table top. The bottom of the jar reflects the light from outside. His wife would bring roses in from the garden and put them in the jar, replacing them as they wilted. Their summer had been “lost” with her working on her Ph.D. thesis, his preparing for an exhibition and experiencing the death of both his grandmothers. In normal times, his wife would have replaced the roses.
Aguantate, an exhibition of his recent work, will be at Abend Gallery in Denver from November 19 through December 3. —
Abend Gallery
1261 Delaware Street • Denver, CO 80204
(303) 355-0950 • www.abendgallery.com
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