For many years I have admired Dorian Vallejo’s artwork, from his stunning portraits to his beautiful drawings. When you view his work you feel like you are not only looking at the person he depicts, but also seeing the essence within. His work captures emotion as well as beauty.

I have been fortunate to meet many talented artists living in the greater New York area this past year. Having the chance to exchange experiences, resources, and opportunities has been invaluable to me as an artist. Since I knew of Dorian’s work previously, it was particularly good to have a chance to talk with him in person. For several years he had a drawing studio in his home in Montclair, NJ where a group of artists would meet every Saturday to draw from a model. He also published a beautiful book of his drawings called, Drawings: Inspired by Life, which I look forward to adding to my collection of favorite art books.

Dorian describes why he paints:

Much of the art I create engages a fascination I have with several ideas that over lap both philosophically and aesthetically. I’m interested in the psychology of our inner selves, the conscious exploration and the interplay between the two realms of existence. Essentially, I see that process and our challenge to balance the lighter and darker sides of our persona as a beautiful dance.

I am also interested in beauty as a symbolic metaphor. The contemplative spectacle of which represents the struggle between the limits of life and the quest for excellence. (arete as it relates to agon)

Although I have a real appreciation for the spontaneous beauty inherent in a naturalist impulse or life as it is, much of my thought involves some level of complexity that suggests a symbolic narrative. Increasingly, what I find exciting is to deviate from direct observation in exploration of territory that both challenge and surprise me and can in some way relate to the concepts, observations and questions about life that I find interesting.

Primarily, I use a sort of dream world of floating figures, forests, and natural motifs to suggest the realm of the unconscious and the duality of existence because it is there, creatively that I can express a philosophical ideal of heroism that (to loosely paraphrase one of my favorite philosophers) corresponds to my sense of Life as I believe it could be and ought to be. My work is my “Yes” to life.

Dorian’s book can be purchased on his website by following the link below:
Drawings: Inspired by Life by Dorian Vallejo

View more of Dorian Vallejo’s recent work at www.dorianvallejo.com