Luisa Fontalba in Ronda

Internationally renowned Ronda Artist Luisa Fontalba this month presented a selection of water colours, sculpture, and artistic jewellery in the Santo Domingo Convent in Ronda’s historic old town.

Describing her work as coming from the heart, Luisa is infectiously passionate about colour, telling Ronda Today that art doesn’t need to represent a particular thing as in tradicional portraiture, instead she prefers to produce art that can be interpreted in the eye of the beholder.

Drawing on her background growing up in Andalucía, Luisa has found a ready audience for her work in Italy and the United Kingdom where the imagery of Andalucían passion, light, colours and perfumes are in great demand, not least as the flamenco movement undergoes a global resergence.

Luisa was brought up in Ronda, on her father’s side she is Rondeña, and on her mother’s side proud of her Arriate heritage, and Luisa considers herself an ambassador for the Andalucían lifestyle, even though she is currently based in Milan, the fashion and art capital of Italy.

Whilst Luisa’s art can be described as loose and flowing, lacking in form, Luisa is quick to point out that her brush never touches the canvas until she feels the spirit of her goal, and she is proud to produce art that cannot be defined in words.

Wandering through her exhibition, the viewer is struck by the chromatic dreaminess of her pieces, some strong and determined, full of fire and heat, with others suggesting the tranquility of the ocean or a lazy summer Andalucían afternoon.

Ask any two people what they see and a different story emerges, for some the elegance of the flamenco dancer confronting their ghosts is evident, for others the torero leaps into life. As a self confessed fan of artists such as Picasso, Kandinsky, I see in Luisa Fontalba’s works a pleasing echo of spiritual concepts where soft shapes blur, and colours define their intent.

Enjoy our gallery of some of Luisa’s art which was on display in Ronda, and if you’d like to contact Luisa, she has her own website – Luisa Fontalba Art.

Jana Pawlasova

Jana was born in a small town in the East of the Czech Republic in 1983. After completing a Masters Degree at the University of Ostrava, she moved to Scotland to live and work for a year before coming to live in Ronda with her partner, sculptor Paul Cowan, they have a son born in Ronda – Rory, who is nearly 2 years old.

After several joint exhibitions in Scotland and the Czech Republic, she concentrated on new work for her new environment and is about to have her first solo exhibitions in Spain.

The first runs from the 24th of July to the 10th of September in the tourist centre gallery in Grazalema, then from the 12th of October until the 22nd of October in the Casino in Ronda. She also has work on permanent display in the Hotel Molino Del Santo in Estacion Benaojan.

Jana works primarily in ink wash, using other medium to accentuate features when she feels it adds to the image, often to create texture to liven up scenes. Much of her work is landscape inspired, but she has explored new ways of looking at familiar views, refreshing them and keeping them current.

The quality of light and the strangeness of the environment here, compared to the Czech Republic and Scotland, has helped in her quest to further her art and she intends to continue working here and exploring Spain’s countryside and culture for the discernable future.

For more information on Jana and to arrange to see more of her work, she can be contacted by e-mail at JPawlasova@seznam.cz.

Olvera Carnaval Poster by Alan Pearson

Ronda Today received an email from a very excited local artists today, Alan Pearson, a man whose art is already featured in our artist pages. Alan emailed us to tell us he’d won a competition in Olvera for artwork to be used in the town’s Caranval 2010 poster.

Alan is justifiably pleased to have been selected because he’s made such an effort to integrate into the local community, with many prominent Spaniards in Olvera calling him a friend. As winner, Alan’s painting was selected from 10 submissions, and also won 300€ in prize money.

The artwork selected was a piece painted by Alan a wee while ago, and shows what Carnaval in Olvera might have looked like at the turn of the 20th century. The castle and church in Olvera can be seen towering above the townsfolk as they enjoy Carnaval in the streets of this beautiful little town only 30 minutes away from Ronda.

In Alan’s painting you can see a group of people playing a traditional game of Cancarro where a pottery jug is thrown around the circle, and behind them a swing setup with a rope suspended across the street.

Ronda Carnaval Poster by Chemi

Carnaval in Ronda is also scheduled for February, and below you can see Ronda’s Carnaval poster designed by José María Sabater, known locally as ‘Chemi’, a popular computer design artist.

Carnaval is a time of great celebration in Spain, and whilst not as flamboyent as those in Brazil they are certainly still very enjoyable. Look out for grand processions, street parties, and side show alley at the feria grounds in Ronda.

In the streets children will be eating candy floss, holding aloft balloons, singing Carnaval songs, and playing games. All told, Carnaval is a time when Spaniards let their hair down and party.

Ron Morley in Benaojan

Ron Morley, born in London 1938, painter in oil and occasionally watercolour.

Before his retirement in 2005 he worked freelance as a magazine and newspaper designer, moving around Fleet Street, London, in the cut and thrust of tight deadlines and graveyard shifts.

He now lives in Benaojan, Andalucía, and with a complete change of lifestyle, has time to ponder and tentatively paint.

His subject matter is close at hand and all engulfing, and for the moment it is enough to paint simple village scenes, explore the narrow streets, relish the blue skys and delve into the deep shadows.

He loves the medium of oil, working with its richness and depth gives him huge satisfaction and a freedom he never knew in the black and white rigidity of the British press.

More of Ron’s work can be seen at the Hotel Molino del Santo, Benaoján Estación.

Gallery of Ron’s Paintings

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Christine Ellingham from Benaojan

All her life Christine Ellingham has been painting and drawing, in fact her entire working career has been devoted to creative pursuits. Born in Buckinghamshire in England, Christine studied art at Banbury College of Art with emphasis on life drawing and draftmanship, before completing studies at Hornsey College of Art.

Many artists struggle to find work, but Christine was lucky to start her career in the comic industry drawing picture strips in the 1960s. Drawing scenes from girls adventure stories that were serialised in newspapers. As an artist Christine had the flexibility to work almost anywhere if there was a post office in the vicinity, and during the early 1970s she moved to Spain.

It was whilst living in Spain that she lost the use of her right hand to ‘Focal Dystonia’, forcing her to learn to draw with her left hand. These were troubling times for Christine but allowed her to develop her skill, initially with illustrations.

As an illustrator Christine has drawn for ‘Woman’s Own’ and ‘The Lady’ amongst others, and has accepted commissions from BP, the Royal Mail, and British Gas. During the 1980s and 1990s Christine worked for several fleet street newspapers illustrating politicians and royalty, as well as providing food and financial illustrations. Most recently she has designed coins for several national mints.

Retirement allowed Christine Ellingham and her husband Ron Morley to relocate to Spain again, and has given Christine the opportunity to really develop her painting, in stark contrast to a career of illustration.

Her first love is water colour, though she finds herself mostly using acrylic on canvas, and whilst she does complete local landscapes, she has said that still life appeals to her more at the moment, though like any artist reserves the right to use any media that captures her imagination.

Christine is a regular exhibitor at Ronda’s Artesanía Market, and has permanent exhibitions on display in the Hotel Molino del Santo in Benaojan, and Hotel Molino del Puente outside Ronda. She also takes part in exhibitions organised by Ronda’s Casa del Cultura and in the Andalucian Soap Company Shop.

Commissions are not accepted at the moment.

Gallery of Christine’s Paintings

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Lesley at Home

Born in the UK in 1943, Lesley remembers being interested in art and artistic endeavours from an early age. At school she remembers wanting to study art after completing High School, and she did, being admitted to the Birmingham College of Art for a three year program of study.

Soon after leaving college, Lesley found herself in demand in Paris by Lanvin, at the time one of the most influential fashion houses in France, if not the world. Lesley enjoyed her time modelling, and it was here that she became mother to two young girls.

By 1969, Lesley and her daughters longed for a quieter and more relaxing life, and the Balearic Islands beckoned. It was here that Lesley developed her talent for clothes design, opening a specialty boutique on Formentura.

The early 1980s, and a move to Ibiza, allowed Lesley to finally return to art, her passion since a child, but never indulged, and through the next few years exhibits in Ibiza, Formentura, England, and even Germany were common events.

We are fortunate here in the Serranía that Lesley visited and then fell madly in love with Gaucín on a trip in 2005, prompting an immediate move, and some of Lesley’s best works in the tranquility of Gaucín’s campo.

Since moving to the Serranía, Lesley has exhibited in Gaucín, in Ronda, and at several local hotels, and the first Sunday of every month will often find her in Plaza Duquesa de Parcent with her best pieces for sale to enthusiastic buyers.

Contact Lesley Riddihough 

Would you like to purchase one of Lesley’s pieces? Lesley is a regular exhibitor in Ronda’s monthly Artesanía market held the first sunday of every month. She can be contacted on (+34) 952 117 152

Gallery of Lesley’s Paintings 

Pauline in Ronda

Hello, my name is Pauline Emmens and I am in my mid fifties. I moved to Olvera in January 2009 together with my husband Jim, having spent the previous 22 years in Oswestry in Shropshire. I originate from Wigan in Lancashire, although we have lived up and down the UK depending on the work situation.

I have been sewing for pleasure starting off, as many do, with cross-stitch. Once I had mastered this technique I felt I wanted to bring more creativity into my work so I started attending various embroidery workshops.

This really wetted my appetite for the creative side of stitching and I was hooked (or needled) so to speak. Having studied traditional and contemporary techniques for the last three or four years, I gained my City and Guilds certificate in design and contemporary embroidery in 2007.

I have also attended various workshops with internationally known artists in the embroidery word, using mixed media and a myriad of advanced techniques and equipment. Sometimes I look at all the tools in my workshop and wonder whether I am a plumber, electrician, builder or embroiderer.

When living in the UK I was an active member of the Embroiderers Guild.

I am now drawing inspiration for my work from my new surroundings in Olvera, and looking forward to new and exciting ways to expand the materials and context of my work in this new environment. I want to create some pieces that incorporate the views and the environment as well as continuing with the more contemporary side.

While most of my work is designed to decorate the home, I am also anticipating having the time to create some varied pieces for commercial consideration.

Contact Pauline Emmens 

Would you like to purchase one of Pauline’s pieces? Pauline is a regular exhibitor in Ronda’s monthly Artesanía market held the first sunday of every month. Click to send an email to Pauline: jim954@telefonica.net

Chico Andrades in his Workshop

Chico Andrades was born and raised a Rondeño, and remembers being fascinated with comics as a boy, a fascination that has led to him becoming one of the Serranía’s top wood carvers.

With Ricardo Dávila, Chico began his training in 2004 in Parauta, at a traditional carving school which has sadly closed down since. It was here Chico first began to appreciate the intricacies of carving in wood and stone, and here he discovered his talent for producing pieces with caricatures.

After finishing his training Chico joined together with Ricardo Dávila, and Diego Guerrero to form Grupo Algorma, a small collective that produced sculptures from discarded materials sourced in the Genal Valley. As part of this small group Chico successfully exhibited and arranged sculpting events, and becoming well known in Ronda and further afield.

These days Chico can be found in his workshop, Raices de Ronda, situated next door to the Mondragón Palace in Ronda. Visitors to the workshop will often find Chico carving his signature cartoon characters into olive tree roots just inside the entrance. Before entering the shop Chico invites you to spend a few minutes watching him as he sculpts, he believes this helps customers understand how the characters are born.

Taking inspiration from his love of childhood comics, Chico rarely spends too much time analysing the timber to be worked, instead allowing the character already in the wood to guide Chico’s chisel. In so doing Chico guarantees each piece is completely unique, it is actually impossible to ever create a copy of any piece since the wood is so different from one piece to the next.

Raices de Ronda

Talla y Escultura sobre raices de Olivo
Chico Andrades nace en Ronda (Malaga) en el año 1968, inicia su formación artística en el año 2004 de la mano del escultor Ricardo Dávila, en la ya desaparecida escuela de talla de Parauta. Allí descubre el mundo de la escultura en madera y piedra.

Más tarde forma parte del colectivo artístico Grupo Algorma (Ricardo Dávila, Chico Andrades y Diego Guerrero) con los que realiza esculturas de gran tamaño utilizando los desechos naturales del Valle del Genal (castaños quemados). Participa con el Grupo Algorma en varias exposiciones y eventos.

En la actualidad tiene su propia tienda en la parte antigua de Ronda, concrétamente en la plaza Mondragón frente al museo de Ronda. Allí talla, expone y vende su trabajo directamente al público.

Trabaja las raices de olivo de forma directa, inspirandose en las formas naturales que va encontrando y respetando siempre el trabajo de la naturaleza.

Amante del comic y la caricatura, nunca dibuja, mide o traza, no tiene en cuenta proporciones alguna y hulle totalmente de la simetría. Simplemente ataca las raices directamente, buscando los personajes que se encuentran en su interior, dando como resultado obras que nunca se repiten.

Contact Chico Andrades at Raices de Ronda

Chico can be contacted for private commissions.

Address: Plaza Mondragón, 9, Ronda, Malaga 29400
Would you like to purchase one of Chico’s pieces? Chico has his workshop in the heart of Ronda’s old town, right next door to the Mondragón Palace. Some of Chico’s Raices de Ronda pieces can be bought directly from his website, and shipped all over the world.
www.raicesderonda.es
chicoandrades.artelista.com

Click to send an email to Chico: raicesderonda@raicesderonda.es

Gallery of Chico’s Sculptures

To display larger images, click the thumbnail

Mariana in Ronda

A poem from Mariana – Un Momento
Préstame un momento, o mejor, date un momento.
Un momento para la calma, un momento para le tempestad.
Para la complicidad, el miedo, la mística y la pureza.
Un momento para el sentido común, la creatividad, el reencuentro, la tramoya y el desengaño. Para la paz y la esperanza. Y para otros momentos, todos conscientes, todos intensos. Momentos sin pretensiones.
Y ojalá nuestra memoria, solo guarda los buenos momentos.

English Translation
Give me a moment, or better yet, take a moment.
A time for calm, a time for the storm.
For complicity, fear, mystique and purity.
A moment for common sense, creativity, reunion, stage props and disappointment. For peace and hope. And for other times, all aware, all intense. Unpretentious moments.
And hopefully our memories, to remember the good times.

Contact Mariana Mara 

Mariana can be contacted for private commissions.

Would you like to purchase one of Mariana’s pieces? Mariana exhibits throughout Spain, so please send Mariana an email for locations and dates of current and future exhibitions. Click to send an email to Mariana: marianamara7@gmail.com

Gallery of Mariana’s Paintings 

Paul Cowan in Benaojan

I am an artist and have been for quite some time. The realisation of this state of being came to me just before I signed up for a foundation art course back in 1990.

I had always seen myself as a craftsman until that point, having made many things up until then including sculptures, furniture and photographs. I have been producing work for around 25 years now. I’m self taught in every discipline that I use, my skills honed by constant development and experimentation.

It was purely incidental that I gained an honours degree in fine art. I had the confidence in myself and my work long before that and the degree added little. I made a conscious decision that I was an artist after finishing the course and that I would not follow my contemporaries into a “normal” job. In this I have succeeded.

I have exhibited both here and abroad and have work in both the public realm and private collections around the world. I enjoy what I do immensely and this comes through in the work I do, whether for gallery shows or in commissions. I fill sketchbooks with ideas from inside my head but tend to rarely use them.

Instead I just make things. I start with the materials and things just appear from my hands, I use no squares, levels or measures, if they look right, then they are right, in the process they evolve and gain a life of their own, I just help them come alive. But nothing is ever a mistake. I enjoy the feel of whatever materials I use, no matter the source, and every single piece of my work is entirely mine from start to finish.

I sculpt in a huge variety of materials including stone, wood, steel, copper, glass and bronze when I get the chance. I use the same materials for furniture as well as upholstery, I create stonework, both drystone and mortared, paint, print and also produce hand printed photographs.

I am also the co-founder of the Ronda Sculpture Gallery, which opened in July 2009, creating a permanent display of my work and a showcase for local and international sculpture in Andalucía.

I’m a happy man when I am working and this means that the client or customer is always happy too. I never do anything I don’t want to in my life and this is reflected in the quality of my creations. I’m passionate about my art and know that people who own my work are just as passionate about what they get from me. But above all I want my work to be enjoyed and used and loved and never be taken too seriously.

Real work for real people.

Ronda Sculpture Gallery

Paul has recently begun placing some of his pieces in the gardens of Molino 4 Paradas Hotel and Restaurant at Estacion de Benaojan. The Ronda Sculpture Gallery is open to the public free of charge, although the hotel terrace is a beautiful location for a quiet drink and tapas while admiring the many sculptures on display.

Contact Paul Cowan

Paul can be contacted for private commissions.

Address: 5 Calle Miguel de Manara, Montejaque, Malaga 29360
Tel: +34 635 831 966

Would you like to purchase one of Paul’s pieces? Paul is a regular exhibitor in Ronda’s monthly Artesanía market held the first sunday of every month, and can often be found next to Ronda’s Puente Nuevo. Click to send an email to Paul: aberartman@yahoo.co.uk

Gallery of Paul’s Sculptures

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