ROBERTO AMARAL
Art has been my Muse for as long as I can remember. According to my mother, I began creating art at two years of age when she placed a crayon in my hand and encouraged me to draw. Throughout my school years, my love of art expanded and while I was in high school two of my teachers nurtured and mentored my talents. They introduced me to a world of art exhibits, galleries, and museums which led me to explore and experiment with oils, acrylics, collage, and mixed media.
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After completing a 2-year junior college arty program, and with my teacher's encouragement, I submitted my portfolio to the prestigious Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. I was accepted on a scholarship to their four-year master's program. The same summer in 1968, I was offered another tempting but conflicting opportunity to join the world-famous Jose Greco Dance Company. I made a difficult decision and put my art aspirations on hold while I toured the world as a professional Flamenco dancer. I had started studying Flamenco in Los Angeles at the age of 16 but never thought it would end up guiding my life for the next 55 years! Throughout those years I was fortunate to enjoy success not only as a dancer but also as a choreographer, singer and teacher.
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Somehow, throughout my dance and music years, I always found time to return to my early artistic roots and create art. During that period I created several commissioned residential and commercial works. And now that I've set dance and music aside I've come full circle to pursue my life-long passion for art. Besides painting, I'm currently exploring photography and the expansive possibilities of incorporating that into my artistic visions. I've created a large library of abstract digital designs but my primary artistic passion is painting and expressing myself through different mediums and application techniques. I consider myself an ABEX (abstract expressionism) artist who showcases his eye for color, composition, and design. I've recently moved to Rancho Mirage and I find living here to be very inspirational to my particular style of art. I'm a big fan of mid-century modern design and its sense of stylistic influence can be found in many of my recent works.
