Alfonso L Tejada

I was born in Durango, Mexico many years ago jeje.   In 1963 I moved to the colonial town of Guanajuato where I started university studies in Architecture, and where I graduated as B.Arch. There my interest in the arts was fostered in the fine art studios of Professor Jesus Gallardo where I studied drawing,  watercolour painting and metal etching.  My formative professional years were spent in the heart of Guanajuato, and subsequently San Miguel Allende where I lived and practiced for 14 years. The influences of these two towns created the foundations of my artistic development.
Vancouver has been my home for the last 37 years.  During that time I obtained M. Arch and Urban Design at UBC, and I taught for 5 years as part-time faculty in the design studios at the School of Architecture.  My work as an Architect & Urban Designer has allowed me to travel to North & South America, Asia and Europe.  These travels have influenced my artistic visions,  particularly Italy where I paint and teach course in Plein Air painting in Venice every summer.  I believe that working as both an architect and an artist provides complementary enhancement of my abilities in both areas of endeavour.

Watercolour is a magical medium that allows freedom, exploration, and discovery while developing a discipline.  Painting and sketching “En Plein Air” are the foundations for artists to see, feel, smell and touch the reality of the amazing world in which we live.  My professional interests in townscapes, cityscapes and the meeting of these with nature are the sources of my inspiration. Sketching places, buildings and objects have helped to strengthen my sense of proportion, scale, form and colour.  The locations where I paint provide me with essential references to see and feel the variations of light and shadows complementing reality.

My work looks at the traditional models of the 17th century “I Vedutisti” in their vistas of cityscapes, as well as the improvisation of painting outdoors of the 19th century, as in the works of Turner, Sargent, Whistler, Holmes, Constable, and especially in the impressionist works of Manet and Monet.

There is beauty in everything; and in my work I want to capture the ordinary as it becomes extraordinary when light, shadow and colour contribute to create the spirit of a location.