Emerging Artist | Carla Anglada - Southwest Art Magazine

The power and the passion

Carla Anglada, Vino de Melon, oil, 20 x 16.

This story was featured in the January 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art January 2013 print edition, or download the Southwest Art January 2013 issue now…Or just subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss an issue!

A decade ago, when painter Carla Anglada saw a show of paintings by Orazio Gentileschi and his daughter, Artemisia, at the St. Louis Art Museum, the experience was unforgettable. The power and passion that the Italian Baroque works evoked—and especially the richness of the reds—caused Anglada to vow that someday she would create a work employing those same rich, powerful colors. When she spotted a juicy, cut-open watermelon recently, the day had finally come, and the idea for VINO DE MELON was born. Intuitively Anglada also knew that she wanted to include a handmade knife that belonged to her grandfather, Cristobal, in the tableaux.

VINO DE MELON is a good example of Anglada’s work, which often harks back to another era. She is known for her beautifully composed and richly textured still lifes. Another hallmark of Anglada’s works is her use of Rembrandt’s chiaroscuro technique, contrasting light and dark to create atmosphere and drama. In the past year, the Oklahoma-based artist has been rewarded for her elegant paintings: She was juried into both the national and the western regional Oil Painters of America exhibitions.

Carla Anglada, Clementines with Grapes, oil, 16 x 12.

Anglada vividly recalls how her art career began and took root. As a painfully shy girl growing up in Las Vegas, NV, she found great comfort and companionship in drawing. And although ballet, music, and theater were part of her family’s daily life, she never considered a career in the arts. The turning point came in college, when she took a drawing class at Oklahoma City University and soon after was offered an art scholarship. After graduating with a bachelor of fine arts degree, and feeling that her art education was still lacking, she went on to study with prominent still-life painter Louis Tedesco.

Today Anglada says she puts her whole being into what she creates on canvas. “I hope the painting or drawing will create an emotional response in the viewer,” she says. “Maybe through the use of texture, thin and thicker paint passages, the use of palette knife or fingers, light and dark, the painting can inspire viewers.”  —Bonnie Gangelhoff

representation
JRB Art at the Elms, Oklahoma City, OK; Wilder Nightingale Fine Art, Taos, NM; carlaanglada.com.

Featured in the January 2013 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art magazine January 2013 digital download
Southwest Art magazine January 2013 print edition
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