Although his inspiration came from a documentary on a street artist known as “Banksy,” art and microbiology major, Ramiro Monteon, began painting when he was in elementary school.
Watching his classmates draw with charcoal, he decided to give it a try. This gave Monteon the chance to develop his artistic skills. His art teacher gave him charcoals to take home, and from there he progressed to pastels, and then oils.
Though he draws and paints diverse styles of art, Monteon familiarizes more with canvas painting.
“Originally, I don’t know if I had someone or something inspire me. It just came naturally. At times, usually I would be bored and I would start painting randomly,” Monteon said.
He got serious about painting when he started his art class back in the Spring semester of 2012. He’s taken two art classes and is currently enrolled in a free-hand drawing class.
“The thing I like about painting is drawing something with a pencil; and usually the pencil comes with an eraser, so you have that chance to erase; with paint, you have to be very careful with whatever you’re going to put on canvas and make it as perfect as you can.”
“Sometimes, it doesn’t come out perfect, but I think it’s the imperfection that makes it perfect,” Monteon said on what he enjoys about painting.
The longest he’s worked on a piece was about three weeks. One important aspect he noted about his work of art is that it requires a lot of passion and patience. Painting truly is a thing of beauty for him.
Some of his other idols and influences are artists like Phlemg, Gustav Klimt, Picasso, Monet and a few others.
Psychology major and former art classmate, Jose Ceja, said ” Ramiro is an amazing artist. i’m a fan of his work because he’s not shy to try new types of art and that’s really helping him grow in his career.”
As for his painting style, Monteon tries to go for a classic artsy look, but he says his work always turns out to be abstract. Abstract in art is when a piece of art has no defined meaning and focuses on shapes and colors.
“When I try to go with something that’s not me, I turn it around, because I like to do something abstract.”
His long-time friend, Jacob Cardiel, said, “While retaining beauty in realism with his art, he is able to add fiction and fun to every piece.”
Both Ceja and Cardiel enjoy his art and agree he has a unique style; his art is natural and raw with a hint of goth and angst.
His plans for the future include transferring to universities such as UCLA or CSULB and hopefully showcasing his art someday.
“Anywhere would be great, as long as people get to see it,” he said.
If he does sell art, he plans on donating a lot of the proceeds to charity.
