Colour coded
Gozitan artist Anthony Caruana tells Showtime how he began painting and what inspires him.
I have felt the urge to paint and have had an appreciation for what is colourful, from a very young age. My father who was in the building industry, although not an artist in the strict sense, instilled in me this love for art. I used to cross over to Malta with him on numerous occasions where he used to show me the beautiful churches and the magnificent buildings in Valletta, Mdina and Cottonera. I always dreamt that one day I could paint large paintings like those in the churches.
I kept practising and improving my skills, always challenging myself to do better. I soon found out that colour was my best medium of how to express myself with more confidence. Mr Carmel Grech an artist and teacher, who happens to be the uncle of the current bishop of Gozo Mgr Mario Grech, became my mentor. With great dedication he gave me all the basic knowledge and discipline I needed at that time. "Practice and keep it simple," he kept telling me, and how important those few words turned out to be for me.
Continuous practice, simplicity and belief in myself forged my artistic life. I would say that during my career, which now spans over thirty years I have had many setbacks, but I was always learning and coming out a better artist.
Art in my dictionary means an expression coming from within you. It is what I feel that I want to create and I express it in bold colours and movement, using the impasto technique.
In my current collection Translucent Journey, I wanted to give the viewers a feast of movement and colour. One can feel the energy and intensity coming out of the panels and being transmitted from one painting to the other. These panels are all untitled, so that it may allow those visiting, the freedom to imagine whatever they like, so they may come to their own interpretation of these works.
I imagine myself spreading out lying flat in a poppy field, feeling the breeze and the clouds forming so many abstract shapes, the noise of the waves crashing against the wild rocks of Ghajn Barrani or the wet sand of Ramla l-Hamra. Xaghra the village of Ggantija and Calypso's Caves is where I have lived for the past 28 years and its colourful hills and valleys are my main source of inspiration.
• Anthony Caruana's solo exhibition Translucent Journey will be at Art Academy in Constitution Street, Mosta, from April 28 to May 22.
I kept practising and improving my skills, always challenging myself to do better. I soon found out that colour was my best medium of how to express myself with more confidence. Mr Carmel Grech an artist and teacher, who happens to be the uncle of the current bishop of Gozo Mgr Mario Grech, became my mentor. With great dedication he gave me all the basic knowledge and discipline I needed at that time. "Practice and keep it simple," he kept telling me, and how important those few words turned out to be for me.
Continuous practice, simplicity and belief in myself forged my artistic life. I would say that during my career, which now spans over thirty years I have had many setbacks, but I was always learning and coming out a better artist.
Art in my dictionary means an expression coming from within you. It is what I feel that I want to create and I express it in bold colours and movement, using the impasto technique.
In my current collection Translucent Journey, I wanted to give the viewers a feast of movement and colour. One can feel the energy and intensity coming out of the panels and being transmitted from one painting to the other. These panels are all untitled, so that it may allow those visiting, the freedom to imagine whatever they like, so they may come to their own interpretation of these works.
I imagine myself spreading out lying flat in a poppy field, feeling the breeze and the clouds forming so many abstract shapes, the noise of the waves crashing against the wild rocks of Ghajn Barrani or the wet sand of Ramla l-Hamra. Xaghra the village of Ggantija and Calypso's Caves is where I have lived for the past 28 years and its colourful hills and valleys are my main source of inspiration.
• Anthony Caruana's solo exhibition Translucent Journey will be at Art Academy in Constitution Street, Mosta, from April 28 to May 22.