When I got into "The Bible of Boxing" (Ring Magazine), my girlfriend Georgia Goodrick said, "Oh, that's nice Albie but you're not in Maxboxing.com." Oaf, so much support for me, eh!? I guess it is Georgia’s way of keeping me grounded…
Georgia isn't a fight fan but sees that every morning; I go straight to the computer or on my Blackberry and type in www.maxboxing.com to read the latest boxing news.
A few mornings ago I went to Maxboxing and recognised a certain Mike Tyson painting on the front page of the website. Oh, really? Oh, is it now? Who has NOW been featured in MAXBOXING.COM!? ME ME ME ME ME!!!! Whatcha gotta do when Albie runs wild on YOuuUUuU GeoOorggiiiaaaa!!??!!
Here is the cool article about me, written by Coyote Duran of Maxboxing.
Read away. Or click here for Maxboxing.com version
http://www.maxboxing.com/news/promo-lead/hitting-the-canvas-albie-espinola
An artist’s true base motivation has always been the love of rendering and as difficult as it can be to actually scratch out a living by solely being an artist, that love has to virtually permeate every fiber of one’s being. As financially limiting as art can be, the success of a sports artist can be even more limiting and that’s why the success of artists like Richard Slone and LeRoy Neiman is an incredible testament to their respective levels of talent. As an artist, I fully realize the struggle it takes to market one’s self, but in my travels, I’ve also encountered other unique talents who are just as like-minded. One of them is Albie Espinola.
“I have been painting and drawing all my life. Art was what I was blessed with and came naturally to me,” the 28-year-old Espinola recently told Maxboxing. “I realized from a young age that people took notice of my art, but didn’t actively get my work out there to be seen until a few years ago. I first started promoting my art while I was producing fashion shows. I couldn’t afford to pay the models what they were worth so, instead, did paintings of them from the shows as payment. It worked as I had top models walking the catwalk in exchange for paintings. When I stopped producing shows to concentrate on my art, I kept the subject matter of fashion and painted the supermodels from the fashion shows I attended during London and Paris Fashion Week. USA Today dubbed me the ‘Fashion Artist’. I enjoy the paintings of true masters such as Monet, Van Gogh, Klimt and Warhol. I love comic book art as well. My influences in life are my family and anyone who is doing something positive.”
Anyone who follows the work of the London-born and bred Filipino surely knows this from looking at Espinola’s wildly creative gestural style and the wide variety of subjects he renders. But amid his hip and signature versions of celebrities such as bombastic chef Gordon Ramsay and model/TV host Tyra Banks lays the niche within the niche: boxing art. And it came with a deep and long-standing appreciation.
“I have been watching boxing since the early Mike Tyson era back in the late 1980s. My dad always used to stay up late watching the big fights from America and UK,” Espinola recalled. “I used to watch them with him…and we still do! My whole family are fight fans. Boxing has been a huge part of my life since I can remember so when I paint boxers, I want to do it justice. Boxing reveals so much character in a person. It reveals their heart, the will and smarts especially when things aren’t going their way. Boxers’ brains are working a thousand miles an hour in order to hit and hopefully not get hit by their opponent. So when I am painting fighters, I try to show these things.”
In a sense, Espinola mirrors the speed and smarts of the fighters he drops to a canvas. At first glance, the level of effort looks far more involved, but Espinola admits, “Most of my pieces take two-to-four hours [from start-to-finish]. It can take a lot longer depending on the detail and subject matter.” That aforementioned gestural style, which is frequently used for mapping out figures for subsequent hard outlining and detailing, is Espinola’s bread-and-butter and aids in his speedy renderings. Think of it like a signature punch or style of fighting, not unlike a Micky Ward left hook. “I start off using light gestured marks to lay out the composition and gradually make more definite ones when I feel comfortable the piece is taking shape. The under layers brings depth to the art. This way, I can afford to make adjustments to the painting.”
These adjustments are only as easy as the artist’s experience allows them to be. In this writer’s artistic experience, a single medium cuts the mustard. However, to Espinola, there’s no prejudice when it comes to a preferred method to his madness. “My latest work, I use pen to draw, then watercolor over the ink to give it life. For the background, I use acrylic paint. I grew up using oil paints, but I really don’t mind which medium I use. I tend to mix different media,” he said. In dealing with such a wet, volatile media like oils so early in one’s artistic endeavors, patience is truly a virtue, but this young artist has obviously found peace in his process, leaving only the question of who inspires him to hit the canvas.
“My favorite fighter to watch of all time has to be Naseem Hamed. He didn’t fight the greatest fighters ever but was a complete entertainer in and out of the ring,” he said. “From his ring entrances [to] his cockiness in interviews and his fights were all must-see events. You were guaranteed an entertainment in some way. I could never get bored watching his shows. Today, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are my favorite fighters. I enjoy Mayweather’s persona out of the ring, as well as his skill inside it. His interviews and family are so funny and it is amazing to watch him break an opponent down mentally before a fight as well as during it. Manny Pacquiao, of course, brings it inside the ring and love that he seems so humble, yet a true warrior. All the Filipino people around the world truly unite when he fights and that is a great thing.”
This inspiration isn’t just limited to finding and rendering the perfect subject. Espinola’s love for the sport sticks with him well into the process, which reveals his fervent fandom. “If I’m drawing a certain fighter, I will preferably watch their most entertaining fights before, and have it on in the background while I am painting. I use a lot of photo references as well as my imagination and memory. When doing a portrait, I create little stories in my head and try to bring it out in the painting.”
Georgia isn't a fight fan but sees that every morning; I go straight to the computer or on my Blackberry and type in www.maxboxing.com to read the latest boxing news.
A few mornings ago I went to Maxboxing and recognised a certain Mike Tyson painting on the front page of the website. Oh, really? Oh, is it now? Who has NOW been featured in MAXBOXING.COM!? ME ME ME ME ME!!!! Whatcha gotta do when Albie runs wild on YOuuUUuU GeoOorggiiiaaaa!!??!!
Here is the cool article about me, written by Coyote Duran of Maxboxing.
Read away. Or click here for Maxboxing.com version
http://www.maxboxing.com/news/promo-lead/hitting-the-canvas-albie-espinola
Hitting the Canvas: Albie Espinola
An artist’s true base motivation has always been the love of rendering and as difficult as it can be to actually scratch out a living by solely being an artist, that love has to virtually permeate every fiber of one’s being. As financially limiting as art can be, the success of a sports artist can be even more limiting and that’s why the success of artists like Richard Slone and LeRoy Neiman is an incredible testament to their respective levels of talent. As an artist, I fully realize the struggle it takes to market one’s self, but in my travels, I’ve also encountered other unique talents who are just as like-minded. One of them is Albie Espinola.
“I have been painting and drawing all my life. Art was what I was blessed with and came naturally to me,” the 28-year-old Espinola recently told Maxboxing. “I realized from a young age that people took notice of my art, but didn’t actively get my work out there to be seen until a few years ago. I first started promoting my art while I was producing fashion shows. I couldn’t afford to pay the models what they were worth so, instead, did paintings of them from the shows as payment. It worked as I had top models walking the catwalk in exchange for paintings. When I stopped producing shows to concentrate on my art, I kept the subject matter of fashion and painted the supermodels from the fashion shows I attended during London and Paris Fashion Week. USA Today dubbed me the ‘Fashion Artist’. I enjoy the paintings of true masters such as Monet, Van Gogh, Klimt and Warhol. I love comic book art as well. My influences in life are my family and anyone who is doing something positive.”
Anyone who follows the work of the London-born and bred Filipino surely knows this from looking at Espinola’s wildly creative gestural style and the wide variety of subjects he renders. But amid his hip and signature versions of celebrities such as bombastic chef Gordon Ramsay and model/TV host Tyra Banks lays the niche within the niche: boxing art. And it came with a deep and long-standing appreciation.
“I have been watching boxing since the early Mike Tyson era back in the late 1980s. My dad always used to stay up late watching the big fights from America and UK,” Espinola recalled. “I used to watch them with him…and we still do! My whole family are fight fans. Boxing has been a huge part of my life since I can remember so when I paint boxers, I want to do it justice. Boxing reveals so much character in a person. It reveals their heart, the will and smarts especially when things aren’t going their way. Boxers’ brains are working a thousand miles an hour in order to hit and hopefully not get hit by their opponent. So when I am painting fighters, I try to show these things.”
In a sense, Espinola mirrors the speed and smarts of the fighters he drops to a canvas. At first glance, the level of effort looks far more involved, but Espinola admits, “Most of my pieces take two-to-four hours [from start-to-finish]. It can take a lot longer depending on the detail and subject matter.” That aforementioned gestural style, which is frequently used for mapping out figures for subsequent hard outlining and detailing, is Espinola’s bread-and-butter and aids in his speedy renderings. Think of it like a signature punch or style of fighting, not unlike a Micky Ward left hook. “I start off using light gestured marks to lay out the composition and gradually make more definite ones when I feel comfortable the piece is taking shape. The under layers brings depth to the art. This way, I can afford to make adjustments to the painting.”
These adjustments are only as easy as the artist’s experience allows them to be. In this writer’s artistic experience, a single medium cuts the mustard. However, to Espinola, there’s no prejudice when it comes to a preferred method to his madness. “My latest work, I use pen to draw, then watercolor over the ink to give it life. For the background, I use acrylic paint. I grew up using oil paints, but I really don’t mind which medium I use. I tend to mix different media,” he said. In dealing with such a wet, volatile media like oils so early in one’s artistic endeavors, patience is truly a virtue, but this young artist has obviously found peace in his process, leaving only the question of who inspires him to hit the canvas.
“My favorite fighter to watch of all time has to be Naseem Hamed. He didn’t fight the greatest fighters ever but was a complete entertainer in and out of the ring,” he said. “From his ring entrances [to] his cockiness in interviews and his fights were all must-see events. You were guaranteed an entertainment in some way. I could never get bored watching his shows. Today, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are my favorite fighters. I enjoy Mayweather’s persona out of the ring, as well as his skill inside it. His interviews and family are so funny and it is amazing to watch him break an opponent down mentally before a fight as well as during it. Manny Pacquiao, of course, brings it inside the ring and love that he seems so humble, yet a true warrior. All the Filipino people around the world truly unite when he fights and that is a great thing.”
This inspiration isn’t just limited to finding and rendering the perfect subject. Espinola’s love for the sport sticks with him well into the process, which reveals his fervent fandom. “If I’m drawing a certain fighter, I will preferably watch their most entertaining fights before, and have it on in the background while I am painting. I use a lot of photo references as well as my imagination and memory. When doing a portrait, I create little stories in my head and try to bring it out in the painting.”
When creating boxing art, Albie’s inspiration doesn’t totally come in the form of having his favorite fights playing on the TV in the background. He also goes with a tried-and-true motivator in music. In fact, Espinola has even created a YouTube channel of his own (http://www.youtube.com/altastic1), which features start-to-finish time-lapse videos of him doing what he does best, employing quirky, stylish music to help establish a mood. This example, a rendering of Mike Tyson vs. Frank Bruno, is accompanied by ex-Veruca Salt member Nina Gordon’s cover of NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton.” Strange as such a unique song selection sounds, you couldn’t imagine a more perfect accoutrement for the occasion:
However, in these particular videos, the art is what inspires the music. “The music gets chosen after I edit the video,” Espinola admits. “When choosing the music, I have a concept of the type of music or sometimes a particular song I want to use; then it is just trial and error to see if it fits. Sometimes, I could have listened to the song while I was working but most of the time not.” As far as tuneage during the task at hand, the sky’s the limit. “I listen to all kinds of music. Whether it be chart hits, to indie, classical and hip-hop.”
Espinola’s obviously doing something right. If he wasn’t slinging the brush before, he sure is now. “I’ve been really busy these last few months so right now, [I] try to do one or two paintings a week on top of other design commissions, he said. But, like a true artist, there’s never too much work or getting too far ahead. Espinola gladly fields commissions (with the option of having your own time-lapse video created for a few extra pounds). If you’re into this kid’s unique and mega-stylish approach to creating art, you just might want to get in line before it gets way too long.
However, in these particular videos, the art is what inspires the music. “The music gets chosen after I edit the video,” Espinola admits. “When choosing the music, I have a concept of the type of music or sometimes a particular song I want to use; then it is just trial and error to see if it fits. Sometimes, I could have listened to the song while I was working but most of the time not.” As far as tuneage during the task at hand, the sky’s the limit. “I listen to all kinds of music. Whether it be chart hits, to indie, classical and hip-hop.”
Espinola’s obviously doing something right. If he wasn’t slinging the brush before, he sure is now. “I’ve been really busy these last few months so right now, [I] try to do one or two paintings a week on top of other design commissions, he said. But, like a true artist, there’s never too much work or getting too far ahead. Espinola gladly fields commissions (with the option of having your own time-lapse video created for a few extra pounds). If you’re into this kid’s unique and mega-stylish approach to creating art, you just might want to get in line before it gets way too long.
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