June Artist of the Month: Franky Agostino
Franky Agostino – Erotic Surrealism
Franky Agostino was born in Lacoruna, Spain. When he was five years old, he moved to San Diego. Since then, he has traveled back and forth between Spain and the United States. Franky has been drawing since he was a small child and has been painting for the past ten years. His love for creating art began in Spain. When he was very little, he studied the works of Spanish Surrealists including Salvador Dali. “After that I was pretty much hooked,” he explains. Graffiti also inspired him as a young boy because as he stated, “it was free and very colorful.”
Franky considers himself a surrealist, since he pulls colors and images from the subconscious. He is very inspired by “dreams, the ocean and women. These three push me to paint, but overall I use art as a therapy and guidance in my life.” Franky surfs and spends a lot of time by the ocean. “Everything about that atmosphere feeds my brain with ideas and new ways of being creative.” He is primarily a self-taught artist. He did attend art school but studied art restoration. Franky has never taken a class on drawing or painting but does remember courses on anatomy and color theory.
His artistic process can be summed up in three words: sketch, meditate, and paint. Franky has no set techniques; he just paints. One of his favorite parts of painting is blending colors. He prefers to work with acrylic and different polymer mediums because they dry quickly. The subject of his work is very important to him. Franky doesn’t think about how he executes it, he just has fun. He feels that his art is progressing slowly and wishes he had more time to paint. One of his favorite pieces at the moment is called “Final Home.” It is very different from anything he has painted previously. “It signifies change in my mind and technique.”
Franky’s work has been shown in galleries all over the world. He says his pieces are not too deep in meaning. “I tend to keep them erotic and dreamy from what people tell me.” He continues, “The colors and images speak for themselves. The pieces I do, manifest their own meaning when I am done with them.” He gives you the images and wants the viewer to walk away with whatever meaning they may find in them.
He is not a full time artist, but Franky’s dream is to spend the rest of his life painting in Spain, “living free from the city.” Currently, in order to pay for his art supplies, he has two occupations. He works at an art store and also does freelance translating. In the next five years he sees himself living and painting in Spain. Franky also sees his work becoming bigger and more erotic in nature.
His advice to aspiring artists is to, “stay true to yourself…bad criticism is great criticism. Also keep in mind we are all the same. And most important, stay humble.” Some improvements Franky would like to see in the San Diego art scene include making it more diverse and exciting. He also believes that galleries and promoters need to work together.
Franky has an upcoming group art show called Power Animals on June 13th at Voz Alta Project Gallery. You can also view his paintings at
www.frankyagostino.com
-Shanna Maschmeier
Franky Agostino was born in Lacoruna, Spain. When he was five years old, he moved to San Diego. Since then, he has traveled back and forth between Spain and the United States. Franky has been drawing since he was a small child and has been painting for the past ten years. His love for creating art began in Spain. When he was very little, he studied the works of Spanish Surrealists including Salvador Dali. “After that I was pretty much hooked,” he explains. Graffiti also inspired him as a young boy because as he stated, “it was free and very colorful.”
Franky considers himself a surrealist, since he pulls colors and images from the subconscious. He is very inspired by “dreams, the ocean and women. These three push me to paint, but overall I use art as a therapy and guidance in my life.” Franky surfs and spends a lot of time by the ocean. “Everything about that atmosphere feeds my brain with ideas and new ways of being creative.” He is primarily a self-taught artist. He did attend art school but studied art restoration. Franky has never taken a class on drawing or painting but does remember courses on anatomy and color theory.
His artistic process can be summed up in three words: sketch, meditate, and paint. Franky has no set techniques; he just paints. One of his favorite parts of painting is blending colors. He prefers to work with acrylic and different polymer mediums because they dry quickly. The subject of his work is very important to him. Franky doesn’t think about how he executes it, he just has fun. He feels that his art is progressing slowly and wishes he had more time to paint. One of his favorite pieces at the moment is called “Final Home.” It is very different from anything he has painted previously. “It signifies change in my mind and technique.”
Franky’s work has been shown in galleries all over the world. He says his pieces are not too deep in meaning. “I tend to keep them erotic and dreamy from what people tell me.” He continues, “The colors and images speak for themselves. The pieces I do, manifest their own meaning when I am done with them.” He gives you the images and wants the viewer to walk away with whatever meaning they may find in them.
He is not a full time artist, but Franky’s dream is to spend the rest of his life painting in Spain, “living free from the city.” Currently, in order to pay for his art supplies, he has two occupations. He works at an art store and also does freelance translating. In the next five years he sees himself living and painting in Spain. Franky also sees his work becoming bigger and more erotic in nature.
His advice to aspiring artists is to, “stay true to yourself…bad criticism is great criticism. Also keep in mind we are all the same. And most important, stay humble.” Some improvements Franky would like to see in the San Diego art scene include making it more diverse and exciting. He also believes that galleries and promoters need to work together.
Franky has an upcoming group art show called Power Animals on June 13th at Voz Alta Project Gallery. You can also view his paintings at
www.frankyagostino.com
-Shanna Maschmeier
