A favourite of Levitated Apples, caricaturist Jota Leal was born in Venezuela, some thirty years ago.
He began drawing and painting at a very young age, and never studied fine art.
He attempted to sit in class as a child of six, but ran away after being forced to paint plastic fruit and empty bottles. Even at that age, he says, he knew he wanted to paint people, capturing their character in their faces.
Leal went on to study electrical engineering and graduated with honours - but his obsession with drawing and painting remained - and eventually it became a passion shared by a host of admirers.
2003 CARICATURIST OF THE YEAR.
In 2001 Leal moved to Spain, immersing himself in the history and technique of art. On his return to Venezuela, he was honoured with the Caricaturist of the Year Award for 2003.
Leal works with pencil on paper, acrylic on board, and acrylic on canvas to achieve his images - and his portraits of such celebrities as Johnny Depp, Jimi Hendrix, John Malkovitch, Al Pacino as Scarface, Babe Ruth, and others have now become classics of their kind.
This large image (47" x 39") of Muhammad Ali is best viewed full-screen. Information on reproductions can be found on the Jota Leal website listed in the right-hand column.
Images © Copyright 2009 by JOTA LEAL
No comments:
Post a Comment