Recent Paintings by Fred Ontiveros: R.W. Witt Gallery Show, CSUS, Feb. 24 - 28, 2014

WOW.  This painter is amazing.  I have had Fred in two classes and we speak outside class sometimes, and he is a truly incredible artist.  I went to see this show and his paintings are even more spectacular than the little experimentations he does in class.  He uses the brightest colors he can find, and somehow his paintings still look completely realistic!  The paintings all look one way when you stand close, then different from mid-room, then even more different from a far distance!

Untitled, Fred Ontiveros, Oil on paper

Fred has a great gift for brush stroke and can eliminate most detail while yet having great attention to it.  He articulates space very well and gives it good sense of form and even distance.  He has a creative mind that does not need imagery or references.  He loves to paint from life, he told me at the show, especially figures.  Figure drawing and life painting are two of his favorite things to do.  He is very gestural when he starts a drawing and very informative when he blocks in shapes while painting.  I learn very much from him, maybe more from him than watching a large variety of other peers.

Untitled, Fred Ontiveros, Oil paint on textured Gessoed paper

Fred is influeced by nature and women figures.  He loves to quickly sketch or paint nude women or even just people on a subway while he is going somewhere.  He will whip out his sketch book and china markers anywhere, anytime in substitution for taking generic photographs.  He traveled Europe and other countries with his sketchbook and ended up selling 40% of those little quick sketches, for quite a bit of money which is remarkable since they are each only about 4x3"!

I really enjoyed looking at his work because it took my imagination somewhere it had not been in a long time- I think since the last time I read a Harry Potter book.  But most of my learning from him comes from our discussions we have on our one-on-one time, either on campus, off campus, or at a show.  He is exactly who I want to be when I graduate, or even before.  It is remarkable that he still is so modest even being a retired artist who has accomplished so many great things.  I am beyond grateful and privileged to have him as a peer, and a mentor.  In fact, earlier

today he gave me one of his new sketch books, the small ones he sold 40% of,  and the same pencils he uses so that I can practice these studies as well.