Meet an up and coming young Ecuadorian Artist!

The artist in a self portrait.

His name is Tomas Galindo Pazan.   He has a post graduate degree in architecture and that appears to be just one of his passions.  Just twenty-seven years old, he is an accomplished photographer and artist as well.  Both talents complement his chosen profession.  On top of everything else he is a poised, personable and genuinely likeable young man.

A typical Tomas Galindo Pazan
watercolor

Suzanne and I first encountered Tomas at one of the many art shows we attended after returning to Ecuador permanently.  We saw him at a number of shows thereafter.  He was well on his way to becoming renown for his vibrant, colorful watercolors.  The subject of most of his pieces was Galapagos wildlife and the pieces were interpretations of photography he took while visiting the Galapagos.  His photography alone is worthy of exhibition but his watercolors added a whole dimension to what his artist mind's eye saw on those islands.  You only had to mildly inquire to get him to explain his vision and he always did so with passion and devotion to his subject piece.

We nearly purchased a simply amazing watercolor of the infamous Galapagos blue-footed boobie (Suzanne has a fascination with these critters).  We have since discovered that no less than a half dozen of our friends were considering the same piece (yes, it has been sold!).  Tomas's work was rapidly becoming popular among the Cuenca ex-patriate community.

This oil painting was the
 Yazell's first purchase.

Our first purchase, however, was not a watercolor.  We had previously seen a single oil painting he had done.  It was a gorgeous piece but wasn't the right size and, at the time, our container (with some of our artwork from the states) had not arrived and we weren't sure yet what would go where in our new home.  (One of our friends, however, did purchase this oil!).  We both shared with Tomas that he had a talent for oil and a unique style and we hope he would venture more in that medium.

Fast forward a few weeks and there came the show (by this time, our container had arrived) when we made our first purchase.  It was an oil and not a watercolor.   It was a boobie  but not the blue-footed one (however, one of its notable cousins!) It now hangs proudly in Casa Yazell.



When Tomas delivered our first purchase, the conversation drifted to our love of wine.  By the time he left, Tomas was carrying two wine bottles but not for consumption.  One was an empty bottle. It was a Brunello Di Montalcino we had purchased during a trip to Tuscany and had kept cellared until opening it to celebrate Roger's retirement.  The other is a Brunello di Montalcino we brought to Ecuador with us that we plan to open on our 42nd anniversary later this year.  We had commissioned Tomas to paint another oil, this time with wine instead of wildlife as the subject matter. We ended up giving Tomas carte blanche for the creative style of the work. The only stipulations for the piece were that it had to contain those two bottles and at least one glass with wine .  We really didn't know what to expect.

Tomas making the delivery.

It was several weeks before we heard back from our young friend, but the call did come.  "I'm done,  said the voice on the other end of the phone, "but you have to wait a day or so for the paint to dry before I can bring the painting and give you your wine back!"  When he arrived, we were, indeed, pleased with the results






We now are the proud owners of two pieces by a very up and coming young Ecuadorian, Tomas Galindo Pazan.  Mark his name well.  He will either become very well known as a successful Ecuadorian architect or become renown as on of Ecuador's outstanding artists.   We would not be at all surprised if he accomplishes both!

This oil painting is currently being framed

and will hang in the sala of Casa Yazell

directly across from Roger's wine bar.

If you would like to see more of the work of this talented young man, go to 

www.flickr.com/photos/tomasgalindopazan/   

We think that after reviewing what you see, you'll agree that Tomas Galindo Pazan has talent!  We hope you enjoy his work as much as we do.  We are so very glad we had the opportunity to meet this young man during our travels, "juntos en camino de la vida".