Antonio Roybal

He entered this reality in the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1976. Joining a world of rich history and culture-of endless landscapes-his eyes remained fixed on the edge of the horizons and deep into the night skies of anticipation. A descendant of the early Spanish Conquistadors, his roots share Native American Culture as well. Living amongst the Indians of San Ildefonso Pueblo, Roybal’s great-great-grandfather was the first and only to own a trading post there. They are the descendants of the mystical Anasazi civilization. Coming of age in these ancient traditions showed the young artist that "the bond the Indians have with the earth can be viewed as analogous to the connection we have with the universe and beyond."

Roybal's first inspiration for art came from his sister, who is deaf. She drew a picture one morning and showed it to him. He was immediately energized with the concept of communication through the visual language of art. The world of silence is a world of its own. A painting is likewise silent, but the active subject matter and vibratory color ranges reach all levels of the human experience. Sounds may not be heard physically, but can ignite the imagination, creating a cycle of interaction between the viewer and the painting, actually producing a tangible sensation. As an example, a skillful painting of a rose in the wind can conjure up the freshness of the breeze and thereby provide real experience.

These early connections and understandings drew Roybal into what continues to be an ever-expanding search for communication. He searches for universal symbols that vibrate at unconscious and conscious levels, then using their significance to reach the soul and thereby facilitate universal understanding. He seeks a world beyond normal perceptions, a window into the past, present and future.

In early 1999, Roybal earned an apprenticeship with artist Jean Claude Gaugy, father of Linear Expressionism and recipient of a premier show by Salvador Dali. . Working with Gaugy, Roybal finds his beliefs reaffirmed and strengthened. Technical abilities, of course, increase. A form of communion also occurs and is shared, artist to artist, that is both personally meaningful and symbolically significant. The earth relates to the sun; the sun relates to the universe, and the universe to infinity. All is relationship, and communion. In his daily work, both as assistant to Gaugy and his own creative efforts, Roybal continues to grow and expand.

In the summer of 2000, Roybal expanded his knowledge of the old master techniques that were employed initially by Jan Van Eyck and re-researched by Professor Ernst Fuchs (Founder of the school of Fantastic Realism and father of mystical art in Europe.) Traveling to Austria to study the "mische" technique, drawing, and portraiture with Michael Fuchs (artist, architect and son of Ernst Fuchs) led to more studies with the Master himself Ernst Fuchs at his villa in the south of France.