Francisco Goya came into my life completely by accident in a second-hand shop in California in the early 1980s.
I had been browsing, not looking for anything in particular, when I noticed an old postcard among the bric-à-brac. It was worn and frayed at the edges and depicted a life-size male doll being blanket-tossed into the air by young girls in frilly dresses. From far, the painting looked like a light-hearted everyday scene, the four rosy-cheeked girls are laughing and yet, something felt off. Unlike the girls, the doll was not laughing. His eyes were unfocused, his arms limp, and his legs twist in different directions. I turned the card around and the name, Francisco Goya, meant nothing to me. But there was an undercurrent of danger in this picture and I knew I had to find out more.
The postcard was the door through which I discovered one of the most wonderful visual storytellers of all times. I have had that postcard on the walls of different student bedrooms throughout the years and, later on, in my various artist studios. It always reminds me that there is a world of stories and ideas in each of Goya’s drawings, prints and paintings. He is forever inspiring me, and I feel fortunate to have found my favourite artist in my early 20’s.
My latest watercolour and paper collages were inspired by some of Goya’s drawings from his albums.