ALFONSO LUIS TEJADA

I am an Architect and Urban Designer by profession and art has always been a complementary part of my various areas of professional endeavour. Drawing, sketching and painting are the tools I use to communicate and explore ideas in my professional life, and over time they have become the avenues by which I have learned to see the surrounding world.

Sketching places, buildings and objects in the townscape has been a discipline that has helped to strengthen my sense of proportion, scale, form and colour. In my profession, the memory of my experiences is an essential component when visualizing and then sketching that picturesque character to create a sense of place.

As well I use photography to capture elements in the settings where I do my sketches to explore contrast of light and shadows. Photographs have another sense of value for me; they provide records not only of moments, but also of details requiring additional exploration.

My artistic inclination has continued to develop from my early years in Mexico all through my professional life in Canada and my travels abroad.

I was born in Durango, Mexico in 1947. In 1963 I moved to the colonial town of Guanajuato where I started university studies in Architecture, and where I graduated as B.Arch. There my interest in the arts was fostered in the fine art studios of Professor Jesus Gallardo where I studied drawing, watercolour painting and metal etching. My formative professional years were spent in the heart of Guanajuato, and subsequently San Miguel Allende where I lived and practiced for 14 years. The influences of these two towns created the foundations of my artistic development.

Vancouver has been my home for the last 31 years. During that time I obtained M.Arch and Urban Design at UBC, and I taught for 5 years as part-time faculty in the design studios at the School of Architecture. My work as an Architect & Urban Designer has allowed me to travel to North & South America, Asia and Europe. These travels have influenced my artistic visions, particularly Italy where I paint and teach course in Plein Air painting in Venice every summer. I believe that working as both an architect and an artist provides complementary enhancement of my abilities in both areas of endeavour.

Artist’s Statement

Watercolour is a magical medium that allows freedom, exploration, and discovery while developing a discipline. Painting and sketching “En Plein Air” are the foundations for artists to see, feel, smell and touch the reality of the amazing world in which we live. My professional interests in townscapes, cityscapes and the meeting of these with nature are the sources of my inspiration. Sketching places, buildings and objects have helped to strengthen my sense of proportion, scale, form and colour. The locations where I paint provide me with essential references to see and feel the variations of light and shadows complementing reality.

My work looks at the traditional models of the 17th century “I Vedutisti” in their vistas of cityscapes, as well as the improvisation of painting outdoors of the 19th century, as in the works of Turner, Sargent, Whistler, Holmes, Constable, and especially in the impressionist works of Manet and Monet.

There is beauty in everything; and in my work I want to capture the ordinary as it becomes extraordinary when light, shadow and colour contribute to create the spirit of a location.

Exhibitions & Demonstrations

San Miguel Allende, México
· Presidencia Municipal - Group exhibition summer 1974 & 1975
· Bellas Artes - Centro El Nigromante - Group exhibition spring 1975
Guanajuanto, México
· Museum Jean Byron - Sep 2007
· University of Guanajuanto, Faculty of Architecture - Sep 2007
Venice, Italy
· Campo San Vito Plein Air demonstration - Sep 2004
· Albergo Belle Arti - Images - solo exhibition Aug 2005
· Campo San Stefano Plein Air demonstration - Sep 2005
· Albergo Belle Arti Court demonstration - Sep 2006
Greater Vancouver, Canada
· West Vancouver Ferry Building gallery group exhibitions -

o Clay and Colour - May 2005
o I am More Than My Day Job - Jul 2006, 2009
o Harmony Show - Aug 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
o A Passion for Plein Air - Jul 2009

· Cherry Blossom Festival Vancouver - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
· Harmony Festival, West Vancouver - 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
· Arts Connection, West Vancouver - Sep 2006
· North Shore Artists’ Guild - Nov 2006
· Port Moody Art Association - Nov 2006
· Deep Cove: Seymour Art Gallery - Jun 2007
· Opus Arts Supply Store - 2007, 2008, 2009
· Richmond Artist Guild - Oct 2007
· Lions Bay Community Hall - Oct 2007
· Caterina de Medici International Exhibition, Florence, Italy - May 2009
· North Vancouver Cityscape gallery group exhibition -

          o Memories Home & Abroad - May 2009

Memberships & Organizations:

· North Shore Artist Guild (President)
· International Plein Air Painters’ Society (Ambassador)
· Friends of the Ferry Building Gallery (fund raising group)
· Federation of Canadian Artists
· West Vancouver Arts & Culture Working Group
· Co-ordinator & Chair of the Plein Air Sessions Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival - spring sessions - 2006, 2007 & 2008
· Organizer of the 60th Anniversary of the North Shore Artists’ Guild Plein Air community participation event - Jul 2007
· Organizer of the Harmony Festival Plein Air series of group paintings - Jul 2007

West Vancouver Community Services -
· Spring session - Composition, Drawing / Sketching & Perspective – 2006, 2007, 2008
· Fall session - The magic of townscape I - 2006, 2007, 2008
· Summer Independent Courses –- The Magic of Plein Air Painting II – 2006, 2007, 2008
· Plein Air Spring Sessions - Cherry Blossom Festival – 2006, 2007, 2008
Mix media summer programs -
· Sketching In Venice - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
· Sketching Outdoors - North Shore & Vancouver - 2006, 2007, 2008
· Sketching In Guanajuato - 2007, 2008

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