Artist Profile: Franco Valdes
Franco
created the featured abstract on sketchbook paper using a variety of media, including:
black, white, and colored pencils; charcoal, pastel, and ink. The use of so many different
media made the piece particularly challenging because a sense of homogeneity had to be
achieved. It is a small piece, measuring about five inches by eight inches and was created
specifically to complete his AP Studio Art portfolio. Franco’s AP Studio Art
"class" at G. Holmes Braddock High School in Miami, Florida, took the form of an
independent study under the guidance of Miss Winthrop.The process of creation for this piece was brief. Franco estimates that it was finished in about two hours. His original intent was to make a still-life drawing, but the end result was something quite different and unexpected.
The abstract, although unplanned and of short gestation, has opened new artistic doors for Franco. It was the first piece in which he focused on texture rather than color. He has since moved to larger pieces and is experimenting with this principle in the art he is creating today.
Currently a student at Florida International University, Franco is taking a drawing class during the spring semester. He has not declared a major yet, but plans to choose something that relates to the visual arts. Franco is not sure where his art will take him in the future, but he knows that he will always be creating.