What He Does: Regular Art Attack readers may recognize the subject of Rene Fernandez's piece "The Religionation of Science" (Left) as Domina Shannon, who pours drinks at Numbers at night and, well, also at night is a well-known Houston dominatrix. The work is very typical of Fernandez's style of painting, which can best be described as Alex Ross if he was a little nuts. The idea for the painting was based on the influences, effects, or distractions religions have had on science throughout history. It combines the use of oils and sculpture creating a three-dimensional piece of art which is something Fernandez has been incorporating in all his latest pieces.
As far back as he can remember Fernandez has been interested in art across multiple mediums. He's dabbled in everything from sculpture to silkscreening, though oil is his favorite method as it allows the greatest sense of realism to offset his surrealist style. The best place to keep up with his work is on Facebook, but he's had a few pieces shown at East End Gallery, The Art Crawl and Liberty Station. War'Hous Gallery has also shown some of his pieces for themed shows such as Bill Murray, Hunter S. Thompson and Star Wars. Though it's not a big focus, comic book heroes and the like are occasionally subjects.
Why He Likes It: "Being an artist allows me to place my thoughts and ideas into many different windows for everyone to see. Blending mediums has opened up my mind. Having an idea, challenging myself to place that image on one canvas and figuring out what mediums will best suit the idea makes being an artist seem limitless."
What Inspires Him: Fernandez is deeply deconstructive, and likes to draw from observations about society and science as well as personal experiences. He examines things and twists the view until it matches his unique style. As far as influences go, his heroes run the gamut from Dali to Banksy, as well as scientists like Einstein and Tesla.
A special place in his inspiration is saved for two personal acquaintances. The first is his father, whose love of visual art and music inspired Fernandez to begin his art career in the first place. The second is obviously Shannon, who sat for two pieces and is something of a muse for him.
If Not Here, Then Where: "Austin and San Francisco are attractive cities. I've always been drawn to them because of their strong support of the arts, but Houston is where I grew up and I'm comfortable here. Inspiration is all around."
If Not This, Then What: The medium of artistic creation doesn't really matter to Fernandez, as is evidenced by his ever-increasing multi-discipline approach. As long as he's turning ideas into concrete representation he's happy. Film and music do interest him as alternative paths, though.
What's Next: "I'm always working on new art. The next piece will probably be done in a few weeks and I will continue trying to get as much exposure for my artwork as possible. A current goal is to have a solo art show and to participate in many others."
More Creatives for 2014 (In order of most recently published; click here for the full page). Teresa Chapman, choreographer and dancer
