Meet Michael Romero Duran: A Young Artist with a New Style
With only four years of painting experience and no formal training, 24-year-old Michael Romero Duran has accomplished more than many artists do in a lifetime. Romero is best known for creating his own style of painting he compares to a mix between Impressionism, Expressionism, Abstract and Realism.
“I don’t want to create pieces that only I describe as beautiful,” Romero says. “It is my intention to grab the hearts and inspiration of the viewer.”
“Moonlights Allurement” (2016) Michael Romero Duran
The young painter started drawing at a young age, but only dove into his art in 2011. Romero’s family inspired him to focus on his artwork by encouraging him to pursue his talents.
“From that moment, I wanted to make my family proud, so I made it a goal to get into at least one gallery,” Romero says.
The only problem? He had never painted before. Romero began watching YouTube videos to learn the craft and was instantly inspired by the innovative techniques of Jackson Pollock and Claude Monet.
“Moons Luminescence” (2016) Michael Romero Duran
After exploring different methods of oil painting, Romero had a new goal: invent a style of painting that has never been seen. Inspired by the seemingly “sloppy drips” of Pollock and the Impressionist strokes of Monet, Romero created a new method of painting using a copper coil of his own invention.
“I felt like Dr. Frankenstein,” Romero says. “I wasn’t going to stop until the style came to life.”
“Artistry” (2016) Michael Romero Duran
“Romeroism”
Life soon emerged out of Romero’s new artistic style, and with it a new take on abstract painting.
“I want to bring a new era in the art world, where abstract no longer has to be questioned or demised as an un-thoughtful, untrained form that just anyone thinks they can create,” Romero says. “The viewer will look at my abstract work and understand what they see.”
Up close, Romero’s paintings are a swirl of drizzled paint, “chaos” splattered across the canvas. As the viewer takes a step back, Romero’s images come into focus. Romero says his subjects come from places in nature as well as his own imagination.
“Docked for the Day” (2016) Michael Romero Duran
To create his brain-teasing paintings, Romero splatters a layer of paint using his signature copper wire. He then waits 10 to 15 minutes before applying another layer, creating depth and light on the canvas.
Although officially unnamed, Romero coins his unique approach “Romeroism” on his website. Through his method, Romero believes his paintings reflect the struggles of life: messy and frightening up close, but softer in the big picture.
“When seen up close my artwork is a tragedy, there you will find nothing but chaos with a lack of order,” Romero says. “As you step back you see colors start to mesh becoming light and shadow. We realize that as time passes we begin to heal from our hardships and find ourselves smiling once again.”
To learn more about paintings from Michael Romero Duran, contact the gallery consultants at Park West Gallery.
