SEE WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE AT THE TRIBUTE TO VALENCIAN ARTIST * MIGUEL SALA COLL

This morning my friends and I were very pleased to visit the retrospective tribute to the Valencian painter - Miguel Sala Coll at the the Lambert Arts Center / House in the old town of Jávea.



He was a very famous personality within the Jávea community and a dedicated painter for more than 30 years. Sala Coll's love for Jávea, his birthplace, is played out in oil paints that are reminiscent of the Valencian art school of painting but to my surprise, Sala Coll was self taught.

Obviously influenced by the Impressionist movement, a genre that saw that rise of another great Valenciano by the name of Joaquín Sorolla,who was also very much in love with Jávea during his day.

Both artists were heavily devoted to Costumbrismo, whereby artists of the time created art that had a pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs. This type of "folk art" in the Impressionist style was a winner for both artists.

According to Salla Colla's biography, he was a regular exhibitor at the Sala de Arte Jávea del Puerto and was recognized for his artistic legacy with an award on the 9th of October Prize in 2003.

"Sala Coll was attracted to the art of painting since he was a child, when he made charcoal portraits for the clients of his father's barbershop," explains the biography.

In the summer of 2010, Sala Coll passed away at the age of 83.

FINE ARTS STUDENTS

I urge all of my Fine Arts students to visit this tribute soon as it closes on the 22nd of April. Note the similarities of the colour palette that Sorolla once embraced. The hint of rose on the water or the sky to just give a light lift to a wave or a cloud. The myriad of blues that push waves and bring out the depths of the Mediterranean. And the rich earth tones of terra cottas highlighted with yellows to bring the splendor of the light that falls on the fields under the majestic Montgo mountain.

Also notice the the robust reflections, which all of the Impressionist adored. Coll's evenings at the Port or the early sunrises both bring to the surface the illusion of light interfaced with reality and cast only in paint.

Sala Coll might have been self taught but he was a master painter. The variety of the styles of brush tips and the brave brush strokes, which up close look like a big mess but when viewed a far, behold visual realistic magic.

In the lower floor of the Salon Lambert, are the charcoal drawings that define his visual sense of form and composition. Displayed on the wall are a variety of sketches that give rise to the interests of the artist.

Artfully Yours,
Karla Darocas