Guadalajara’s annual Fiestas de Octubre has presented its coveted Silver Paintbrush (Pincel de Plata) Award to watercolorist and muralist Jorge Monroy.
The ceremony took place at the Alliance Française in Guadalajara and included the inauguration of an exhibit of the artist’s paintings which will remain on display throughout the month.
Monroy’s watercolors have been appearing weekly in the newspaper El Informador for over 20 years and have been exhibited throughout Mexico as well as in many other countries.
Regarded as a first-class watercolorist, Monroy is also a master of acrylic painting. Having studied under legendary Guadalajara muralist Jorge de Lara Gallardo at the age of 16, Monroy has gone on to become one of Mexico’s leading muralists in his own right.
In 2009 he completed the masterful mural “Under the Wings of Mercury,” which graces the foyer of the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce and offers viewers a “virtual tour” of the City of Roses. Monroy’s most recent – and largest – mural has yet to be seen by the public. It covers 125 square meters of the curved inner wall of the new Teuchitlán Interactive Museum, whose doors, it is said, will open “soon.”
Said Christophe Benest, director general of the Alliance Française, “His technique is perfect. The light is perfect. It’s truly the blue skies and sunshine of Jalisco. As for the landscapes, well, the sites themselves are magnificent and the painter does the rest … I’m from the southern part of France, Aix-en-Provence, which, of course, was the home of Paul Cézanne and Jorge Monroy’s paintings remind me of Cézanne’s – the light is the same.”
To see examples of the Monroy’s paintings and murals, Google his name between quotation marks. In addition, be sure to check out an extraordinary video on Monroy’s technique filmed by his son Daniel (http://vimeo.com/29230802)”
You can browse the collection of Monroy’s watercolors at the Alliance Française, located at Lopez Cotilla 1199, Colonia Americana, tel 3825-2140.