My name is Nacho Frades, I was born in 1967 in Madrid. I remember my childhood doing always some kind of “art”, drawing, building structures with wood colored pieces, I was very introvert, at the age of 10 I went to Museo del Prado and saw a Goyas´s dog painted, and I wanted to replicate with oils. But the most intense memory I have related to painting in this times, was to see a portrait of El Greco, on a furniture, and realize it were only colors, and strokes.

In 1980, when I was 13, I decided to be a painter, mentally, in the deepest of my heart. So I continued painting and drawing. And started my formation. At this age I was rejected in a drawing contest because a “child can’t draw so well…” this was very frustrating in that moment, but in reality, I think, with that sentence, I won the contest somehow.

In 1987, I was 20, something magical happened, I found a program, called Deluxe Paint, I installed it and I saw a new world, it was very basic, but it allowed me to paint with light! I was obsessed, doing a drawing after another.

After this exciting discovery’s I started to learn 3D to work in the future, and after some turbulences, I started to work in computer animation, where I meet very good friends. I did two films in about 6 years, working very very hard, so I learnt a lot about computer graphics, color, lighting, and so on.

I also did a master in Jerez de la Frontera, with the great painter Antonio López, he inspired me a lot, talked about realism, painter’s life, and I showed him some works he loved very much.

Later I decided to be a full time artist, I was in the kitchen with my wife and said “desde ahora solo voy a pintar” (from now on I am only going to paint). And I did it, now I’m full time artist.

What moves me to do art is so deep I can’t explain it, it´s as natural as to love a son.

I don’t “design” my works, I usually am doing anything, listening jazz i.e., and I imagine, better said, I “see” a world, and I know I am not gonna sleep that night :) because I start to work, in digital painting, or 3D, I usually work on IPad for digital painting, and workstation for 3D.

What I want to leave in this world is my art, my dreams, my expression, it’s a very personal art, almost a diary of my dreams.

My inspiration, comes from everywhere, comics, art, music, video games, books, old films, pixel art, but overall what I feel when I imagine.

My influences in painting has been artists like Giorgio de Chirico, Edward Hooper, Hockney, Vincent, and a lot of artists, but surprisingly my main influence are musicians like Stravinsky, Alban Berg, or the genius of jazz music, Thelonious Monk…

My style is sincere, I paint this way, since I was a child, so for me it’s not an effort. In each work, I don’t think in nothing but the work, to finish it as I saw it in the imagination. I always try to achieve a perfect result, artistically, it’s very influenced by drawing, I always do a drawing, scan it and paint, and that distorted lines and impossible but natural perspectives influence the result, in painting I try to paint light, this was learnt seeing live works of Velázquez and Sorolla, so light is my target, to illuminate the viewer in a distorted reality.

I could describe my work as “Frozen Light” I want to paint questions, questions to the viewer, I want to paint light, color, atmosphere, temperature, time of the day, like little holograms of an instant of perfect perception. I put all my mind when painting, it’s almost a deep meditation for me, I’m only painting and there is no room for other thoughts. I am very prolific, I have painted, more than one thousand artworks, basically because I’m always working, and I enjoy it.

I have always thought and image explains it all, so I invite you to see the artworks in this website.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any question.

Thank you very much.

Nacho.