LAURA MIJANGOS-RAPP
OIL PAINTING
ARTIST STATEMENT
"I remember as a young girl watching my father paint and my mother cook—the two creating works of art. So it was inevitable that, I too, would search for a creative expression-- for me it was initially sculpture. I studied at Trinity University and graduated in 1979 with a B.A. in Art, but my career was short lived because I soon married and had children. And that became my focus for many years. But life has a way of bringing us full circle. After the illnesses and deaths of my late husband and parents and with my children grown, a bitter-sweet inspiration was born from this painfully unfamiliar place. Within me there was a longing to articulate something, something that, for me, could only be expressed through art. I had begun dabbling with painting by spending a few afternoons with my father before his illness, never quite completing my paintings. But now with time and healing to be done I returned to those unfinished canvases and began my journey. "When I began to paint I had no lofty goals or preconceived ideas. I just knew I had to paint. Now as I look back on my work I begin to see a pattern. In each piece, my subliminal goal is to express something that cannot be expressed in words. “It is the third language”, as my father used to say. It is what is deep within me, created by experiences, some that I cannot remember but they are there just the same. Some that are too painful to remember, but have made me who I am. And some that are too beautiful to forget. So with each piece I begin by laying color, and texture, and emotion, and more color, more texture, more emotion, until I see a moment in my life unfold on the canvas. And my hope is that my story will speak to someone else's story." —Laura Mijangos-Rapp |
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