by Stephanie Chefas
Edward Robin Coronel is a very busy man these days showing in several group shows and a solo show that opens April 1st at Epoch in Austin, Texas. Early this year ERC showed new works in The Devil Made Me Do It group show at WWA and delivered an outstanding piece titled 'Haricut' that has been receiving much attention. Find out what makes ERC "tick" and get a sneak peek of his new works for his latest solo show 'furry:fuzzy'.
Stephanie Chefas (SC): When hearing about the theme for The Devil Made Me Do It, what was your initial reaction?
Edward Robin Coronel (ERC): I immediately thought of the very first time I heard that line. My sister, April, said it defensively. She was around 6, and I was about 8 years old. Since then, in my childhood, I’ve thought about saying it but knew I would have regretted it.
SC: What are some things in your life that the devil made you do?
ERC: In my youth, I’ve done my share of damage that I was not too proud of. Luckily, no one was hurt, and time heals wounds.
SC: What was your most memorable dream or nightmare?
ERC: I had a pretty vivid dream last night. I was calmly replacing a flat tire, while my father, B.A. “Bad Ass” Baracus, and Wolverine were diverting rainy-city-rush hour traffic around my little white ’93 Toyota Carolla station wagon. All three of them were pretty impatient and grouchy. They gave me their own perspective on how to change a tire, while I calmly swapped the flat out. We were running late to meet up with other friends who wanted to see “Maid in Manhattan.” Yep, this was a nightmare alright.
I know it may sound pretty weird, but I can remember most of my dreams.
SC: Did you go to art school?
ERC: No, but I took a basic art class in high school. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and minor in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago. After graduating, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years. I am passionate about making art and have been painting for a couple of years now. It is a wonderful outlet.
SC: Can you tell me about your process?
ERC: It usually starts off as a quick “concept doodle” in a sketchbook. Once, I like the drawing, I paint it onto canvas. When I am satisfied with the initial composition, I build up many layers of color before adding the finishing touches. At times, I feel that I am back in the R&D lab and experimenting. I do allow the characters to evolve on the canvas so the final work may look different from the initial sketch. From the distance, some of the characters appear to be one solid color of paint, but if you look closely, you can see other colors come through. I’ve also tried to document the process of my work by taking lots of photos to show the transitional progress of each painting. Being new to making art, I like to see the steps I have taken to bring me to the final work.
SC: The Haircut is such a great, playful take on the Devil theme and has been getting a lot of attention. What was your inspiration for creating this piece?
ERC: It was from a happy memory of the first time I heard the line. In our childhood, my parents caught my sister, April, and me playing “barbershop.” April was the barber, and I was the client. April used the line defensively after shaving part of my right eyebrow off with our father’s electric shaver.
SC: Are many of your childhood memories the inspiration behind your works?
ERC: Yes, most of my artwork is inspired from memories. They can be inspired from happy memories from my childhood and/or colorful interactions with folks.
SC: Tell me about the two other pieces in the show, The Wolf and The Piglet.
ERC: Speaking of colorful interactions, I was projecting some feelings onto canvas where I thought the fun “Devil” theme would fit.
SC: What are you creating at the moment? Any shows coming up in the near future?
ERC: I am finishing up some work for an April solo show at Epoch and a 5x7 fundraising group show at Arthouse at the Jones Center in May. They are both here in Austin. I am also very excited to get started on my piece for the I Believe in Unicorns show at the WWA Gallery.
Edward Robin Coronel (ERC): I immediately thought of the very first time I heard that line. My sister, April, said it defensively. She was around 6, and I was about 8 years old. Since then, in my childhood, I’ve thought about saying it but knew I would have regretted it.
SC: What are some things in your life that the devil made you do?
ERC: In my youth, I’ve done my share of damage that I was not too proud of. Luckily, no one was hurt, and time heals wounds.
SC: What was your most memorable dream or nightmare?
ERC: I had a pretty vivid dream last night. I was calmly replacing a flat tire, while my father, B.A. “Bad Ass” Baracus, and Wolverine were diverting rainy-city-rush hour traffic around my little white ’93 Toyota Carolla station wagon. All three of them were pretty impatient and grouchy. They gave me their own perspective on how to change a tire, while I calmly swapped the flat out. We were running late to meet up with other friends who wanted to see “Maid in Manhattan.” Yep, this was a nightmare alright.
I know it may sound pretty weird, but I can remember most of my dreams.
SC: Did you go to art school?
ERC: No, but I took a basic art class in high school. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and minor in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago. After graduating, I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years. I am passionate about making art and have been painting for a couple of years now. It is a wonderful outlet.
SC: Can you tell me about your process?
ERC: It usually starts off as a quick “concept doodle” in a sketchbook. Once, I like the drawing, I paint it onto canvas. When I am satisfied with the initial composition, I build up many layers of color before adding the finishing touches. At times, I feel that I am back in the R&D lab and experimenting. I do allow the characters to evolve on the canvas so the final work may look different from the initial sketch. From the distance, some of the characters appear to be one solid color of paint, but if you look closely, you can see other colors come through. I’ve also tried to document the process of my work by taking lots of photos to show the transitional progress of each painting. Being new to making art, I like to see the steps I have taken to bring me to the final work.
SC: The Haircut is such a great, playful take on the Devil theme and has been getting a lot of attention. What was your inspiration for creating this piece?
ERC: It was from a happy memory of the first time I heard the line. In our childhood, my parents caught my sister, April, and me playing “barbershop.” April was the barber, and I was the client. April used the line defensively after shaving part of my right eyebrow off with our father’s electric shaver.
SC: Are many of your childhood memories the inspiration behind your works?
ERC: Yes, most of my artwork is inspired from memories. They can be inspired from happy memories from my childhood and/or colorful interactions with folks.
SC: Tell me about the two other pieces in the show, The Wolf and The Piglet.
ERC: Speaking of colorful interactions, I was projecting some feelings onto canvas where I thought the fun “Devil” theme would fit.
SC: What are you creating at the moment? Any shows coming up in the near future?
ERC: I am finishing up some work for an April solo show at Epoch and a 5x7 fundraising group show at Arthouse at the Jones Center in May. They are both here in Austin. I am also very excited to get started on my piece for the I Believe in Unicorns show at the WWA Gallery.
For more information and to view Edward Robin's available artwork from "The Devil Made Me Do It" group show, visit WWA gallery. To learn more about Edward Robin and his art, visit http://www.edwardrobin.com/.
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