ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES - JOSE LUIS CASTRILLO

Jose Luis Castrillo was born on January 22, 1959 in the Barrio de la Macarena in Seville. By the young age of 6 he was driving his mother crazy drawing her picture on the patio wall of their house. By the age of 20 he was earning an income as a portrait painter. The portrait was his first contact with painting, and today is still the form of painting that gives him the most satisfaction and the most frustration.

At age 26, Castrillo attended the Santa Isabel de Hungria School of Fine Art in Seville where, over a two-year period, he acquired a great deal of experience with brushwork techniques and figure drawing. He was also enriched by his many contacts with the other students and master painters at the school. Castrillo’s friendship with the celebrated Sevillian painter Joaquín Saenz played a significant role in his education as a painter, and increased his knowledge of the works of such Masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Velasquez above all.

In 1989 Castrillo married Trinidad Fernandez, a fellow painter, with whom he has enjoyed many collective exhibitions. Castrillo has also had numerous solo art exhibitions showcasing his landscapes, which feature many places and landmarks from his beloved Seville. Currently, Castrillo teaches painting classes to a very small, elite group of about twenty students, and does research in the field of New Age painting - the form of expression he uses at present in his paintings.