Artist of the Month | June 2017

“Out of deepest sympathy for his unexpected death on May 3, 2017, Artisan is featuring Pablo Antonio Milan as our Artist of the Month. Pablo has been coming into Artisan since the beginning — way back on Canyon Road. We waited on him for supplies, stretched his canvas and laughed with him many times over the years. Pablo will be greatly missed at Artisan and his legacy will live through his daughters and family that loved him, his friends and the art that he created while he was still on this earth. Rest in Peace dear friend! “

~ Ron Whitmore

About

Pablo Antonio Milan, a recognized Southwest contemporary artist, is renowned for his use of bright colors and his acrylic painting techniques, from delicate and bold washes, layering and splattering of paints and powerful brushstrokes and palette knife. Milan was accepted into his first gallery at 17, and now at age 55, is in both private and corporate collections throughout the world. He has exhibited in galleries from Florida to Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California. Milan is primarily a self-taught artist who grew up as a sixth generation New Mexican. His grandfather, a rancher, founded and established the town of Milan, NM, just on the fringes of Grants.

THE WORK

An expressionistic colorist, Milan first layers the paint, at times painting 25 layers on the canvas, only adding the imagery in the final stages. “This gives the paintings depth and the appearance of changing colors throughout the day, depending on the light,” Milan said. “Layering also allows the colors to really pop under the lights of night.” A prominent and recognized artist, Milan’s paintings are viewed as highly collectible. His distinctive contemporary edge, both in color and style, evolve into a mystical illusion of imagery from the Southwest. “The colors in my paintings are those of New Mexico and the Southwest, the early morning sunrises, the sunsets, the high desert, sandstone formations and the tree laden mountains,” he said. “They have nothing to do with the art school color wheel, but the colors I’ve seen all my life. I just embrace them and emphasize them.”

Milan’s paintings are in several museums and the collections of Shakira, Ron Howard, Tommy Lee Jones, Nickelback, Marriott Hotels and PacifiCare Inc.