Brownsville artist prefers abstract to realism

Halfway around the world he stood shivering.

Surprised by the cold on his Spring Break vacation, Esteban Rivera stood with his family gazing upon the magnificent architecture created for czars and mingled with the people of Russia. This trip, paid for by the sale of his paintings, expanded Rivera's worldview and exposed the now 18-year-old artist to ideas outside of the Rio Grande Valley.

Rivera recently graduated from St. Joseph Academy and is showing nine of his oil paintings in "Explosion of Color" at the Children's Museum of Brownsville.

"I like playing with color, shapes, forms ... , " said Rivera. "You forget about things and focus on what you are doing."

"Explosion of Color," an exhibit which is on display through July 26, is a glimpse into Rivera's mind and his most fervent moods during the last two years. The abstract paintings seem to vibrate and shimmer with an intensity of swirling bold colors. He sees no reason to paint lifelike forms or to render reality upon his canvas.

"Why do that (realism painting) when you have a camera; do something that comes from your mind," says Rivera.

"I prefer to do something out of this world, something that is part of me, something I was thinking, my mood," Rivera responds when asked why he is an abstract painter.

To him art is an escape - a very practiced and necessary outlet for his creativity. While in school he set aside time every Tuesday and Thursday to paint. While he took art classes, he only created one painting in class because of the 55-minute time period. "I need three to four hours," commented Rivera.

While he enjoys time with his friends, he realizes practice is the only path to improvement. This disciplined dedication to his art has afforded him several exhibitions in Matamoros and one at a Brownsville restaurant, Tre Fratelli.

Currently Rivera is a lifeguard at Gonzalez Park and will attend the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin. While he has hopes of becoming an architect, the math involved gives him hesitation. Nonetheless, he will somehow blend his vocation with art.

"I hope the show helps people like art or see a different side of art," said Rivera.