M.J.: Your wife, Susan Lytle, is also an artist. Do you share a studio or
take turns?
Arreguin: We are lucky to have a large basement studio and we love all the
same kinds of music so we can paint together but be in separate worlds. I
didn’t think it was possible to have two artists in the same studio but it’s
worked.
M.J.: Do you ever give each other advice on your paintings?
Arreguin: You know, that is a horrible temptation because sometimes she
spends as much time doing little tiny things as I do painting a huge thing,
but we’ve learned to stay out of each other’s way. And we have different
visions. She’s like a microscope while I’m like a telescope.
M.J.: How long have you been together?
Arreguin: We’ve been together for 46 years. She’s 17 years younger than
me, but she always says she can’t keep up with me because I walk really
fast. In the airports I’m there with my suitcases, running twenty steps ahead
of her; then when I get to the boarding area I walk like an old man so I can
get on the plane first. You know, when they call for old people that need
help to go first I’m saying, “Meeee! Oh my back hurts, I need help!” *He’s
chuckling gleefully*
M.J.: *LOL* That’s great. So, if you could meet two people — anyone,
who would you meet?
Arreguin: It’s difficult to answer that question because everyone is so
complicated.
Pablo Picasso — he was not a very nice man sometimes, but he had all this
creative energy and a very interesting life. There are parts in the painting
and parts of the person to consider. Like some of Picasso’s paintings
encompass his struggles, and some of them are my favorites. But it’s really
hard to generalize about a person. I mean, the way Picasso treated women,
I didn’t like that because my mother suffered so much from men. That is one
of the reasons I am so sympathetic to women and part of the reason why I
admire and paint Frida Kahlo.
She wanted to be an artist but women weren’t allowed to be artists in
Mexico at that time. The struggles she had. I can feel the injustice of humans
toward women. They’ve had to endure it for centuries, so that’s why I don’t
think I’d like Picasso as a person but I still admire his artistic genius.
I would have loved to sit in a tavern with Frida. I feel like her spirit comes
to visit me sometimes. I went to the House of Cortez and there were these
beautiful framed mirrors there; the frames looked like dragons. Anyway,
at one time she had looked at herself in these mirrors so I bought them.
But when they shipped, the mirrors were all broken up. It was a tragedy. I
decided to one day put canvas in them and maybe paint her on them.
M.J.: Any advice for young artists just starting out?
Arreguin: Perseverance, and hope that you live a long life because it takes
a long time to get ahead. *LOL*
It’s difficult to give advice to young people.
Sometimes when you get an education in art you
put around yourself all these fences like, “Oh I
shouldn’t be painting with oils, because acrylics
are the thing” and don’t do this and don’t do
that. And pretty soon when you start painting you
get all these inhibitions. But at the same time,
an education is fantastic because it’s like an
encyclopedia in which you can find all sorts of
ideas much faster.
My advice has always been that, like musicians,
don’t have a back-up plan. I feel sorry for people
who teach because all of my friends that went
on to teach got caught up in the education thing
and aren’t doing any painting. For me, it was a
matter of working hard and persevering. Even if
you’re not selling, the impulse to be creative is
always there. So my advice is if you have passion
for any of the arts —persevere.
If you would like to see more of Alfredo
Arreguin’s artwork you can visit his website
at http://www.alfredoarreguin.com/.
His work may also be found in the Linda
Hodges Gallery in Seattle, and at his
upcoming exhibit at the Marmot Art Space in
Spokane, Washington, this June.
May | June 2020
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