Jose Manuel Hortelano-Pi is an illustrator and portraitist born in a tiny town in the south of Spain in 1979. After studying fine arts and photography, he started to draw professionally in 2006. He currently lives and works in Madrid.
He is interested in a new and contemporary view of portraiture that connects via social networking and other methods of Internet collaboration.
Using watercolor -- where lighting is particularly important to the paintings' composition -- as his primary technique, Hortelano-Pi always attempts to unveil the flesh as a cornerstone of energy and humanity. He instills each of his drawings with intimacy and tries to catch the eye of the watcher with some gaze and flirtatious look.
The main subject of his two solo exhibitions, "Voy a Tener Suerte" ("I'm Going to Be Lucky"; Barcelona, 2011) and "Landscapes" (Athens, 2012), was the male body. And it was also the motivation to create his last work, DEN, a dialogue between the body and geometry materialized in three ceramics pieces and a digital video. (See the video on the last page of this portfolio.) You can learn more about him at JoseManuelHortelanoPi.com.
David and Miguel
Sorte
Den Circle
Nando Back
Jesus en Sus Terraza
Jose Underwater
For Hendricks Gin
Tocho, Leti y Candido
Alex
Den Triangle
Ross & Javier
Snoozy Doozy Coco
Alex Back
Den Square
Fran Right
Carlos Diez Beard
Runaway
Runaway 2
