Finding Common Ground: When Different Artists Share the Same Source
Recently, I had the privilege of meeting with two artists whose work couldn't appear more different from each other's—or my own. Yet in our conversation, something remarkable emerged: beneath the surface of our vastly different approaches, we discovered we were all drawing from the same wellspring of human experience and connection.
Three Distinct Voices
Oscar Eduardo de Paz https://depazarts.com/me creates intimate paintings that blend abstract and realistic elements. The relatable, recognizable subjects are translated using abstract techniques, loose brushstrokes, and simplified forms. Through his choice of subject, food as a symbol of nourishment and everyday caregiving activities: depiction of hands doing the work of life support, cooking, and mending, he presents common experiences to ground the viewer. Working from his memories of objective observation, his work explores the topics of cultural identity, human relationships, justice, and caring. Oscar uses cropping and framing to highlight the significance of the painting’s topic. Varying in size, all his work is smaller than mine, reinforcing the “objectness’ of the paintings. He uses muted colors to reflect the unadorned nature of his subjects, common people engaged in daily activities. Oscar grounds viewers in recognizable experiences while exploring themes of cultural identity, human relationships, and social justice. The viewer is asked to think about societal conditions, economic empowerment, inequality, and our similarities and shared vulnerabilities.
Roderick (Rick) Hidalgo https://www.rhidalgoart.com/works in an entirely different realm, creating multimedia three-dimensional sculptures in addition to bas relief and two-dimensional work. To my eye, his work is influenced by mass culture, consumerism, and the blurring of high and low art. His pieces glitter and glow, reminding one of jewelry. Driven by a passion for texture, light, and color, Hidalgo’s art bridges elegance and intrigue, often incorporating transparent dimensional sculptures, playful themes, and opulent features. His tactile creations embrace postmodern ideas of artifice and our contemporary society. I noticed he was able to detach from our culture, enabling him to comment on consumerism and mass production. Using resin, encaustic paint, and glass, Rick crafts pieces that change as viewers move around them— clear “ixe cube shapes” are suddenly speckled with gold, in some pieces, blues are read as greens. from a different angle. His reflective surfaces literally bring viewers into the artwork, creating an experience that's both playful and profound.
He told me a story about a painting he had done as part of his black series, that he was so attached to, he would not sell. When a woman came to his studio and began to cry as she stood in front of it, he changed his mind.
My own work represents yet another approach—a marriage of art and spirituality. Nature is referenced to offer the viewer an entry point into the paintings. The focus of my work is centered on moments of presence and the spiritual power of the landscape, going beyond mere representation to capture something more ephemeral and profound about the landscape we live in. I layer paint on canvases that are often large enough to encompass the viewer’s field of vision to create contemplative spaces. The luminous atmospheric quality with a tactile feel that references the biodiversity of plant life imbues the paintings with transcendent energy, evoking our intrinsic connection with the land and inspiring a sense of urgency to protect our natural environment.
The Unexpected Common Thread
What struck me most, looking at this work and speaking with these artists, wasn't our differences, but our shared foundation. Despite working in vastly different media and scales, we each begin with the same fundamental process: observation and reflection on our experiences in the world.
Whether Oscar is witnessing acts of care in everyday life, Rick is processing the bombardment of contemporary consumer culture, or I'm studying natural phenomena, we're all translating lived experience into artistic expression. We each prioritize experimentation with materials as the vehicle for exploring deeper questions about human connection and our relationship to the world around us. We each seek to provide a genuine experience of awe, wonder, and thoughtfulness
A Shared Philosophy of Connection
Perhaps most significantly, all three of us are driven by a belief that art can reveal how we're all connected to one another. We each seek to create moments where viewers can pause, withdraw from surrounding stimuli, and experience something transformative. Our work, though stylistically diverse, shares a common goal: encouraging dialogue and reflection about the human experience.
Each of us moves beyond purely realistic depictions, adding layers of interpretation and imaginative freedom. Whether through Oscar's symbolic everyday scenes, Rick's shifting multimedia installations, or my meditation-informed emotive paintings, we're all creating spaces for viewers to encounter awe, wonder, and thoughtfulness.
The Power of Artistic Kinship
I am reminded that artistic expression, at its core, springs from our shared need to communicate something nonverbal to others. While our techniques, materials, and visual languages differ dramatically, the impulse to translate observation into meaning, to create connection through creativity, and to offer viewers a moment of deeper engagement remains constant.
In a world that often emphasizes differences and divisions, discovering this common ground with fellow artists felt deeply affirming. It reinforced my belief that regardless of our individual approaches, we're all part of a larger conversation about what it means to be human in this world—and that art, in all its forms, remains one of our most powerful tools for fostering understanding and connection.
The diversity of our expressions only strengthens the universality of our shared purpose: to help others see, feel, and reflect on the profound connections that bind us all together.