Cobbled streets of Altea Old Town |
Throughout the summer months, if you wonder up the cobbled streets of the old town towards the church, you are flanked by galleries and exhibits displayed on the white washed walls of buildings.
Altea is very quaint in that respect - they seem to follow the same train of thought as Henry Ford when he said you can have any colour of the Model T Ford so long as its black. Here its "you can paint your house any colour so long as its white"!
During the Altea Feria held last month I came across the stand of "Tachi" - a local artist. His works were like nothing I have ever seen before... for one they were ginormous! I took his card and contacted him the following week to arrange a meeting with him, which was easier said than done as he must be one of the very few who does not have a mobile! Rather unusual in this day and age but once he is immersed in his work he does not want the distraction.... I feel like that sometimes!
Famous faces - giant works on display in Altea |
At his art class in Altea |
Those large portraits measured 1.95m x 1.30m and took him between four and ten hours to paint - he gets totally submerged when at work. He has painted over 100 pieces this year alone... that must be some storage space he has! He does not sell any of his painting at the moment but exhibits them around the world.
You can see the scale of the paintings |
His most memorable experience was probably painting under water he told me... yes I had to ask him to repeat that as I thought I had misunderstood. He actually donned a wet suit and took his easel and oils to the bottom of the sea off the Altea coastline! I watched the video on You Tube - yes he did actually paint under water....
Tachi is hoping that one of the large hotels in Benidorm may display some of his pieces - they are certainly eye catching and would give you something to talk about. He isn´t interested in selling any but just wants others to indulge and share his passion.
You can view more of his pieces at: http://tachipintor.com/