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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2019
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
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SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
R.J. Marx/The Daily Astorian
Emilio Lobato outside Sea Level.
Cannon Beach through an artist’s eye
I
s Cannon Beach a getaway or a place
to tune in? For many of us it’s a little
of both.
Emilio Lobato III came to the coast in
January from his home in Denver. The
painter and his family have returned to
Cannon Beach almost every year since
their fi rst getaway in 1987. Lobato’s wife,
Darlene Sisneros, a prominent Denver
attorney, died six years ago.
This winter, Emilio returned alone
for an immersive artistic experience. His
work can also be found in the William
Havu Gallery in Denver and the Eliza-
beth Leach Gallery in Portland. He has
exhibited in Denver’s Kirkland Museum,
the Denver Art Museum and galleries
nationally.
Q: What was it that drew you here?
Lobato: Cannon Beach has always
been a good place for hunkering down,
cocooning, working on projects. I loaded
up my car with sup-
plies and I’ve been here a
month painting.
Q: Why mid-winter?
Lobato: I was a little
bit worried about coming
to such a small town for
an extended period.
R.J.
I have found that I love
MARX
it. I absolutely love it. It
seems like a place where
writers live. It’s an incredible place to
visit when there’s no one around. There
have been days I’ve taken walks and I’ve
got the beach to myself. It feels like it’s
mine.
Q: Tell me about your paintings.
Lobato: Painting is a misnomer in this
case. I’m an abstract painter, but this time
I’m doing collages. Collecting antique
books, papers, physical materials and glu-
ing them down to a surface.
Q: Like some of Picasso’s work?
Lobato: Picasso was famous for tak-
ing the daily newspaper and gluing it
into his compositions and painting on
top of it. His (collages) were politi-
cal, mine are not. They’re very, very
personal.
I was trying to think what could I cre-
ate that would describe this region. And
more importantly, my experience with it.
Q: Has it been a productive period?
Lobato: I’ve fi nished 16 pieces while
I’m here, 24-by-24 inches, all collages.
I brought the panels, then scoured the
coastline for materials that would speak
of this area. I found some beautiful old
merchant ledgers in Astoria from the
1800s. I found a big antique map of Til-
lamook Bay. I love books as art pieces.
Emilio Lobato
‘Salish,’ collage and mixed media on panel,
24” x 24” (2019), by Emilio Lobato. The
work was completed during the artist’s stay
in Cannon Beach.
Emilio Lobato
‘Tillamook,’ collage and mixed media on panel, 24” x 24” (2019), by Emilio Lobato. Lobato
took local materials and used them in his work.
Q: How do the collages fi t themati-
cally with your paintings?
Lobato: My work is typically a little
more dark, geometric, with harder edges.
This is much lighter, and playful, hope-
fully capturing a sense of childhood and
nostalgia, a quality in the air, pleasant
memories.
Q: How does the coastal environ-
ment infl uence your work?
Lobato: When I’m here the rest of
the world disappears. The ocean, I’m
fi nding, is sort of hydrating my soul.
I grew up in such an isolated part of
Colorado that the nearest neighbor was
half a mile away. So my work of the last
20-plus years has been about isolation
and solitude. I’ve worked that into my
themes. That landscape always lent itself
to my process — to imagine, to wan-
der, to create, to experiment. The ocean
affords me that too.
Q: What do you look for when
approaching the canvas?
Lobato: The world doesn’t need
another painting of the ocean. Don’t
get me wrong, it’s beautiful, but there
are plenty that exist. What can I do to
bring a different perspective to that
experience?
My wife was an avid kite fl yer. She
adored stunt kites. She discovered them
here. She bought very expensive, super-
fast ones, and we traveled with them.
She’d bring them here every year, and
fl y them. She never felt such bliss. One
of my inspirations on this trip was to
capture that moment.
Q: Describe Cannon Beach from an
artist’s perspective.
Lobato: There’s beauty in everything.
The coastline is beautiful. The quality of
light is exquisite.
You don’t know where the ocean ends
and the sky begins. The earth seems to
meet the waters.
It’s like the edge of the earth. I can’t
imagine what that looked like to ancient
explorers — no wonder they thought they
were going to fall off the edge.
Q: Tell me your impressions of Can-
non Beach today.
Lobato: I love the mom-and-pop
feeling. I love that automobiles are not
allowed on the beach.
Cannon Beach is very clean. It’s
retained that rugged, pristine look.
Q: How are you handling the
isolation?
Lobato: This is the most I have talked
Emilio Lobato
‘Elegy, After R.M.,’ collage and mixed media
on panel, 24” x 24” (2019), named for the
painter Robert Motherwell.
in three weeks. I’m a somewhat social
guy, but I’m surprised how easy it is to
shut down.
I think my next step might be a monas-
tery where people don’t speak for a week
— I wonder if I’m up for the challenge.
Q: When did you feel you made it as
an artist?
Lobato: I feel I have arrived as an art-
ist at many times in my career. I’ve had
exhibitions, for example. When you get
one of those, it’s validation. But you
never really quite arrive as an artist.
There’s always something else to aspire
to. I’ve learned I’ve been lucky to paint
full time for almost 26 years.
R.J. Marx is editor of the Seaside Sig-
nal and Cannon Beach Gazette, and cov-
ers South County for The Daily Astorian.