Raquel Alvarez Sardina was born in Barcelona. At the age of seventeen she joined Academia Leonardo da Vinci and in 1986 she started a degree in Fine Arts. Whilst doing the degree she attended Academia Sant Vicenç and Boter/ Santalo and completed a drawing course at 'Academia Lorenzo de Medici' in Florence. After graduating in 1991 she came to England where she studied a Master's Degree at Cardiff University.
Drawing influence from the Master painters of the Spanish Tenebrism of the Baroque period she has developed a personal contemporary style to represent beauty. Her painting method is slow, precise and full of feeling. It is as though she wants us to slow down and contemplate a few simple objects in silence. She spends a considerable amount of time setting the composition; each fruit or object is placed carefully in the space. Sketching is useful to decide, sometimes by a matter of millimetres where every fruit or leave should be. When she is happy with the composition she draws directly onto the canvas with a brush.
She finds painting fruit in the tree still attached to the branch to be the most satisfying "I love to paint the intricate shapes of the leaves against the roundness of the fruit. I enjoy the complexity of the subject, with the leaves creating unusual perspectives, spaces and light between them" Raquel works in a studio in the garden, half of the studio is painted grey, a colour that is neutral and absorbs light. This creates the best environment for Chiaroscuro style of painting. The other half of the studio is painted a lighter colour, better suited to lighter paintings. She positions fruit next to the window to make the most of the light to create a strong contrast. Sunny days are better for contrast and warm light.
Her work has been exhibited in Spain, England and United States. Living and working in the Cotswolds her work is on show at Arcadia Contemporary, United States and is represented in The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle, Concept Gallery in Glasgow, Paragon Gallery in Cheltenham and Morningside Gallery in Edinburgh.
In 2016 she was elected Member of the Society of Women Artists (SWA) and HRH Princess Michael of Kent presented her with The President and Vice Presidents' Choice Award for the Best Work of Art in the Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London.
Education
1998 MA Fine Arts: Painting, Cardiff University
1991 Degree in Fine Arts: Painting, Universidad de Bellas Artes, Barcelona
Scholarships
1991 Erasmus Scholar, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of the West of England
1990 Scholar of Drawing, Society of Artists Sant Lluc, awarded by Barcelona University
Professional Training
1990 Drawing, Academia Sant Vicenç, Barcelona
1989 Drawing, Academia Lorenzo de Medici, Florence
1988-90 Atelier Joaquin Santalo/Ramon Boter, Barcelona
1988 Painting, Academia Sant Vicenç, Barcelona
1987-88 Drawing, The Society of Artists Sant Lluc, Barcelona
1984-86 Drawing, Academia Leonardo da Vinci, Barcelona
