I'm an artist/free-lance illustrator/zine-maker/teacher. You can visit my my website at www.ronaldjllanos.com or my blog at thedrawingpad.blogspot.com.

Artists’ Statement


The German Dada artist Max Ernst once said: “there is art about art and there is art about life”. My work resonates with the latter. I envision myself as a a visual anthropologist of early 21st century urban Los Angeles.

In my drawings and paintings, I’m attempting to capture moments in public/social situations, which have a subtle narrative. I will get a glimpse of an interesting interaction, but I don’t interview the people I am witnessing. I don’t want to interrupt the social interaction. Impartiality is an important aspect in this body of work.

Some of the figurative artists that I admire are the Honore’ Daumier and John Sloan. Both of these artists documented the interactions of people according to their time period. In my current work, I too am aiming for social observation.

The ephemeral subject that I choose to portray demands a quickness of production. Watercolor and pen and ink are my medium of choice.