Face Painting

Gonzales' work typically begins with found or archival photographs that he digitally alters through computer-assisted distortions and then translates into the medium of painting. The Face Painting series began with a schematic drawing of a female face from an escort service advertisement in Manhattan Yellow Pages as his starting point. He then transfers the distorted images to canvas by spraying a thin layer of metallic industrial paint and topping that with a hand-cut stencil of his chosen image.  Each painting in this series displays a different cartoon-like expression suggesting a variety of emotions and psychological states. Gonzales' work continues in the tradition of American Pop Art exemplified by artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, by evoking the cartoon realism of Disney movies, advertising and mass-media imagery.