About the Artist
Find out more about Raquel and her personal inspirations
Hi there! My name is
Raquel Pablos
Since I was a little girl, I knew that all I wanted to do in life was to create art. I began going to art classes when I was just 8 years old for clay and sculpture, and later drawing. I loved it so much that I went once a week for over 10 years and by the time I was 16, I was substituting for my art teacher!
I have lived in many places throughout my life, but as an adult I always came back to my childhood predilections of admiring a world beyond our own, a world full of magic. My dreams are filled with enchanted kingdoms with fluttering fairies and flute-playing fauns, beautiful mermaids with streaming long hair, and rolling hills that stretch forever.
In Ireland, I found a portal to magic- an island surrounded by a majestic (but very cold!) ocean that still holds myths and legend in their reality. In this place, I create art with the gifts of the sea and use acrylics to bring the kingdom in my mind to life on canvas. I am constantly inspired by the country around me and I bring this into every piece of my art.
Read about my
Artistic History
When I was 16, I travelled to Cambridge, England to work as an au-pair to look after four amazing kids, which is where I learned English. In England, and in the UK more broadly, I realized the myth and legend that I adored was enshrined in Celtic lore that was still perceptible in every day life in these countries. After returning to Madrid to get qualified in the Art School at Palma Madrid, I moved to Edinburgh where I began to sell my own art at markets while working as a waitress and nursing assistant.
Art has always been in my family, I have been surrounded by people who love to create. My mum is a self-taught artist who began painting in her 30s, and she has had a few exhibitions in Spain, with me alongside her. One of my brothers is an animator and the other a musician. My father was my biggest fan for the start of my career and he just loved art and architecture, too.
I have worked all over Spain, in many positions from a beauty therapist in Madrid to a sailor on yachts in Alicante, but I always return to my art- it's like it's calling me from the kingdom in my imagination, begging to be realized in paint.
Almost 10 years ago, I moved to Dublin following this passion to create once more, where I eventually met my wonderful husband, Giovanni. In 2015, we had our son, Pablo, who is now almost 8!
And these are my materials:
Acrylic Paint
In acrylics, I feel my kingdom come to life through the use of strokes, layering of colours, smudges and spirals that encompass all my paintings. I love the feeling of melding colours together to create the beautiful scenes that I can touch and feel.
Acrylics give me the sense of bringing texture and patterns to life, combining colours so that you can see the reality of the magic kingdom I dream.
Nespresso Capsules
For me, art is about sustainability, it's about using what we have to create something new and beautiful. Some of my work is used by re-purposing Nespresso capsules, which are made from aluminium. My friends, family and neighbours give me their leftover capsules so that they can go to something creative, and from them I create intricate pieces of art with markers and acrylics.
Sea Shells
In Ireland, we are surrounded by the sea. A simple journey from my home will bring me to the North coast of Dublin- where you can enjoy amazing seafood in Howth, stroll the beaches of Portmarnock and wander the beautiful village of Malahide. When I'm out with my family, creating memories, we collect sea shells along the shore which I bring hope to use in my art. Using sea shells makes my art tangible, rough and smooth and makes me really feel as though I am back by the sea.
