Ayora
Valencian painter born in Ayora (Valencia) on November 16, 1936, into a family dedicated to beekeeping. The son of Trinidad and Rafael, he is the second of four brothers. He spent his early childhood in his town and at the age of 10 he moved to Valencia to study high school at the Royal College of the Pious Schools of Valencia (Escolapios). During the entire period of his studies he lived in the house of his uncle Adolfo Cámara (journalist) and his family, he was the one who influenced his interest in painting and journalism. During those times he had his first contacts with painting and met Casimiro Escribá (priest and painter of the canvases of the Cathedral of Albacete) who observed in him a great vocation as a plastic artist. After those years he began his university years, combining his studies in Fine Arts, at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos, with those of Philosophy and Letters. His determined vocation for painting made him soon concentrate all his activity on artistic creation. These are the times when Francisco Lozano, a painter and a great influence on both his artistic and personal life, coincides with his teacher. He admires him and calls him “teacher,” as Lozano himself liked to be called. In 1957, he met his future wife, Amparo, whom he married in 1966. The wedding was celebrated together with the inauguration of his first exhibition at the Galería Estil, a room where he continued to exhibit his entire life. Estil was closed in 2010, with an exhibition by the artist himself. In 1960 he obtained the title of drawing teacher. In the 1963/1964 academic years he received a scholarship from the City Council of Valencia and resided at the Casa de Velázquez, in Madrid, a French cultural institution abroad. In 1968, he won the Third Medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts. During the 60s and 70s he collaborated in the Levante newspaper, under the pseudonym Pedro Antonio. At the end of the 60s he was a professor hired by the Higher School of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Carlos for the subjects of Still Life, Color and Composition. Later he served as interim Professor of Landscape. Starting in 1973 he decided to dedicate himself solely and exclusively to his art. In 2003, the Valencia City Council paid tribute to the artist with the retrospective exhibition at the Museum of the City of Valencia and the publication of the book “Pedro Càmara i la Seua Pintura”. Starting in 1973 he decided to dedicate himself solely and exclusively to his art. The Valencia City Council, the Ayora City Council and the Torrente City Council have named one of his streets after him.
Valencia
