fafa

Fafa drops me a pin and after I finish my lunch, I pack my gear, get on the bike, and go. When I get there he’s got his headphones in and is visibly absorbed in the process. He’s working on a mural and doesn’t notice me and so I watch him paint for several minutes. He stares at a laminated piece of paper, then to the wall and back. Next, he dips his brush into one of more than thirty open containers of paint. After mixing the saturated brush with other colors to create the shade he’s after, he makes a few strokes on the wall some two meters overhead. This plays out two or three more times before he catches a glimpse of me.

Fafa was born to paint. I ask him what life would be like without painting. He laughs and looks inward: “I think I would rather die.” He makes a living by painting huge murals, some ten meters tall, from the ground, using nothing but paint and a brush mounted to a pole to extend his reach. His current style grew out of a combination of influences from art school and the graffiti scene. He also teaches painting classes which are open to the public at a local vocational school.

Fafa is originally from Spain. He followed love to Switzerland and stayed after the relationship ended. He tells me that in a previous life he must have been a gifted painter – it’s why he took to the medium so easily. He is only half-joking when he tells me this. He goes on to explain that because he hasn’t always made the most of his abilities, he is doing so now.

@rafaelmarquezceldran

[11] Sunday, May 23, 2021