Veronica and Gabriel Sandoval didn’t set out to pursue art as a career. In fact, they were near the opposite end of the spectrum. The duo met in college when Veronica was studying business administration and Gabriel was immersed in oceanography, chemistry and environmental engineering.
During that time, however, Veronica had kept up one of her favorite pastimes––creating art. She dabbled with various mediums, but when she discovered metal embossing, there was an instant connection. It wasn’t long before Garbiel, too, developed a deep passion for the ancient art form.
As they dove in deeper and began researching various embossing techniques, they opened a new world of possibilities for their art. Soon, they developed their own unique technique, combining and adapting elements from the traditional Eastern and Western European styles. They also began to integrate patinas, and oil and acrylic paints to create a vibrant, energetic body of work that is loved by collectors around the world.
Three decades later, Veronica and Gabriel are as much in love with the art form as they were when they first discovered it. For them, it’s about the energy and passion that they get to bring to each piece they create.
Read on or watch the video below to learn more about Veronica and Gabriel, and their journey as artists.
When did you know art was your calling?
It was around 30 years ago. My wife had started to do it, practicing with some small works. She has always been very creative and experimented with different art mediums. When she found repoussé and started to emboss, she really connected in different ways. I felt it right away, and could see her starting to put her own inspiration and energy into it. She started creating beautiful things. When I got involved, I felt the same way.
I started to research where repoussé came from because it is a French word, meaning to push out. We found a lot of different techniques used in Europe, some on the western side, like Spanish and Italian techniques, and in other places throughout Eastern Europe where they were more orthodox. We started to notice the differences between the various techniques and saw that they don’t really like to combine them. They work very straight in one technique and take pride in saying it’s a Spanish or a Russian. But we decided to blend techniques and start to create something new––reinventing the technique, revising it and following our own inspiration.
What do you love most about creating art?
What we love the most is using our passion and our own ideas to do something different, something new. As soon we have a piece of aluminum sheet and we start carving, something happens. There’s a connection. It’s really a passion.
It’s also rewarding and gratifying to see the reactions that people have toward our work and the connection that certain clients have towards our unique pieces. The hours, blood, sweat, and tears that go into each one of our pieces show our true passion for our art, and it’s reflected in our clients’ reactions.
How has your work evolved?
It’s a constant evolution. We never stop evolving. If you see some pieces we made 26 years ago, there’s a big difference. But what’s really nice is when a customer tells us they have one of our pieces from 20 years ago and it still brings them so much happiness. They see how our work has evolved, but they can also feel the energy in the work and for them, when they look at the piece they bought years ago, they feel like they see a new piece every time.
What brought you to the Celebration of Fine Art?
We applied because we wanted to go to the next step in art. It’s a beautiful place and high quality. There are serious customers. But it’s the energy that we feel here, with the different artists and the customers, and we feel really happy to be here.