Dear FOTM Friends and Family,
Focus on the Masters documented artist Eduardo Ernesto "Seco" Alpizar Uribe has died. Born in Mexico in 1958, Seco's early creative impulses led him to writing and, at the age of twenty, his first book of short stories, Zooilógico, was published by the National Institute of Bellas Artes. He began a promising career as a writer, working as an editor, journalist and correspondent.
Concurrent with his literary work, Seco began taking art classes and soon realized that painting was his true calling, with a particular affinity for the human figure. His many years of studying human anatomy refined his technique. In 1991 he had his first solo exhibit at Jardin Borda in Cuernavaca, Mexico. He was always passionate about his work and willing to do without many necessities of life in order to purchase art supplies. His use of bold color and a sense of brooding intensity characterized much of his art.
After moving from Cuernavaca in 1996, Seco made his home in Ojai. He exhibited in southern California, New York and Mexico.
Seco had a special affinity for music, especially classical and jazz. He often spoke of using music as his inspiration, sitting quietly listening to music until the emotions he felt impelled him to take up his brushes. Combining his love of classical music and painting, Seco developed a unique relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic that allowed him to sit in the auditorium during rehearsals, sketching various musicians. Whether capturing the likeness of an individual cellist or a view of the entire orchestra, his paintings were more than pictures of musicians, they were symphonies of color and gesture, imbued with raw passion.
The portrait of Seco that is a part of the Focus on the Masters Portrait Collection, is reflective of an artist immersed in his art, an artist perhaps caught at a turning point. Seco struggled to find meaning in his own life and in his art. He said: I paint because it is a matter of life or death. I paint because the rest for me is bull, except for love. I paint because I'd rather to be alone.
When Seco was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2010, he elected to forego chemotherapy and treatment with traditional western medicine. In Mexico he was guided and consoled by alternative medicine. He was able to visit with friends in Ojai shortly before his death who reported that he had come to complete acceptance of his illness and had no fear of dying. He was, in the words of a close friend, "radiant." Just as his painting had inspired many, so did his transformative last few weeks.
He died February 23, 2011. He is survived by his sons Olmo, Omar and Emilio.
We mourn his death. We celebrate his art.
For additional information about Seco and his art, please consult the Focus on the Masters Archive and www.knqn.com/seco/bio.
