Fernando Tena

1994, oil on canvas, 61 x 46 cm. 

'It is very difficult to appreciate the value of an art work until it is completely finished. After many unpleasant experiences, I decided never to show any painting unless completed. 

The last touch of brush does really make the difference in a painting and it is only then that the work becomes a piece of art'.

Oil on canvas, 146 x 97 cm.

Legend says that Louis was a man that dreamt of becoming a woman.

'But this was merely a tale spread by the art critics in Miami : the truth is that I only wanted to paint a beautiful woman with a splendid body. Luis was a very important man in Madrid that I really appreciated. This painting is my special homage to him'

oil on canvas, 130 x 90 cm.

Tena tries to bring us closer to a person in the background, the man with the lost look.

'This is one of the few works I mostly enjoyed painting. The feelings, the illusions and the quick evolution throughout brought me back many good memories'.

oil on canvas, 130 x 81 cm.

Music can only be felt - it can never be seen. This is the reason why Tena hides the composer's hand behind the piano`s reflection. The man in the painting is his brother.

'A great composer' - says Tena.

oil on canvas

Beautiful buttocks foresee a very special situation.

'Dynamism…movement…action, and possibly some affection'.

oil on canvas.

In 'Anyone would fall in love', Tena expresses his passion for a sexuality he was starting to discover.

In this painting, we see a very dark image of a man, lying down on the floor, right under “her”. Tena creates the darkness to enhance the womans presence.

'Blondes, brunettes... they are all beautiful'..

oil on canvas.

Tena expresses his sweet side through a wide contrast with yellow.

'Drawings and pictorial art saw its beginnings with the understanding of the lighting technique. Once the object was lit appropriately, we were able to draw it exactly as it was, as we perceived it'.

oil on canvas, 21 x 31 cm.

Now the artist begins to reject the realist movement. This is also the reason why he chooses a title with two meanings (in spanish, bud also means “twit”). 

'Realism was starting to kill me'.

oil con canvas, 200 x 120 cm.

It took Tena a very long time to find this place.

'After looking everywhere, my friend and interior designer Guillermo Sánchez de Leon told me about Segovia'.

oil on canvas, 38 x 30 cm.

This character played a very important role in the artist's life. It is not the first time he appears in his work. 

Tena promised himself this would be his last realistic painting, but he never stood by his promess. 

'I enjoy nature, the sea, sex, love and may be, one day, I will enjoy painting'.

oil on canvas

Luis Herrera, a mystic and personal friend of the artist, offered him the sword that we see in this painting.

Later on, Tena abandoned the sword meaning that he left behind all the bad experiences to begin a new life.

(Pableras was the model).

oil on canvas.

oil on canvas.

oil on canvas, 31 x 20 cm.

Tena uses the contrast between the flowers and their stems to achieve a magical atmosphere. 

'If I had to simbolize the magic with one colour, I would choose white'.

oil on canvas, 39 x 31 cm.

'Ware Ware No Dai Ippo' means 'Our first foot'. 

This painting was commissioned by a japonese company to conmemorate the opening of its first european subsidiary. 

Two paintings would follow, aiming to reflect, represent and symbolize this Company's philosophy. 

'Takanohana' . portrait of the Sumo's world champion. He represents the strength and power to solve successfully future problems in this company.

'The light of Wisdom' . candle has always represented the light and it will guide us through to make the right decisions.

These three paintings are at the Company's President office. 

1993, oil on canvas, 41 x 33 cm.

Tena believes in the existence of a protecting presence that we all have near us. In the painting, this feeling is reflected when someone tries to kiss the baby.

'When I don`t find a parking space, I pray to my Guardian Angel'. My father tought me a method for going to sleep;I just tell my Guardian Angel: 'My bed has four corners, please protect those four corners''

oil on canvas, 35 x 27 cm.

'Pibe' is the Argentinina word for 'lad'.

oil on canvas.

Humour helps in any situation. A leg with a foot upwards, apppears in dark colours on the left hand side, at the back of the painting .

This is a very compromising situation.

1992, oil on canvas, 35 x 24 cm.

With a hard and cold gesture, Tena depicts the feeling of a woman that senses freedom.

'Let the brush go free and the brush will guide you'.

oil on canvas, 33 x 22 cm.

The artist wants to show us the importance of taking a nap. Thanks to the sleep, you can watch the most relaxed and intimate expressions, even from the most aggressive creatures.

Inspired from the Safari Park in Madrid where the painter went as a child to enjoy nature.With no doubt this place was one of his favourite`s and he used to visit it regularly with family and friends.

'Once I went there with my neighbour Carlos who brought along a guide and I learnt many secrets. I repeatedly came back afterwards with my parents, friends, cousins…'.

oil on canvas, 33 x 22 cm.

In the past, Tena would fall in love with a woman, at just a glance. This situation traumatized him.

There is only one rose in “Falling in Love”. The colours are cold and dark, meaning that the painter has not found “love” yet.

'I remember looking at the picture of a beautiful woman pinned on a billboard. I would spend a long time watching every single detail on her face. First the eyes, then the nose, the mouth, and again the nose, the eyes...'

oil on canvas 92 x 65 cm.

Tena tries, through birds, to imagine a free and large world with no frontiers. 

'Haven't you ever imagined being a bird?'

oil on canvas, 46 x 27 cm.

The artist is attracted to the wrinkle between the eyebrows.

'A wrinkle can be beautiful, but I rather not have it'.

1992, oil on canvas, 24 x 33 cm.

Cristina is the perfect portrait of the artist's aunt when she was young. She is an actress. 

'There are actresses that will always carry on being actresses, like my aunt, whose whole life is a real show, a play: she emphasizes happiness and sorrow, good and bad. She is a character everyone should meet'.

oil on canvas, 35 x 27 cm.

The calmness of the sea obsesses the artist.

'I love the sea when it is calm, it is an incredible feeling, which one can only understand once experienced'.

oil on canvas, 65 x 50 cm.

Francisco, Willy, Pepito, Fernan somebody else, after collecting some periwinkles. 

'We filled two buckets'.

Oil on canvas, 92 x 65 cm

The sea, the treasure, a storm and an island…

'Imagining is a very healthy exercise'.

oil on canvas, 33 x 19 cm.

'Thank you for teaching me water-skiing'.

oil on canvas, 33 x 19 cm.

Here, instrument and hand are slightly hidden because Tena only wants to show us the facial expression of the model.

'I needed a very expressive face'.

1992, oil on canvas.

'To Don Javier de la Vega, with admiration and gratitude”, appears on this painting`s inscription'.

If Tena hated his teachers so much, why did he dedicate this painting to one of them?

'Schoolmates, pupils, teachers…., they have always been a source of stress. They are the worse memories of my life'.