Winsor & Newton Artist features in Lonely Planet Guide

David Moscoso's exceptional talent has been highlighted as Lonely Planet, London, presents his work in the pages of the New Tourist Guide of ‘Ecuador and Galapagos 2009', as the new tourist attraction that Ecuador offers the world.

David was selected to transform the interior of the new cathedral of Ambato, formed in almost 600 square metres of murals depicting the landscapes of Ecuador, specifically the avenue of volcanoes. This cathedral is a unique example of its kind in the world, becoming known as the Cathedral of the Volcanoes.

David uses Winsor & Newton acrylics and chose to use Galeria to create this spectacular work of art. His preferred pallet for mural painting is ‘a lot of white and violet, ultramarine blue, naples yellow, ochre, orange, vermillion and payne's gray. The payne's gray colour is a great medium...the result is really amazing. My preference to use these colours is due to their results, their quality and brightness.' 

David's Murals at the cathedral of Ambato

St Joseph Church

David has painted Murals in churches in many regions across Ecuador using Winsor and Newton materials; each project inspired by the nature which surrounds the city the church is located. For example, in the city of Quevedo in Ecuador, the murals David has created in the Saint Joseph church reflect the richest kind of plantation and fruits the country produces to export to the world.

Cathedral of Saint-Die-des-Vosges

David is now planning his next significant project at the Cathedral of Saint-Die-des-Vosges in Lorraine, France and is currently working on some sketches and digital simulations to illustrate and negotiate how the ceilings could look, full of murals inspired by nature and mountains from all over America and Europe.

Here are some of David's idea's for the spectacular Cathedral;

Cathedral of Saint-Die-des-Vosges

Cathedral of Saint-Die-des-Vosges with mural ideas

You can read more about David and his spectacular work at the Ambato's cathedral and other churches on David's page in Featured Artists.

The Lonely Planet: Praising Nature

Below is the entry as published by the Lonely Planet:

Ambato once had an old cathedral, but it was destroyed along with the rest of the city by an earthquake in 1949. Many people consider the replacement temple on Parque Juan Montalvo, with its minimalist vertical lines, boringly modern in comparison to Ecuador's antique, ornate churches, and it's never competed well with the glacier-topped peaks and active volcanoes in the background. The cathedral, however, has recently been attracting attention for what's inside: in 2007, the church got a makeover by a young ambateño landscape artist, David Moscoso, who steered clear of the usual religious motifs and instead expressed his devotion through daring representations of Ecuador's natural beauty.

Pointing up to the light-flooded cupola, which has more than 200 meters of painted surface, Moscoso describes why he depicted the Avenue of the Volcanoes, including a smoking Tungurahua, the cloud-enshrouded Llanganates and glaciered Chimborazo, instead of the usual flocks of cherubs.

Why did you only paint scenes of nature in the cathedral?

In more than 500 meters of murals in this cathedral I didn't paint a single human figure. No angels, no saints, not even Christ; only mountains, clouds and nature. I want to break down the old patterns that we see in the great cathedrals of the world and instead paint God through representations of the countryside and the volcanoes and through the vibrant use of colours and light. For me the greatest expression of faith is devotion to nature, God's creation. The old images of saints and angels are worn out and even opposed to the spirituality of the 21st century; the expression of God through nature is very appropriate for this city, for Ecuador and even the whole world.

Why is nature more appropriate than the traditional icons of the Catholic Church?

Ambato is subject to natural forces that have destroyed it in the past, and that could destroy it again at any moment. We ambateños and Ecuadorians are constantly aware of the cycles of nature in the eruptions of volcanoes that ebb and flow around us.

A Christ with white skin and blue eyes in the paintings of Europe makes sense because Europeans look like that, but we Ecuadorians are a cultural mix of Europeans, mestizos and indígenas [in-digenous people], and we are aligned by our belief in the natural cycles. Images of nature speak to all of us, especially the indigenous.

You're a little like Michelangelo up there, aren't you? How did you do it?

The cupola is 60 meters up and required huge aluminium scaffolding. It was very expensive, so I had to work quickly, night and day, and at times I took medication to calm my muscles. It was very stressful at times.

How did the people react to this unorthodox form of religious art?

The bishop did not want the volcanoes in the church and he was actually terrified to show it to the people. We didn't know if the people who are extremely devout would reject it, but when it materialized before them, they reacted really positively. It responded to what was inside of them.