Jota Leal

By LatAm ARTE

Jota Leal was born in a humble town in eastern Venezuela thirty-six years ago. He started drawing and painting at a very young age and never studied fine art. Even at a young age, Jota knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to paint people and paint their faces. His parents worked in the oil fields. Leal is the second of three brothers, each with their own unique talents. Jota says that one of his first childhood memories is drawing and leaving his parents surprised. During his next birthdays and Christmas he received pencils, crayons, paint and supplies as gifts. Jota later studied electrical engineering and graduated. No one in his family knows how he did it, as he was obsessed with drawing and painting. It wasn't long before circuits became lines, numbers became colours, brushes and a sweep replaced the theories of physics.