Just a few months after picking up the paintbrush he dropped as a frustrated teen, English literature junior Daniel Torrez began to envision a large painting to commemorate Arizona’s centennial.
“I wasn’t being cocky, really, but I thought, ‘This is my only shot,’” Torrez said. “I could only do something this big for the Centennial.”
The 87-square-foot oil painting depicts the founding of Tucson’s Mission San Xavier del Bac, the oldest European structure in Arizona. It will hang in the Downtown campus library.
Many of Torrez’s other paintings represent historical events. He said he only has an amateur understanding of history, but certain events resonate with him.
"When something strikes me, it really stays with me," Torrez said.
Some moments, like the martyrdom of Joan of Arc, came alive in his mind and Torrez could see exactly how he would paint the scene.
Books he discovered in his grandfather’s library as a child inspired his interest in art and choice to paint the mission, he said.
"He had this huge library with a copy of Gardner's Art History Volume II," Torrez said. "I found it when I was five and I was just carting it around everywhere looking at the full-page pictures."
The book contained representations of work by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Leonardo da Vinci, artists whose styles Torrez tries to emulate.
He first saw Mission San Xavier del Bac in a travel guidebook in his grandfather's library and was struck again by the church's intricacy when he traveled there in 2007.
“The whole space seemed so different from modern architecture in that every detail seemed like they felt it,” Torrez said. “It has this real depth of sincerity. There are these statues behind statues and moldings that seem like only God would see them.”
His painting depicts workers from the Tohono O’odham Nation putting final touches on the church's altar while Spanish priests look on. He said he wanted to show the collaboration between the two different races, especially in the wake of Arizona Senate Bill 1070.
“It's kind of a nudge against the small portion of xenophobic people here,” Torrez said. “It shows two cultures that are completely alien to each other coming together and making something unique.”
Torrez applied for a Centennial Legacy project grant in late 2010, and received approval from the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission near the end of 2011.
Even before receiving approval, he decided to take the semester off to work on his painting, he said.
Torrez taught himself how to sew so he could make a canvas of his desired size. He spent a week sewing the canvas and another few days building a wooden stretching frame. He will soon be working on it about eight or nine hours each day.
He received $1,300 from the state and listed his project on Kickstarter.com, a funding platform for creative projects, to earn the additional $2,100 for supplies.
Torrez has to raise $150 by March 3 if he is to keep his donations.
Juliana Yoder, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission, said the group approved of the forethought Torrez spent researching his subject matter.
“The artist put a lot into his planning,” Yoder said. “He didn't just rely on his artistic ability, but he talked to historians.”
While planning the painting, Torrez said he asked experts about the accuracy of each of his preliminary sketches.
One historian vetoed Torrez’s idea to depict Spanish soldiers supervising the workers, telling him the church was built for the native people and priests would not have allowed the soldiers to be present.
The painting will be completed sometime in March and will hang under the flight of stairs leading to the Downtown campus library in the basement of the University Center.
Library director Scott Muir said the library was glad to host Torrez's painting.
“It's a nice work to keep as a remembrance of the Centennial,” Muir said. “It shows what our students can do and represents an important event.”
Reach the reporter at julia.shumway@asu.edu or follow @JMShumway on Twitter.
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