Pepe Pétalo - La del pulpo

Pepe Pétalo develops a personal imagined world of the artist, a territory where spontaneous drawing, intuitive gesture, and memory transform into painting. The origin of his work goes back to adolescence, when he began to draw a little character with a big nose at the margins of his school notes, on paper napkins, or in the textbooks. Those doodles, born almost as an unconscious act, have over time become the germ of his own artistic language.

Pepe Pétalo has spent 25 years building his professional career in the Social Work of the now-defunct Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo, where in his final stage he was responsible for the Culture area and coordinator of the CAM Contemporary Art Collection, currently housed in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Alicante (MACA). From that position, he actively participated in the design and organization of numerous traveling exhibitions throughout the Spanish geography, as well as in the promotion of emerging artists.

Throughout his professional career he has had the opportunity to meet and collaborate with prominent creators such as Carmen Calvo, Eduardo Arroyo, Cristina García Rodero, and Cristina de Middel, the latter President of the Magnum Photos Agency (Princess of Asturias Award for Concord). This proximity to contemporary art from cultural management has enriched his view, although his pictorial proposal remains faithful to the freshness and authenticity of the original stroke.

Pepe Pétalo’s painting does not seek solemnity or distance. On the contrary, it aims to be a magnet for smiles, distraction, and the reconnection with that playful part that often dissolves in adult life. His little characters and doodles, seemingly simple, conceal a reflection on identity, memory, and the capacity to create without fear of judgment.

“Universe Pétalo. Little characters and doodles” ultimately represents the public consolidation of an artistic universe that has accompanied the author since his youth and now unfolds with maturity, consistency, and a clear vocation to connect with the viewer through direct emotion, complicity, and, why not, humor.

"The Octopus"

The painting features a colorful and optimistic octopus that seems to dance in a universe full of imagination, fantasy, and joy. Its red head, speckled with white spots, and its multicolored tentacles convey energy, movement, and freedom. The turquoise background becomes a small cosmos where doodles, stars, fish, fantastical creatures, and scribbles coexist, evoking the spontaneous language of childhood. This Pétalo Universe celebrates creativity without rules, free expression, and the beauty of imperfection. Each stroke adds personality, humor, and freshness, inviting us to look at the world with curiosity and enthusiasm. The work is an explosion of color and vitality that reminds us that imagination transforms the ordinary into something extraordinary.

The marked dimensions of the work are those of the painting once stretched and mounted on the frame. The actual canvas measurements are larger to be able to execute its mounting.

The work comes unframed (professional packaging, rolled in a tube). It is delivered with a certificate of authenticity.

You can follow my work on Instagram
@pepepetalo