THE BEGINNINGS
1956 - 1960
In September 1956, at the age of eleven, Rodríguez-Amat, known by his first name Jordi, started working in the mornings with his father, a well known wall painter in Sta. Coloma de Gramenet, the town where he was born.
In the afternoons, he attended lessons in a fine art school in Barcelona, the Liceo Las Artes, founded by the Catalan painter and poster designer Josep Alumá Sanz. It was there during 4 years, that Rodríguez-Amat not only started learning the trade of painter, but also reinforced his ideals and vocation. He had shown his artistic vocation from an early age, and his father, a good observer of his predisposition for the arts, had let him attend lessons with a local painter from the age of nine, with the aim of instructing the young boy in the first steps of drawing.
In September 1957, at the beginning of the school year, the young boy started an evening course in a craftsman's school for lettering and decorative painting.
During all these years, his working and learning activity lasted from early in the morning until late in the afternoon.
The period of time between September 1956 and May 1960 could be called The beginnings. At the time he was attending the Alumŕ school where he learnt drawing and painting techniques and became familiar with different art materials.
The painting and decorating shop that his parents owned in Sta. Coloma allowed him to learn about all kinds of painting materials, as it was one of those shops where everything had to be prepared by hand.
It is impossible to underestimate the importance of the role of Rodríguez-Amat's parents who encouraged his artistic predisposition and helped him follow the path he had chosen.
His drawings, directly from nature and of models, gave him the opportunity of studying proportions, light and shadow. At that time, the 1950's, this was the normal starting point for young artists in any Fine Arts School.
Pastel and charcoal on paper / 34 cm x 40 cm
