Carlos Parra

BIOGRAPHY: He was born in the Hacienda “La Laguna” (Baeza, Jaén) (current Museum of the Oil of Andalusia) in a well-off family of olive farmers, where, together with his other 3 brothers, he studied primary education thanks to a private teacher in his Hacienda, until it was time to study the Bachillerato, and his father sent him to the Institute of Baeza.
José Carlos, “Lalos” for his family, was the eldest of 4 brothers. At the age of 4 he made his first drawing, shapes from his imagination, which turned out to resemble fish without having seen one before. From then on, he interpreted what he saw and expressed it in drawings, despite the stubborn opposition of his father.
At age 12, after a tragic family incident, he returns to the Hacienda to dedicate himself to caring for his mother, and to draw for her, fearing to be discovered by his father, until her death when he was 16. He leaves his house then to go to Madrid, with 8,000 pesetas, in his pocket, walking throughout the capital. There he was ecstatic contemplating galleries and museums, observing, asking and copying artworks in museums, like any other art student.
He finished his phase in the capital and went to Barcelona where he visited the Picasso Museum, studied at the Massana School, painting sketches and small works that he sold to survive. He came into contact with a young independent alternative theater group, “Els Joglars” and began studying Theater and Cinematography for more than 5 years. Until one day, for one of the plays, this alternative group needed to present a poster and … there was Carlos wishing to do it. From this reencounter with the graphic arts he understood that his desire was to dedicate himself fully to painting.
His adventurous life took him to Ibiza where he came into contact with artists and bohemians mimicking their appearance. It was his destiny in that environment to meet the painter Osborne, who, in his stall in the market next to the Muralla, painted abstract miniatures in the mid-70s. With him he started for the first time to work with clay, pigments and Chinese ink and made exhibitions such as in the Gallery “El Olivo” in Ibiza. This is how he was discovered by Isabel Alberich (from the Altea Art Gallery), catapulting him to other cities and countries. He toured Paris, Berlin, Florence, San Francisco … He spent a season in Paris where, in the Latin Quarter, he made his living painting in the street. He also lived in Florence where he studied Art, enrolling freely in the University, taking courses and receiving lessons, when his financial resources allowed it.
In summary, Carlos Parra is an artist who graduated in Art from the University of the street.
He currently lives on the Island of La Palma (Canary Islands) preparing his return to Lanzarote where he will set up his “House of Life” which will be his Residence, Workshop and Therapy Room based on Reiki, of which he is a teacher