It takes much more than raw talent to be recognized as an established artist. It takes education. Experience. Recognition. During his lifelong career as a renowned illustrator, cartoonist, fine artist and designer, Luis Macharé has a unique combination of all of those elements.
Attending the Chicago Art Institute and graduating from the prestigious Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Lima, Peru, he has built a career that spans three continents, including South America, the United States and Europe.
His experience encompasses the film industry, advertising, editorial and graphic design fields. Mr. Macharé’s use of media is wide and varied, ranging from traditional media such as oils, acrylics, pastels, pen and ink and pencil, to computer graphics programs including Painter, Adobe Illustrator and PhotoShop. His subjects include portraiture, editorial illustration, courtroom sketches, cartoons and caricatures and hand-generated typography.
As an editorial illustrator, Mr. Macharé worked for La Cronica, Lima, Peru; Editoriál Novaro, Mexico City; La Raza, Chicago, IL; and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee, WI. He also served as art director for Kranzten Studios in Chicago and continues to provide illustrations for both business and editorial clients. Clients include the Italian Tourist Bureau, The Washington Times, Telemundo/Channel 44-Chicago, Catholic Knights, United Heartland, Miller Brewing Company, the Harvard Business School Club of Wisconsin, Halquist Stone Company, Journal Communications, and Laughlin/Constable Advertising.
For the past fourteen years, Mr. Macharé has been chosen to paint the portrait of the Business Leader of the Year for the Harvard Business School Club of Wisconsin. He has had the opportunity to capture the personalities of local business leaders such as Michael Cudahy, Pleasant Rowland, George Dalton, Steve Marcus, James Wigdale, Richard Teerlink, Katherine Hudson, Frederick Stratton, Jr., Jeffrey Immelt, Vincent Martin, Don H. Davis, Jr. and James Ericson. These portraits are on display at private homes and corporate headquarters.
Mr. Macharé’s published sketches from his worldwide travels brought his work to the attention of the Italian Tourist Bureau and Hollywood film producers. It led to numerous commissions that allowed him to travel in Italy and France where he painted street scenes and landscapes from the streets of Rome to the farmlands of the Po Valley; from Cannes to the gardens of Giverny. The commissioned work was used for publication in travel publications.
Much of his work focuses on the rich traditions and visual splendor of Hispanic culture. He is active in Hispanic events across southeastern Milwaukee. Mr. Macharé was selected to paint a 24’ x 8’ mural for the Pabellón de la Hispanidad in recognition of the centennial of Milwaukee’s Mexican Fiesta. Where is this now, In addition, he was in charge of fundraising, exhibit design and event coordination for the Pabellón. For Milwaukee’s annual Folk Fair, he painted a large triptych of scenes from Cuzco, Peru to form the backdrop for the Peruvian Exhibit. Location.
Recent projects include a series of ten oil paintings for Café Esperanza, Waukesha, Wis; a series of paintings for HUSCO International (company description), and several privately commissioned portraits and landscapes.
In 2006 he completed the first of two cultural awareness projects funded by the Mary L. Nohl Foundation and La Casa de Esperanza. The Young Artists Program included Jessica López, Anais Werkmeister, Tas Oszkay Febres and Omar Hernandez. It was developed to show the community the beauty and richness of Latin culture and to teach young Hispanic artists the process of developing artwork and the medium of oil painting. By teaching the importance of research as the basis for artistic inspiration, along with the craftsmanship of media and technique, the program provided a rich and practical experience for the young artists who participated in the program.
The student paintings are based on the in-depth research of the culture of different Central and South American countries. Research included landscape and life of the people in each region: Folkloric dance, literature art, and music, as well as the musicians, poets and writers behind the work. Students selected a country for varied reasons: Places they had lived, places where their family was born, or places that attracted them because of music or historical events.
After researching their country, students met to share ideas for their paintings. Initial sketches were presented for review and feedback. The next step was producing colored sketches. Final paintings were created from the sketches. Over a period of three months, seven of the students created thirteen 3’x4’ paintings. Students worked on their own time and met on weekends and Tuesday evenings to work on specific aspects of painting techniques.
For Mr. Macharé, it was a privilege and a tremendous experience to work with these talented young people. It allowed him to share his joy of art and give him a renewed sense of enthusiasm and purpose.
Mr. Macharé’s artwork has been exhibited at a number of venues, most recently at the Chateau de Orsay in Orsoy, Germany.
As a full-time established artist, Mr. Macharé continues his travels and producing stunning visuals of his experiences to share with the world. He focuses on sharing his work and his creative gifts to those outside of the art community to expose everyone to the world of fine art.
