The art gallery located in the business building is hosting a special collection by artist Hagop Najarian. Arts and Cultural Programs Director Robert Miller introduces Najarian Tuesday evening to a collecting crowd eager to witness the artist’s new line of work.

Director Miller explained that the gallery at Rio Hondo College isn’t just a place to display art. But to teach the visual appeal of art as well.

Najarian then came before the crowd. He gave a small background to his beginnings in art and his peculiar style of creativity.

Najarian studied at Fullerton College and specified just how community colleges are just as important as four-year schools. The skill to create any kind of art comes from the inside. Rather than the teachings of a professor or a textbook he adds. He mentions for those who want to learn basic painting skills, that they can attend his classes in color theory and paint at Cerritos College.

Najarian’s artwork is titled “Atonal Chromatics.” Described as a line of work that plays forms of colors and how it compliments one another. He also emphasizes the use of playing music in the background. It helps him think and create his drawings and paintings. Najarian says the method of creating paintings is with using multiple colors and brushes. That resembles that of creating music with their layers of instruments and tonal sounds.

As it may be obvious, Najarian is also a musician but his dedication is to his craft as an artist and clarifies it as a full-time job. Working from nine to five is his daily routine. His collection of chromatics is a culmination of a year and a half of thinking and creating and is quite a contempt of the end result. He created his paintings and drawings from his residence in Torrance, California. Influenced by his love and appreciation of music. Jazz and punk-rock music to be exact.

Najarian prefers to work with raw materials and is influenced by traditional painters from the past and those of modern abstract painters. Though he is happy with the final finish of his current works. He admits that knowing where the creation will end up is not always the case. His paintings, in particular, are very much layered with multiple strokes and colors of paint. One painting he clarified, titled “Love Wins by Fighting.” Inspired by the tragic event in the US borders. When families and groups affected by the laws implemented there.

He goes on to describe painting like a chef using different kinds of tastes for his creations. Noting Najarian’s main inspiration is music. He says to listen to a favorable genre of music. Then try to create something from the sounds.

As the introduction was coming to a close. He states his latest collection are the clearest pieces of work he has produced to date. One piece of advice he gave was that he always leaves a voice memo on his phone and tries to write down the general idea on a notepad or whatever he has on hand.

Najarian’s work can be viewed now through October 2 at the business building. Located on the North side of the Rio Hondo College campus.