On December 6th, I attended Carlos Herzog’s art show, at the McGuffey Art Center here in Charlottesville. Upon walking inside, I was met with beautiful depictions of animals in their natural habitats, from wolverines in forests to capybaras in savannahs. Each piece was more intricate and detailed than the last, some even looked like photographs. The paintings were all made between 2016 and 2024, and displayed in all kinds of mediums and canvas sizes. “Some pieces are the ones from the past and the newer pieces show how much better I’ve gotten at my talent,” shares Herzog.
Herzog has been doing art all his life. He started oil painting back in 2016, but didn’t start taking sketching classes until this year. He enjoys creating still-life paintings as well as landscapes, but most of all loves to draw animals and plants. In terms of mediums, Carlos prefers oil, water, and acrylic paints, and for sketching, colored or regular pencils. After putting hours upon hours of work and commitment towards a hobby he loves most, when Carlos was given the opportunity to showcase his work, he took it.
Herzog is currently working on one of his favorite projects which is yet to be released. “I don’t really have a favorite piece but my most proudest piece (which wasn’t in my show because it’s in progress a little) is a 30×30 painting of animals based on a shirt from the Smithoinan’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (made it my own).” writes Herzog. As he gains confidence in his abilities, he is able to really show how much he knows and experiment with new techniques, materials, and subjects.”
