Hi, I'm Juan Camilo Jaramillo, but you can call me ViejoTal. I'm a self-taught artist who jumped into the art scene at the age of 55. By day, I'm a marine biologist and professor covering environmental topics at various universities. On the side, I've been exploring different painting styles like classic oil on canvas, oil dripping, oil pastels on wood, watercolors, and spray paints. Sometimes, I mix them all up in one piece.

What makes my paintings stand out are Invisible Pigment Optics (IPOs), also known as phantom pigments. These little magic pigments react to mid-and-short range UV light wavelengths. So, when you shine some UV light on my paintings, they reveal a whole new side or landscape. It's like a secret layer that comes to life. And if you pop on some Chroma Depth® Glasses, they also become 3D!

Art from the cloud forest

The studio where I work is in the middle of a forest in the lush mountains of Colombia, South America, at 2,500 meters above sea level, in what is usually called by ecologist as Mountain Super Humid or Tropical Montane, Cloud Forest. A unique, very special and endangered high biodiversity tropical ecosystem.

I’m no art school grad, so I don’t bother much with fancy painting techniques. Instead, I trust my gut and love to experiment to get the results I’m after.

Being a scientist, teacher, and eco-activist; my paintings aren’t just about pretty pictures. They carry subtle messages filled with emotional concern about the state of our biosphere and the fate of all creatures on Earth. I’m particularly drawn to topics such as bioluminescence, biofluorescence, and other biological light phenomena that occurs in our oceans and jungles when I’m creating my art.