Francisco Rafael Martinez Yuste who paints under the name Paco de Monreal Yuste was born in Valencia in 1958. From early childhood he felt great fondness and desire for drawing which stayed with him all his life, in fact as a child his favorite pastime was drawing. At 12 years of age his parents moved to Brussels where he entered a boarding school and it was here that his twin fascination of art and music was aroused.

At 17 he started working in the family business but his artistic interests persisted and to satisfy that desire  he entered the Academy of Fine Arts where he began studying at night. As he was torn between drawing and music he moved after a year of studying Fine Art and began studying music. Having studied music theory and classical guitar four and three years respectively he returned to Fine Arts to study illustration and design.

In 1988 he returned to Spain and two years later he began to work on his own illustrations and graphic designs.

From 1998 he started painting with a mixed technique which involves painting the base with quick-drying acrylic and the finished construction is in oil-based glazes. This technique has certain advantages especially the fact that one does not have to wait too long for the paint to dry, plus it gives an excellent good base for oil painting.

His works cover subjects as varied as flowers, crystals, still life and figure. Many of his works are in private collections in Spain, England, Belgium, France, Russia, China and the U.S..


Education

Illustration and graphic design
Academy of Fine Arts, Brussels Belgium

Solo and group exhibitions

2006. Diffusion of the Arts Association. Valencia
2007. Diffusion of the Arts Association. Valencia
2008. Col.lectiva Exposició the "Petit Rome." Odenna's d'Art Gallery. Tarragona
2008. Cova Arts Gallery San Javier Mar Menor Murcia