Padilla works with thin layers of transparent and translucent color, using stencils and other forms of masking to create surfaces that are not only intriguingly elusive in their coloration—greens merge into yellows and earth tones, blues mesh with grays—but also seem to pulse as the imagery carried on different layers flows from one depth to another. The paintings also engage a specific vocabulary of imagery... that suggest an affinity for natural forms and rhythms as well as an ability to take pleasure in the delights of pattern and ornament. -Marcia Morse