Torrelavega (Cantabria), 1936.

The light of Madrid and its surroundings with tones so different from those of the mountains of his native land, would provide him with another element so characteristic of his painting, color, an element that, together with the sovereignty of the line, has constituted since those years. (1959-1961) a constant chord in his work. It is however later, in the 60s when the great influence exerted on him by the city of Paris, constitutes the painter we know today. His arrival in the city of lights supposes, on the one hand, the possibility of directly contemplating what had been the complex and rich panorama of the fin de siècle of French painting, but also, the encounter with the language of abstraction on the rise then, which It interests him above all in its signic and gestural aspects. It is in this city where he lives the warmth of the climate created in the spring of 68, understanding the place as an ideal setting to finally make his own bet on the material and the color, the line and the spatiality. It is in the 70s when a softening can be noticed in the way in which the painter begins to look inward, towards the Hispanic tradition of expressionism itself. Sobrado recovers expressionism not to describe situations but to express emotions. In this way, he creates works where flat color is used and where there is an approach to some of the medieval art forms, such as the art of stained glass or cloisonné enamel.

Already in the 80s and 90s, there is a clear reflection in his works in which there are influences from Van Gogh, Cèzanne, a certain approach to Fauvism. Also a black series where the painter reflects the night of the big city, entering dark streets and clubs to paint what he sees. Always with a schematic line, a background of bitumens and ashes, and no more than the occasional touch of yellow, blue or red. Finally, it is today in the 21st century when his personal style is increasingly refined and synthetic. His work presents a wide variety of figures and interiors, continuing with the investigation, in particular in the possibilities of representation of the feminine, portraying a woman in an intimate attitude that demands the viewer’s gaze.