José Herrera Gallegos shared some of his favorite tips and techniques with watercolor.
Here’s a Q&A with Jose:
¿Por qué haces arte?
When I was a child, I realized that I had a certain ability to reproduce the world I saw. Now I make art because it serves as balance in a digitalized world and also allows me to celebrate culture.
¿Cuánto tiempo llevas pintando?
I have kept my drawings since I was four years old. I formally started at seventeen and I have been living off my art since that age.
¿Recibiste formación artística formal?
I never attended any art school; due to family issues I was not able to go to university. But I don’t say that I am self-taught, since we all at some point observe an artist develop their technique.
¿Eres artista profesional o aficionado?
I am a full-time working artist.
¿Quién te inspira?
Although I admire the great realism artists who capture nature, my main inspiration comes from surrealist painters – they influence my personal art. I am an admirer of Salvador Dalí, Maurits Escher, H.R. Giger and the great portrait painters like Rembrandt. From my country I really like Rafael Cauduro, who recently passed away.
¿Qué tipo de música escuchas mientras pintas?
I mainly listen to heavy metal! But I have an eclectic music collection, including new age Cuban trova.
¿Has tenido algún mentor?
I don’t have a mentor as such, but I was fortunate to meet two or three really good artists in my city who were a great influence, helping me to consolidate my work years later.
¿Pintas todos los días?
My life is permeated by painting, but there are days when I like to do other things like meeting friends, going somewhere new, or playing a sport. A break is always good.
¿Pintas una pieza a la vez o trabajas en varias simultáneamente?
I paint at least two pieces at the same time – while one is drying, I start the other.
¿Primero creas un boceto conceptual?
For my personal work, I always create a concept prior to an idea – I like to tell a story.
¿Prefieres pintar en estudio o al aire libre?
Both are important. The studio allows me to work more comprehensively with better concentration in the closed space, and painting outdoors allows me to train my eyes and appreciate things better.
¿Cuántos colores básicos utilizas?
I really like the browns, then grays and turquoise blue.
¿Tubos, sartenes o palitos?
Tubes allow more versatility.
¿Cuándo sabes que tu obra está terminada?
Well the typical answer is that you never know when a painting is finished. But I’ve definitely learned that over time, it’s not that difficult for me to determine if a piece is already at its completion point.
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Únase a nosotros en línea cada semana a través de Zoom o Facebook para un Conversación íntima y personal con John Cogley (Daniel Smith, propietario y director ejecutivo) junto con artistas invitados de todo el mundo. Los jueves (2:00 p. m., hora del Pacífico), John y algunos de nuestros Embajadores de marca Destacamos un grupo de colores y respondemos a tus preguntas. Los viernes (10:30 a. m., hora del Pacífico), un artista invitado comparte una demostración con sus consejos y técnicas favoritas. Haz clic aquí para ver los enlaces de Zoom de la próxima semana..
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