I was born in Cormeilles en Parisis, Paris (France), in 1967, though I grew up in Spain, in Madrid. A civil engineer by profession, I started painting seriously a little under four years ago.
When and why did you start painting?
I started painting as a kid, with my father's paints, papers and brushes, sitting at his feet (he's a watercolourist too). I painted all through university, selling the odd picture to pay for my nights out, my vices, etc. Then a break of some 20 years without touching a brush and in 2013, back to square one. Traumatic, hahaha.
How do you think a gallery and its artists should help each other?
Phew, tricky question. I understand where galleries stand, they combine their passion for art with the business side, but I think sometimes it would be good to step outside the established circuit, away from the big names, to make room for lesser known people. It would also help to keep commissions down, to make exhibiting cheaper. As for the artists, letting galleries advise them, not so much on the subject matter of the artworks, obviously everyone paints whatever comes from inside them at that moment, but on prices, presentation, formats, etc. Sometimes we think our artwork is worth more than people are actually willing to pay, and if we have to go through a gallery, we have to understand that what they want, quite rightly, is to sell.
What advice would you give to artists who are starting to show their work?
Well, I think that unless you have contacts in galleries and they're willing to bet on you from the start, the quickest route is social media, virtual galleries, blogs, personal pages, etc. Basically, the internet. It's a fantastic help for getting known all over the world. Also exhibiting, in group shows, anywhere they offer you, especially if you see interest: restaurants, hotels,… not just the classic galleries.
How did you sell your first artwork? Is there one you feel a stronger connection with?
Well, before that break I mentioned, while I was at university, I sold watercolours, so it would have been around my twenty-somethings (a millennium ago, more or less). That paid for my nights out, I didn't buy materials because I used my father's, hehe. It was to the owner of a photo shop, who later bought many more.
As for the artwork, I couldn't name just one, nor many either, right now I'd narrow it down to four, and curiously three of them have to do with snow, and they're all fairly large.
What is art for you? What part does it play in your life? Do you make a living from art?
Emotion. Something vital, it doesn't even have to be beautiful. Something that stirs you inside, inexplicable. The easy answer would be to say hugely important, vital … I really think I go looking for it and I find it in a thousand things, not just in painting. People who can create art amaze me.
I'd love to make a living from art, but no. Through classes, sales, etc, I do manage to make it pay for itself and a bit more, but right now I don't live off it.
What are your sources of inspiration? Do you identify with any other artist?
The street, landscapes. Although there is a leaning towards urban ones, in general every landscape is a reason to be inspired. I picture myself there and off I go. I've travelled quite a bit, and I have hundreds of photos from many parts of the world. Every time I see something that catches my eye, I take a photo, and I ask friends who travel to take photos for me. Maybe that gives my work little thematic consistency … I'll focus at some point, or not.
There are wonderful painters who obviously influence you even if you don't realise it. Among my favourites: Andrew Wyeth, Lars Lerin, Joseph Zbukvic, Joan Coch, Francisco Castro and many others.
What is it about your creative process that makes it special?
Basically getting inside the subject, that's very important. Studying the view in front of you, whether it's a photo or from life. That's why, if it's from a photo, I prefer it to be mine, or at least of places I've been to, places I've lived. Then, depending on the day, the right music.
Have you had any exhibitions lately, what can you tell us? Any project in mind?
The last one, this March, in Jerez, surrounded by the best watercolourists in Spain, at the González Byass bodegas. One of the best spaces I've seen, an absolute marvel. As was the welcome we got.
As for projects, well, taking part in whatever exhibitions come my way, on my own or with others, entering competitions, carrying on teaching and, above all, carrying on painting until I paint the way I have it in my head. Maybe in a few years...
Could you recommend us:
An artist: Andrew Wyeth
An artwork: Wind from the sea, Andrew Wyeth, 1947.
A book: I read a lot so I'll go with what I'm reading now. The four books in the travel series Un Mundo Aparte, by Daniel Landa.
A film: I'm a bit of a geek, Blade Runner.
Thank you very much.
We invite you to visit Jacques Villares' gallery on Artelista.
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