From my studio: Roger Estrany

Roger Estrany is a master of the female portrait whose style draws on Expressionism and Neo-Expressionism. Today he's the star of the From my studio section.

1. ¿Cuándo y por qué empezaste a pintar?Procedo de una familia de pintores y en casa teníamos dos estudios de pintura, por lo que mi primer contacto con el arte fue completamente natural, cotidiano y lleno de cariño y buen humor. Tuve acceso a gran cantidad de materiales y también a libros y revistas de arte, también pude presenciar en directo la realización de las obras de mi tío, que es doctor en Bellas Artes, y que me transmitió su devoción por la pintura. Aprendí a darlo todo en cada obra.

2. What time of day do you prefer for painting? How much time do you devote to painting?
The concept of time in painting is relative. You can spend weeks thinking about a painting and then do it very quickly, but in general, once I start a painting I can't think about anything else until I see it finished, it absorbs me completely and takes me to sensations that are impossible to experience outside art.

3. Of all the paintings you've done, which is your favourite? Why?
I don't have favourites. Once the painting is done I feel it doesn't belong to me, it belongs to the world now and I detach myself from it emotionally.

4. If you could be reincarnated as a master of art, who would you have liked to be?
Without a doubt: Leonardo. Not just for the perfection of his artworks, but because he created a painting that embraces and reaches the timeless. The Mona Lisa's smile is eternal.

5. What is or are your sources of inspiration?
I focus especially on the female portrait as a vehicle for expressiveness and beauty, though I've also worked in the abstract and on some recurring themes: the sea, still lifes, copies of historical paintings, nudes, maternities... but what really motivates me is the female portrait.

6. Of all the art movements, which one has the greatest influence on your artwork?
Expressionism and Neo-Expressionism. They're movements with no tradition in Spain, they're rooted in central Europe and the United States, but when I discovered German Expressionism, and Oskar Kokoschka's work in particular, it was a huge shock for me. It seemed impossible to me that anyone would dare to paint with those colours and with his interpretation of drawing and brushwork. I felt, and still feel, an irresistible identification with Expressionism.

7. What does art mean to you? What role does it play in your life?
My profession is music and my passion is painting. Art is a daily discovery and a struggle to go beyond your own limits. It also leads us to personal and collective fulfilment and to connecting with an inner beauty that without art would stay hidden.

Discover Estrany's artworks here