Interview with JKPP artist Erica Smith

Erica by Chris Dodwell

Erica Smith has already made more than 100 portraits for the party and is currently organizing a JKPP meet that will take place next February on UK South Coast. In this interview Erica talks about her artwork, her involvement in comic and zine movement of the 90's, her preferences in art and her idea of portraiture.

Zoraida de Torres: Erica, you seem a Renaissance woman to me: you are a graphic artist who also makes drawings and printworks, you've made comics and wrote about them, you make beautiful photos, you organise all kind of events... How would you describe yourself?

Erica Smith: I am a self-employed graphic designer. I live in a town on the south coast of England. I like people and if I am interested in something I will explore it. It’s nice to be called a ‘Renaissance Woman’... sometimes I feel more like a dilettante. I originally joined Flickr because I used to take photos as a ‘visual blog’, but since joining JKPP I use Flickr for my drawings. I also help organise events locally because I like to make things happen. I used to draw comics, but haven’t done that for a long time. The not-for-profit projects I work on bring me great pleasure. There is always a bit of tension between ‘money work’ and working on projects which I feel are just as valuable but are not-for-profit.

Z: You work as a freelance graphic designer. Can you tell us the difference between the artwork you do for your clients and the artwork you do for your pleasure?

E: I studied Typography and Graphic Communication, and my approach to design is ‘problem-solving’. My clients are usually small businesses or local organisations with a limited budget. I help them use their budgets as effectively as possible to communicate to their target audience. I like it, and it is creative, but also can be restrictive.The artwork I do for pleasure is more challenging... there are no boundaries except my ability as an artist. But the work I do for pleasure definitely feeds back in to my commercial design work. Last year I used my illustrations in commercial projects, and that is thanks to the practice and confidence I have gained thanks to JKPP.

Z: What is for you the difference between graphic art and fine art? What gives an image a particularly "graphic" character?

E: I think all art is part of the same spectrum, but the art I am drawn to is definitely more graphic... black and white line artwork, or work that uses strong flat areas of colour. I am not very interested in tone and modelling, or photography as a fine art. I think I became a graphic designer because I love symbols, and working out the simplest way to express an idea or an image. I am not at all interested in a lot of contemporary fine art... installation art or screen-based art. I would much rather look at a nice Grayson Perry pot which combines interesting ideas with accomplished drawing and craft.

I am also really drawn to African barbers’ signs and Mexican folk art. I love the simplicity and the colour. This appeals to me much more than Indian and Asian art which is more detailed and sophisticated.

GirlFrenzy covers

Z: You've been involved in the feminist zine movement of the 90´s. What was GirlFrenzy and why did you created it? Do you think the world has changed since the time the last issue of this zine was published?

E: In the early 90s, the name ‘GirlFrenzy’ popped into my head, and I thought it was such a great name I should do something with it. I was a bit bored with my job as a junior designer, and I was a bit bored with the lack of magazines which covered things I was interested in, so I thought I’d make my own ‘zine’. GirlFrenzy was always half articles and half comic strips, and was all ‘by women for people’. I produced the first GirlFrenzy in a vacuum, but it hit the right note and was an important part of an explosion of small press publications.

I’d like to think things have moved on since GirlFrenzy was published, but sometimes I wonder! Equality between the sexes seems to be making slow progress if you look at who still retains money and power. Even within the comic art world, it is still predominantly men writing and drawing the graphic novels, and women colouring them. Generally, I think women have more confidence and opportunity than when I was growing up, but the pressures to conform to a media-determined image of beauty are just as strong, if not stronger.

Z: I know you have a great collection of comics. Who are your favourite comic artists from past and present?

E: I do have a big collection of comics from the time I was producing GirlFrenzy, but I rarely read comics now. Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis and Embroideries, and works by Woodrow Phoenix are the exception. I did get jaded with the comics world, because it seems to attract a kind of person who doesn’t want to grow up. I think keeping a childlike joy in the world is important, but it is also important to accept adult responsibilities. Kate Evans is an excellent comic artist who was first published in GirlFrenzy, and I love her more recent work about subjects as diverse as climate change and breastfeeding. My all time favourite comic artist has to be Jaime Hernandez. It was his stories in Love and Rockets that inspired me to produce GirlFrenzy, and I still love looking at his drawings. Similarly, Dan Clowes and Adrian Tomine hit the spot for me. And I love Caroline Sury’s art brut style work for Le Dernier Cri in France.

Z: And if we talk about art in more general terms, which would be your favourite styles and authors?

E: Within the broader art world, I tend to like the art of printmakers and illustrators over painters. I have a print by a British artist called Anita Klein which makes me very happy, and small pieces by local artists such as Katherine Reekie and Hazel Brook. I also have some lovely Cuban film posters. I recently rediscovered the work of David Gentleman, a fantastic British illustrator. I admire the work of painters like Francis Bacon, but I wouldn’t want to live with a Bacon painting, give me a Matisse or a Miro any day!
 

Portrait of Bill Rogers by Erica Smith

Z: You've been a Flickr member since 2006, first with the nickname "Erica Hastings" and now as "EricaStLeonards". How has been your experience with Flickr community?

E: When I joined Flickr it was just to find a place to put my photos, and turn them into html for MySpace. Now I never use MySpace and hardly ever upload a photo. I have always loved the Flickr community and have friends that I met through Flickr. Some I have met, like the fabulous photographer DJ Bass in Margate, and some I may never meet, like Bill Rogers in Tampa, Florida. It was the drawings in Bill’s Flickr stream that introduced me to JKPP. I love Flickr because it is a fabulous portal into different worlds. I have contacts who are photographers, craftspeople and artists. I love seeing the images pop up onto my home page. These days most of my uploads are drawings and most of my favourites are other people’s drawings. I find Flickr an inspirational visual resource, and the Flickr community has always been very supportive.

Z: You are also a very active member of JKPP group, with more than 100 portraits made. What is portraiting for you?

E: I’ve been a member of JKPP for about 18 months. It was curiosity about Bill’s drawings that drew me into the group. Sometimes I wonder why on earth I am drawing portraits, because it is a very hard thing to do! I think it is because I love people, and I’m very curious about them (my boyfriend would say I am nosey). There is something remarkable about drawing a portrait, because you have to really pay attention to that person. It is a very ‘loving’ thing to do. When I’ve been to the JKPP meetups and met people that I’ve drawn, I nearly always know who they are when they walk in the room, and it is always lovely to meet them. It is an extraordinary group to be involved with. I don’t actually like having my photo taken, or even looking in the mirror that much, so it’s been very interesting to have that ‘exchange’ and be both artist and model.

Portrait of Jane Sherwood by Erica Smith

Z: In a recent JKPP meetup, somebody said you were difficult to draw because there was a happy halo around you, a certain "lack of drama". Do you also think that happy people are more difficult to portrait?

E: I haven’t noticed that happy people are harder to draw, but my drawing style is quite simplistic. I have a very round face. I always think I look like a cartoon, so I think I should be easy to draw! The JKPP meetups are very special, and I can’t help but be happy at the ones I’ve attended. I don’t think I’m always so happy, but maybe the stresses of life so far have turned my hair grey rather than put lines into my face! I do think people get much more interesting to look at as they get older.

Z: You seem to be a very popular and active woman, involved in many cultural, social and political events. You've also attended all the JKPP meetups organised in Europe and are organising the next one, that will take place in the UK. How are the preparations going? Would you like to encourage our fellow JKPP members to make that meet in February?

E: I think it’s important to engage with the community you live in, and I know lots of amazing people. The more you put in to life, the more you get out! When I attended the first JKPP meetup in December 2010 in London, I didn’t know what to expect. It was a bit weird to sit and draw whilst people were drawing you. I felt quite self-conscious, but it was also a lovely event to be part of. I feel very privileged to have attended all the other events too, and that’s why I thought it would be good to host one near me.

I don't expect it to be as busy as a JKPP in a major European capital, but I would LOVE JKPP members to attend, so please spread the word! I know some of the artists from the UK, like Maureen Nathan and Martin Beek are coming, and it looks like a few artists are coming over from mainland Europe which is very exciting. It would be great to get some new members to attend too – it would be lovely to meet you – and to have some ‘new blood’ to draw!

If anyone wants to attend, please look at the thread on the JKPP discussion and contact me. If we have 14 or fewer artists, we can use my studio building, but if there is more interest then I will book a larger space, so it is important I know how many artists to expect.

The plan is to have a drawing day in St Leonards on Saturday 11 February, but we will also go to the De La Warr Pavilion in nearby Bexhill on Sunday 12 February. This is a 1930s modernist building with an exhibition of Andy Warhol’s work. I thought it would be fun to visit and we can either draw in the galleries, or use a special room next door for a private drawing session.

Z: Erica, which are your wishes for 2012?

E: My wishes for 2012 are:

1 - For the JKPP south coast meet up to be a success!

2 - To run the Hastings Half Marathon

3 - To draw more

4 - To continue to combine my artwork into my design practice

5 - For the recession to end and world peace to begin!

Interview with Brazilian artist Patrícia Brasil

Patrícia Brasil at her studio - © Jorge Grisi

Colorful and sensitive painter Patrícia Brasil talks about her life in Rio de Janeiro, her artistic work, her sources of inspiration and her link to JKPP group.

Zoraida de Torres: ¿Podrías presentarte brevemente para quienes aún no te conocen? Could you please introduce briefly yourself?

Patrícia Brasil: Sou brasileira, nascida em 1965 na cidade Rio de Janeiro. Sempre fui incentivada por minha família a olhar. Lembro que meu pai me levava para ver o Desfile de Escolas de Samba desde que tinha oito anos. Ficava acordada a noite toda vendo aquele espetáculo de cores. Percebi, desde cedo, que a arte liberta. - Soy brasileña, nacida en 1965 en Río de Janeiro. Mi familia siempre me alentó a mirar. Recuerdo que mi padre me llevaba a ver el Desfile de Escuelas de Samba desde que tenía ocho años. Estaba toda la noche despierta, viendo aquel espectáculo de colores. Desde muy pronto me di cuenta de que el arte libera. - I am Brazilian, born in 1965 in Rio de Janeiro city. I was always encouraged by my family to look. I remember my father taking me to see the Samba Schools Parade since I was eight years old. I stayed up all night watching that show of colors. I realized early that art liberates us.

Z: ¿Cuál es tu formación artística? Which is your artistic training?

P: Nos anos 80 estudei Belas Artes / Gravura na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro e arquitetura em uma faculdade particular. Meu primeiro emprego foi como Pintora de Arte em uma emissora de televisão, reproduzindo quadros e painéis cenográficos. Nos anos 90 migrei para Artes Gráficas onde até hoje atuo como diretora de arte. - En los años 80 estudié Bellas Artes / Grabado en la Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro y Arquitectura en una universidad privada. Mi primer empleo fue de pintora en una cadena de televisión, reproduciendo cuadros y paneles escénicos. En los años 90 me pasé a las artes gráficas, donde he trabajado hasta hoy como directora de arte. - In the eighties I studied Fine Arts / Printmaking at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and architecture at a private college. My first job was as a painter at a television station, reproducing paintings and scenic panels. In the nineties I migrate to Graphic Arts, where I've been working until now as an art director.

Z: ¿Qué estilos y qué artistas te gustan o te inspiran? Which are the artists and styles that you like or that inspire you?

P: Há pouco ouvia a cantora/compositora, Adriana Calcanhoto, na uma música, "Esquadros", que diz: "Eu ando pelo mundo / Prestando atenção em cores / Que eu não sei o nome / Cores de Almodóvar / Cores de Frida Kahlo / Cores! / Passeio pelo escuro / Eu presto muita atenção / No que meu irmão ouve..." Presto muito atenção em tudo. Faço questão de ser conectada para ter uma janela para o mundo. Mas olho principalmente para meu entorno, minha gente, minha cultura. Tenho Heitor dos Prazeres e Tarsila do Amaral como ícones. - Hace poco escuchaba a la cantante/compositora Adriana Calcanhoto, que en su canción "Esquadros" dice: "Me paseo por el mundo / Fijándome en colores / de los que ignoro el nombre / Colores de Almodóvar / Colores de Frida Kahlo / ¡Colores! / Viajo por lo oscuro / y presto mucha atención / a lo que oye mi hermano..." Presto mucha atención a todo. Intento estar conectada para tener una ventana al mundo. Pero miro principalmente a mi entorno, mi gente, mi cultura. Tengo como iconos a artistas como Heitor dos Prazeres y Tarsila do Amaral. - I was just listening the singer/songwriter Adriana Calcanhoto, who says in her song "Esquadros": "I walk through the world / Watching Colors / whose name I don't know / Almodóvar's colors / Frida Kahlo's colors / Colors! / I travel on the dark / I pay close attention / to what my brother listens..." I pay close attention at all. I must be connected to have a window to the world. But I look mainly for my surroundings, my people, my culture. I have artists as icons Heitor dos Prazeres and Tarsila do Amaral.

Z: ¿Cómo defines tu obra? ¿Qué técnicas utilizas? ¿Cuáles son tus temas? How would you define your work? Which are your techniques? And your subjects?

P: Acredito que meu diferencial é o uso a cor descolada da realidade formal. Minha paleta sempre tenta revelar que não é a cor de pele que determina minha realidade multiétnica. Minha temática é do dia-a-dia e me aproprio da linguagem e da cultura popular. Uso tinta acrílica e o suporte, que me sinto bem, é a madeira. - Creo que mi rasgo distintivo es el uso del color al margen de la realidad formal. Mi paleta siempre intenta demostrar que no es el color de la piel lo que determina mi realidad multiétnica. Mi temática es el día a día y me apropio del lenguaje y la cultura popular. Uso acrílicos y el soporte con el que me siento cómoda es la madera. - I think my differential is the use of color detached from formal reality. My palette always tries to prove that it is not skin color what determines my multiethnic reality. My subject is the daily life and I grab the popular language and culture. I use acrylic painting and the support with which I feel comfortable is wood.

Portuguesa da CADEG

Z: Tienes un estilo muy reconocible y también muy coherente. ¿Ha sido así desde un principio? ¿Qué evolución has seguido en tu pintura? You have a very recognizable and consistent style. Has it been like this from the beginning? Which has been the evolution of your painting?

P: Percebo que minha vida acadêmica e profissional me deixou um legado estético enorme. Meu olhar amadureceu me pedindo apenas o essencial. Tudo o que produzo é o resultado de uma vivência pessoal e inevitável. - Me doy cuenta de que mi vida académica y profesional me ha dejado un legado estético enorme. Mi mirada ha madurado, reclamándome sólo lo esencial. Todo lo que produzco es el resultado de una vivencia personal e inevitable. - I realize that my academic and professional life left me a great aesthetic legacy. My way to look has matured, asking me only the essentials. Everything I produce is the result of a personal and unavoidable experience.

Z: En tu obra tiene una presencia destacada el retrato. ¿Por qué esa preferencia? ¿A qué personas te gusta retratar? ¿Pintas a gente anónima, personas de tu entorno, personalidades célebres? ¿Qué buscas cuando haces el retrato de una persona concreta? Portrait is very present in your work. Why this choice? Which people do you like to portrait? Do you paint anonymous citizens, people from you circle, celebrities? What do you search when doing the portrait of somebody?

P: Os rostos contam muitas histórias e é muito bom poder pintar pessoas de verdade, acho assim me vejo melhor. - Los rostros cuentan muchas historias y es muy bueno poder pintar personas reales, creo que así me veo mejor. - Faces tell many stories and it is very good to paint real people, I think that I can see me better this way.

Z: Entre tus muchos retratos tienes una pequeña serie de mujeres brasileñas conocidas: actrices, escritoras, feministas. ¿Por qué elegiste a estas mujeres en particular? Among your portraits you have a series of famous Brazilian women - actresses, writers, feminists. Why did you choose these women?

P: Trabalhei alguns anos como capista de livros. Fiz algumas capas para Editora Rosa dos Tempos e conheci Rose Marie Muraro, editora e feminista brasileira de grande expressão. Foi então que conheci melhor nossa história e percebi a luta que é quebrar modelos de resignação feminina. Muitas mulheres me orgulham não só pelo gênero mas pelas pessoas que são. Na série "Mulheres Brasileiras", retratei algumas mulheres admiráveis. - Trabajé un tiempo diseñando cubiertas de libros. Hice algunas cubiertas para la editorial Rosa dos Tempos y conocí a Rose Marie Muraro, editora y feminista brasileña de gran elocuencia. Fue entonces cuando conocí mejor nuestra historia y entendí lo que costaba romper con los modelos de la resignación femenina. Muchas mujeres me enorgullecen no sólo por su sexo sino por las personas que son. En la serie "Mujeres brasileñas" he retratado a algunas mujeres admirables. - I worked some years as a book cover artist. I did some covers for "Editora Rosa dos Tempos" and met Rose Marie Muraro, Brazilian publisher and feminist of a great expression. It was then when I knew more about our history and realized the struggle required to break the patterns of female resignation. I am proud of many women not only because of their gender but for the people they are. In the series "Brazilian Women" I have portrayed some remarkable women.

Z: También hiciste un retrato de Amy Winehouse. ¿Qué sentiste al enterarte de su muerte prematura? You've also done a portrait of Amy Winehouse. How did you feel when you knew about her sudden death?

P: Nunca havia prestado atenção na cantora Amy, antes de sua estadia no Brasil. Na época a mídia bombardeou noticiários com o assunto Amy Whinehouse. O rosto e a voz da cantora realmente me hipnotizavam. Lamentei saber sobre sua morte. Observo que o acesso às drogas, no meio artístico, é entendido como normal para o cidadão comum. Mas essa realidade, que é epidêmica, mata pessoas no mundo inteiro. Há sempre um decréscimo de talento à medida que o algum vício invade a vida. - Nunca me había fijado en la cantante Amy hasta que estuvo en Brasil. Cuando vino, la cantante estaba en todos los noticiarios y su cara y su voz me hipnotizaban. Lamenté mucho su muerte. Me doy cuenta de que el ciudadano común ve el acceso a las drogas como algo normal en el medio artístico. Pero esta realidad, que es epidémica, mata a personas del mundo entero. Siempre hay una disminución del talento a medida que una adicción invade la vida. - I had never paid attention to Amy before her visit to Brazil. At that time she was in all the media and her face and her voice really mesmerized me. I was very sorry to hear about her death. I notice that the average citizen sees the access to drugs as a normal thing in the artistic circles. But this reality, which is epidemic, kills people worldwide. There is always a decrease of talent when an addiction invades a life.

Z: Me interesa especialmente tu serie "Etnografía singela carioca". ¿Puedes describir brevemente en qué consiste? ¿De dónde surgió la idea? I'm particulary interested in your "Etnografia singela carioca" series. Can you describe what it is? Where did the idea come from?

P: Minha temática é do dia-a-dia e me aproprio da linguagem popular para falar das pessoas que vejo no meu Rio de Janeiro. Tenho uma coleção de pessoas na minha cabeça porque passo muito tempo observando gente. A série "Etnografía Singela Carioca" é meu registro da multiplicidade etnica em que vivo. - Mi temática es el día a día y me apropio del lenguaje popular para hablar de la gente que veo en mi Río de Janeiro. Tengo una colección de personas en mi cabeza porque paso mucho tiempo observando a la gente. La serie "Etnografía Sencilla Carioca" es mi registro de la diversidad étnica en la que vivo. - My subject is the daily life and I grab the popular language to talk about people I see in my Rio de Janeiro. I have a collection of people in my head because I spend a lot of time observing people. The series "Simple Ethnography of Rio de Janeiro" is my record of the ethnic diversity where I live.

Z: Me gusta mucho la aureola en la que envuelves a los personajes. ¿Qué representa? ¿Por qué empezaste a usarla? I love the halo that surrounds the sitters. What does it mean? Why did you begin to use it?

P: Apesar de não ter nenhuma religião, os raios e os olhares vagos dos meus personagens são inspirados em imagens de santos católicos. Empresto esse simbolismo do homem santo para as pessoas que vejo indo para praia, trabalho, mulheres com seus filhos. Acredito mesmo que viver essas pequenas rotinas é que nos faz abençoados. - A pesar de no tener ninguna religión, los rayos y la mirada perdida de mis personajes están inspirados en imágenes de santos católicos. Tomo prestado este simbolismo del santo para las personas que veo yendo a la playa, al trabajo, las mujeres con sus hijos. Creo que vivir estas pequeñas rutinas es lo que nos bendice. - Despite having no religion, the radiant halo and the lost gaze of my characters are inspired by images of Catholic saints. I borrow this symbolism of the holy man for the people I see going to the beach or to the work, the women with their children. I believe that living these little routines is what makes us blessed.

Z: También me gusta mucho tu uso del color, muy potente y eficaz. ¿Cómo eliges la combinación de colores que usarás en una pieza concreta? ¿Es un proceso espontáneo o sigues unas pautas previas? ¿Por qué la piel de los personajes es azul, verde, violeta...? I also love your use of colors, which is very powerful. How do you choose the color combination for a given work? Is it an spontaneous process or do you follow a pattern? Why the skin of people is blue, green, purple...?

P: Nunca planejo ou faço esboços na aplicação da cor. Uma aplicação puxa a outra. As vezes fico imaginando como seriamos se cada pessoa tivesse uma cor, será que haveria menos diferenças? - Nunca planeo o hago esbozos para el color. Una aplicación lleva a la otra. A veces me pregunto cómo seríamos si cada persona tuviese un color. ¿Habría menos diferencias? - I never plan or make sketches for the color. An application leads to another. Sometimes I wonder how we would be if each person had a color. Would there be fewer differences?

Z: Creo que trabajas en el mundo publicitario. ¿Cómo combinas tu trabajo exterior con tu actividad artística? ¿Cuántas horas puedes dedicarte a pintar? ¿Esperas incrementar la dedicación en el futuro? You work in the publicity business. How do you combine your day job with your artistic activity? How many hours can you employ to paint? Would you like to have more time for that in the future?

P: Trabalho como Diretora de Arte em uma House Organ o que me garante estabilidade financeira. A realidade econômica do Brasil hoje é bem mais favorável, vejo interesse crescente em arte como investimento mas, creio que todo artista plástico deva ter uma segunda profissão para não ficar a mercê do aplauso alheio. Dedico quase todo meu tempo disponível em arte, este é meu investimento em um futuro feliz. - Trabajo como directora de arte en una House Organ, lo que me ofrece estabilidad financiera. La realidad económica en Brasil es mucho más favorable hoy. Veo un interés creciente en el arte como inversión, pero creo que todo artista plástico debe tener una segunda profesión para no depender del aplauso ajeno. Dedico casi todo mi tiempo disponible al arte, esta es mi inversión para un futuro feliz. - I work as an Art Director in a House Organ, which guarantees me financial stability. The economic reality of Brazil is much more favorable today. I see a growing interest in art as an investment but I believe that every artist should have a second career for not being at the mercy of others applause. I spend almost all my free time in art, this is my investment for a happy future.

Z: Participas intensamente en la actividad cultural de tu ciudad. ¿Qué es Santa Teresa? ¿Qué tipo de actos organizas? You are very involved in your city's cultural activity. What is Santa Teresa? What kind of events do you organize?

P: Santa Teresa é um bairro na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Santa Teresa tem tradição boêmia e sempre foi morada de artistas plásticos e músicos. Há uma democrática mistura sócio-econômica. As vezes tenho a sensação de que posso ver o mundo sem sair do portão porque é visitado por turístas o ano inteiro. Uma vez por ano acontece o evento “Santa Teresa de Portas Abertas”, onde artistas do bairro abrem seu atelier para visitação pública. Neste ano de 2011 participei e adorei esse contato aberto e receptivo. - Santa Teresa es un barrio de la ciudad de Río de Janeiro. Santa Teresa tiene una larga tradición bohemia y ha sido siempre el hogar de artistas y músicos. Hay una democrática mezcla socioeconómica. A veces tengo la sensación de que puedo ver el mundo sin salir de allí, ya que acuden turistas durante todo el año. Una vez al año se organiza la actividad "Santa Teresa Puertas Abiertas", en la que los artistas del barrio abren sus estudios al público. En este año 2011 participé y me encantó este contacto abierto y receptivo. - Santa Teresa is a neighborhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Santa Teresa has a long bohemian tradition and has always been home of artists and musicians. There is a democratic socio-economic mix. Sometimes I feel that I can see the world without leaving the gate because it is visited by tourists all year round. Once a year is the event "Santa Teresa Open Doors", where neighborhood artists open their studios to the public. In this year, 2011, I attended the event and loved that open contact.

Portrait of Julia Kay for JKPP group

Z: ¿Cómo conociste el grupo JKPP? ¿Qué ha supuesto para ti? ¿Qué te aporta Internet, en general? How did you knew about JKPP group? What has been it for you? What gives Internet to you?

P: JKPP é um grupo de trocas artísticas e foi idealizado pela também artista plástica Julia Kay. É uma espaço para quem tem como afinidade o retrato e como desafio o outro. Já fiz cerca de 15 retratos de participantes deste grupo e fui retratada por vários integrantes. É divertido e acolhedor: fazer parte desta confraria nos torna um artista do mundo. Passei a me interessar por diversas culturas que os rostos desses meus companheiros carregam. JKPP também foi muito importante para que me descobrisse uma retratista. Até então não encarava as pessoas enquanto pintava, apenas retratava a lembrança das pessoas que passavam por mim. - JKPP es un grupo de intercambio artístico, creado por la también artista Julia Kay. Es un espacio para quienes tienen afinidad por el retrato y con el desafío que supone el otro. He hecho cerca de 15 retratos de los participantes y he sido retratada por varios miembros. Es divertido y acogedor: formar parte de esta fraternidad nos convierte en artistas del mundo. He empezado a interesarme por las diferentes culturas que reflejan las caras de mis compañeros. JKPP también ha sido muy importante para descubrirme como retratista. Hasta entonces no encaraba a las personas mientras pintaba, solo retrataba el recuerdo de la gente que pasaba por mí. - JKPP is a group of artistic exchange, created by artist Julia Kay. It is a space for those who have an affinity to the portrait and the other as a challenge. I've done about 15 portraits of participants in this group and have been portrayed by several members. It's fun and friendly: to belong to this brotherhood makes us world artists. I've became interested in different cultures that the faces of my fellow artists bear. JKPP has also been very important to discover myself as a portraitist. Until then, I didn't face people when I painted, I only depicted the memory of people who passed through me.

Z: Y para terminar: ¿"Patricia Brasil" es un pseudónimo, o es tu nombre real? Me gusta mucho porque es eufónico, identificativo y difícil de olvidar. And a last question: "Patrícia Brasil" is an artistic name, or is it your real name? I like it because it is euphonious, recognizable and difficult to forget.

P: Meu nome civil é Patrícia Lima. Em 2004 comecei a deixar minha produção em uma loja que se chama La Vereda, aqui em Santa Teresa onde moro. O lugar é muito visitado por turistas por isso assinava apenas Patricia – Brasil. Com o tempo suprimí o traço que me separava do meu país e adotei como nome artístico Patricia Brasil. - Mi nombre oficial es Patrícia Lima. En 2004 empecé a dejar mi producción en una tienda llamada La Vereda, aquí donde vivo, en Santa Teresa. Es un lugar muy visitado por turistas, por lo que sólo firmaba "Patrícia - Brasil". Con el tiempo suprimí el guión que me separaba de mi país y adopté como nombre artístico "Patrícia Brasil". - My legal name is Patrícia Lima. In 2004 I started leaving my production at a store called La Vereda, here where I live, in Santa Teresa. The place is visited by many tourists so I just signed as "Patrícia - Brasil". Later I suppressed the dash that separated me from my country and adopted as a stage name "Patrícia Brasil".

Some links:

emaildapatriciabrasil@gmail.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/patricia_brasil/
http://www.facebook.com/patricia.brasil.art
http://www.behance.net/gallery/Etnografia-Singela-Carioca-Rio-Natural-Ethnography/1253883
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2048252
http://patriciabrasil.tumblr.com/

The JKPP meetup in Barcelona

Some JKPP members and friends had a great time in Barcelona on the first weekend of July. It was at the third European meet of Julia Kay's Portrait Party group, after the one that took place in London in November 2010 and the second one in Oxford, in March 2011.

This time the gathering was at La Central, a bookshop located in the center of the city, with a beautiful café and a peaceful terrace.


The group at the bookshop terrace, photo by Joan Ramon Farré Barzuri

The portrait party was held on Saturday the 2nd July, but as some of the visitors were already in Barcelona, on Friday evening there was a dinner by the sea.

On the big day, we were a nice bunch. From Barcelona: Magí Batet, Arturo Espinosa, Joan Ramon Farré Burzuri, Arsaytoma (Zoraida de Torres), Swasky (Víctor Martínez Escámez), and some of Swasky's students at a local art school: Míriam, Pedro, Trini (Tinitru), Isaac and Daniel. From other Spanish cities: Miguel RGL and Félix Tamayo, and from other countries: Kai, who came from Germany, Barbara Luel from Belgium, Erica Smith and Susanne du Toit from UK, and Judy Repke who arrived from the US after having attended a watercolor workshop in Costa Brava. At the party we had a few visitors who had learnt about it on USk-Spain blog, and they did some portraits too. At least one of them has recently became a new member of JKPP (Javier Luengo).

It was a happy and busy day. We spent all the morning making portraits from life, some of us discovering that it is much more difficult than from photos. Swasky, who was there as a teacher, knew how to organize the posing sessions in a way that everyone could be portraited and attempt fast and less fast portraits. It was really interesting to see that some people preferred to draw from 5 minute poses, others felt more confortable with 10 minute poses, and others asked for more time to finish their work. Each one was using their preferred media: watercolors, pastels, pen and ink, graphite, digital painting... and the results make an amazingly diverse and lively collection. We were inside a classroom, a slideshow of JKPP portraits and photos was projected on a wall, and everybody was focused and silent, so there was a special atmosphere that surprised the people who came to see us.


The painted wall, photo by Arsaytoma

Also, one of the bookshop owners offered us to paint whatever we wanted on one of the classroom walls. As Judy had big brushes and plenty of watercolor, a few began to paint and now there is a nice mural inside La Central, with the portraits of some of the attendees, plus Julia Kay who was there in spirit and image (with the balloon hat), and Franz Kafka who was there in image (among the posters decorating the classroom) and maybe in spirit too.

Most of us didn't leave the bookshop on the entire day. We had lunch there, and on the afternoon we had coffee at the terrace and made more portraits of each other.

It was planned to add an urban sketching session on Sunday. There was an USk Spain event in Teruel the same weekend, so not much people could come, but we managed to have a good morning anyway with Swasky, Kai, Erica, Barbara, Arsaytoma, Joan Ramon, his brother and his nephew. We went to the port, and once more it was shown that just a few people watching the same thing can produce interestingly diverse works - and have the same fun!

Some of the foreign visitors left Barcelona on Sunday, others stayed a couple of days more... for all of them, and for the people from Barcelona too, the JKPP gathering was a nice short vacation and a good opportunity to practice portraiting from life and make lots of drawings, and of course, to meet each other and talk in a real way, not only through the Internet.

Hope there can be more JKPP meets soon. Maybe in Brussels, as Barbara suggested?


There is a Flickr group about the Barcelona JKPP meetup. You can find here photos, videos, the portraits and sketches made during the wekend, and also the artworks made by other JKPP members who did not attend the meetup.

Interview with artist Tim Clary

Tim Clary, who enriches Julia Kay's Portrait Party with his impressive ink drawings, is going to teach his first portrait class this summer...

Kai: Would you tell me a little about yourself, your education, your profession?

Tim: I studied graphic design at the School of Art & Design at Alfred University. The first year there consisted of a fairly rigorous Foundation program that exposed me to many different mediums and approaches to art from traditional drawing, painting and sculpture to some pretty out there conceptual work. It was kind of an artistic bootcamp which I was more or less totally unprepared for! I did a few more drawing courses my sophmore year before focusing on graphic design.

A few years ago I got the bug to get back to the traditional drawing that originally drove my interest in art and I've been at it ever since.

Kai: I've read that you are a ski instructor and a race coach. What's the difference between these jobs?

Tim: Instructing is teaching casual skiers usually in single lessons, whereas coaching is training a team of competitive athletes over the course of an entire season. I grew up ski racing in high school and college (Slalom and Giant Slalom) so once I started instructing I had always hoped I'd be able to coach a team. I got that opportunity at Hunter Mountain, working first with the 7-10 year old kids for two seasons before moving up to the J1-2 division (15-19 year olds).

Kai: What are you doing in the summer season?

Tim: I try to keep myself busy. I do freelance design and illustration work and I'll be teaching my very first art class later this summer.

Kai: What will you teach your students? Are there any “main skills” one should learn?

Tim: I’m going to try and give my students a solid foundation of skills to be able to capture an accurate, realistic portrait, achieving a likeness and a sense of life and spirit. I’ll be covering things like proportion, understanding the planes of the head, measuring and sighting techniques, rendering tone and value, as well as color theory and basic painting techniques.

Kai: What have you learned from your art teachers?

Tim: I don’t think I had any idea of the breadth and scope of ‘Art’ until I went to college. I was exposed to so much that I never would have discovered on my own. In addition my best teachers always challenged me to push myself further and to work through difficulties.

Kai: Are there any parallels in teaching drawing and skiing?

Tim: I think so. For many people who see a beautiful painting or a great athlete it looks like magic, that they have some great ‘natural ability’. I think that’s a bit of a myth. Both drawing and athletics require disciplined study of fundamental skills and dedicated work at building on those skills. I think anyone can draw and anyone can ski...it’s a question of whether or not you are willing to put the work in.

Kai: What is your main interest in drawing portraits?

Tim: Portraits are fascinating! No two faces are alike and it's a real challenge to try to capture the essence of a person.

Kai: On your flickr photostream you also show figure drawings, mandalas, giraffes, urban landscapes, abstract comics, collages. Where do you get your ideas from?

Tim: Ideas can come from anywhere and everywhere. Things I read, things I see, music I hear, etc. The best advice I can give to any artist is to keep a sketchbook handy and keep an eye out for inspiration. I mostly draw from life or from photographs. Some of the more abstract work are experiments to get me out of my comfort zone and are usually reactions to seeing another artist's work.

Kai: What artists do you think have influenced you most in your way of drawing portraits?

Tim: My initial entry into art was through comics and I still love many of the artists who work in that medium. Artists like Paul Pope and Charles Burns (his portraits for the Believer magazine, in particular) who work in ink are very influential. From the Portrait Party I particularly enjoy the work of N.C. Mallory, Wally Torta, Marty Harris and Nicole Little among many others.

Kai: You got your motto from Ibn Arabi, an andalusian sufi mystic and philosopher, who lived 800 years ago. He said "If you engage in travel, you will arrive." What does this slogan mean to you?

Tim: I think ‘engage’ is the key word in that line. We are all on a journey in this life. But I think only those who truly work to engage in that journey, to see and understand the world and to work towards their objectives will ever get there.

Kai: How does drawing (e.g. portraits) help to see and understand the world?

Tim: I think really studying another person's face will hopefully give you some insight into who they are. More specifically, doing portraits for Julia Kay’s group has brought me into contact (at least virtually) with a vast community of artists from all over the world. The feedback and encouragement I’ve received from you all has been invaluable.

Kai: Did you already “arrive”?

Tim: No, and I don’t know whether I will be able to say if I have or not until after I’m dead and gone! I like to think that on my best days I’m getting a little closer though.

Kai: Is it just a coincidence that your motto originates from the middle ages, or does your interest in the middle ages go deeper?

Tim: That quote is the epigraph to the video artist, Bill Viola's retrospective book, Reasons for Knocking at an Empty House: Writings 1973-1994 and while my copy of that book is long since lost...the quote has hung with me. Most of my sketchbooks have it written on the inside cover...kind of an inspirational (aspirational?) motto, I suppose.

I've never looked into Arabi beyond that quote, although I do wonder about him sometimes...

Link to Tim's portrait class

Link to Tim's ink portraits on flickr

Link to Tim's blog Escape Hatch

JKPP on display at Future Canvas show in San Francisco

On June 6th, the Future Canvas show opened in downtown San Francisco. It will be up until June 23rd. The show is focused on iPad art and features iPad works by several Portrait Party artists. In addition, one iPad on an easel displays a continuous slide show of the entire Portrait Party. JKPP was included to show a community where digital and non-digital artists are working together and being influenced by each other - and not making too big a deal over what media any particular artist uses for any particular piece.

Opening atmosphere:



Here is the description of the Party posted at the show:

Julia Kay's Portrait Party (JKPP) is an international collaborative project in which more than 500 artists from more than 40 countries have so far made made more than 13,000 portraits of each other, with no end in sight. Along the way oil painters and iPad artists, professional exhibiting artists and beginners, bus drivers and lawyers, all rubbed elbows online, learned from and influenced each other, became friends, and started meeting up in person all over the world. And while the community thrived, so did the portraits.

There were some funny conversations at the beginning, for instance when an iPhone artist asked a watercolorist what App they had used - and the watercolorist had no idea what they were talking about. But over time, we've gotten used to each other's terminology and have been very happy to learn from and be influenced by each other. Artists who had stopped making art when adult life got too busy, started up again on iDevices, then became interested enough in what the traditional artists were doing to dig their charcoals out of the closet. And lots of traditional artists watching the developing body of work of the mobile digital artists started borrowing friends' iDevices or downloading art Apps to their own, and mixing it up. Many artists at JKPP go back and forth between traditional and mobile digital media, others combine both techniques in single portraits, and of course some work exclusively in digital or exclusively in traditional media.

Each portrait is of a specific person, and was made in a specific way. But the body of work as a whole - multiple interpretations of each posted photo in multiple media - each made individually but influenced by all the other interpretations - is far more than the sum of its parts. Dip into the pool on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/groups/portraitparty/) or watch a section of the slideshow to see the party unfold.

The show is open to the public Tuesdays and Thursdays through June 23rd from 4:00PM-7:00PM. Hmmm... those are somewhat unsual hours. If you want to call before heading over, the number is (415) 843-1GAF.

There are also two more events this week:

Tuesday, June 7th
Theo Watson & Robert Hodgin Discuss their Work
- Open 6:30PM / Talk 7:00PM

Wednesday, June 8th
An Evening with Douglas Rushkoff
- Open 6:30PM / Talk 7:30PM

Here's the website for more info: futurecanvas.net/

The location is the Gray Area Foundation for the Arts which is in the 'historic' grotto of the 'historic' Warfield Building which contains the 'historic' Warfield Theatre at 998 Market Street, San Francisco, CA. It's between Powell and Civic Center BART stations - two blocks in the grungy direction from the Westfield Mall. I suggest walking from Powell for less grunge :)

I thought they did a beautiful job laying out the show, all the more so since the walls were concrete - you know what that means for hanging shows! Some of the iPad work was printed and framed, some printed on stretched canvas. Interactive art and art apps were on iPads on metal easels, as is the Portrait Party display.

The space is rather large. You can find the Portrait Party on the middle easel of three in a nook on the far side of the room from the entrance, next to my three portraits made with the Hansol Huh's Typedrawing App (in other words, drawn with letters). On the left easel, is an iPad allowing everyone to play with Typedrawing.

Three more of my portraits are to the right as you come down the stairs into the space, next to non-portrait pieces by JKPP member Matthew Watkins, and there are more non-portrait pieces by JKPP artists Nini Teves Lapuz (nini_nini), Greg Durrett (gdurrett), Helene Goldberg (HGBerk), Benjamin Rabe & Susan Murtaugh (suzi54241) in the furthest nook.






A very special thanks to Josh Michaels, the organizer who invited us, and who went out of his way to make it happen in the eleventh hour, when it looked like including the Portrait Party was going to fall through.

Work by JKPP artist Matthew Watkins	Work by JKPP artists Susan Murtaugh and Nini Teves Lapuz	Work by JKPP artists Helene Goldberg and Greg Durrett

Conversation with Catalan architect Joan Ramon Farré Burzuri

I had the pleasure to have a virtual conversation on architecture and art with Catalan architect Joan Ramon Farré Burzuri. I met Joan Ramon via Julia Kay's Portrait Party and he was very kind to answer me patiently. For the readers, I would like to say that my mother tongue being French, I do think in French and therefore my English has a different flavor and many mistakes...


B: Hola Joan Ramon, you are an architect and you are an artist. Your drawings of houses and buildings are, not surprisingly, very good and accurate, the architect background, but you do portraits, very precise and also very loose when applying colours, the artist side. Did you always draw, made art?

JR: First was the love for drawing,... then came the dissatisfaction with the job done.
But the flame was already lit and never faded, and this was the beginning of my passion for art.

B: Did you do a lot of portraits before joining JKPP, or first time?

JR: I was always terrified of drawing portraits. I never draw any portrait before my accession to JK'sPP.

I always considered it is the more difficult job in the world.

In a year that I belong to this group, I learned a lot from my colleagues and I discovered a new way to expression.


B: Is it common among architects to do art, portraits etc...?

JR: Within the guild of architects you can find scientists, writers, musicians, painters, sellers, sportive, bon vivants, and all the possibilities between all concepts .
Some of them have a passion for drawing, but I've never met one architect drawing portraits.


B: Does painting, drawing, make you see buildings, structures, differently?

JR: To me is not very different if I'm drawing a building, a rural landscape or the face of a beautiful woman or a child. Really, the important thing for me is to express the emotion that makes in my inside the contemplation of the objective.
In this sense, the culmination of this idea will be the abstraction.
(still so far of my usual work...)


B:. When I look at modern architecture I see a lot of square boxes with symmetry, aligned windows, no colors, blend etc.... I am not thinking just of skyscrapers but also at all the smaller buildings that make a city.

With modern technologies,being so much sophisticated than before, it seems that style is less exuberant, very severe, like always designed by engineers.
Wouldn't it be possible to have different shapes, to have curves, to break these straight lines, to have other angles than 90 degrees? Gaudi does come to my mind but also Gothic cathedrals, roman arches ...
Are curves a big no no for architects?
Are colors a big no no?

JR: When I read the first part of the question, one word appears in my mind: “minimalism”...

But in the global actual culture, the things aren’t so simples.

Technology has always influenced both process, design and constructive.

The incorporation of reinforced concrete "liberated" the tyranny of cubic shapes recommended by the prismatic form of the brick and allowed the construction of volumes with more freedom.
There are plenty of beautiful examples. For respect to a master of modern architecture, the first of them can be Notre Dame du Haut by Le Corbusier.

http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Notre_Dame_du_Haut.html

At the same time, the incorporation of computer as a tool for project, gave wings to the creation of new shapes and also to the way of representation of these projects.

The first example that comes to mind is the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, designed by Frank O. Gehry.

But this is not the only one, going to let me recommend you a stroll through various examples of how imagination, art and architecture meet and we "give away" beautiful buildings.

I suggest the links below, there are for teams of architects that I think can illustrate the idea of this happy meeting.

Frank O. Ghery: http://www.gehrytechnologies.com/
Enric Miralles/Benedetta Tagliabue: http://www.mirallestagliabue.com/
Morphosis: http://www.morphosis.com/
Coop Himmelblau: http://www.coop-himmelblau.at/
Zaha Hadid: http://www.zaha-hadid.com/home

As you can see, the curves are more a problem for the builder than for the architect.

Referring to your question about the colors, thinking as a creator of forms, I would reply that if a volume is beautiful in itself, it no need to apply color, light will highlights her beauty.

I recognize that maybe it is more an argument from a sculptor than from an architect.


B: After looking at the links you gave me,I agree with you,it is art, imagination and architecture. I see a lot of new shapes, curves and different angles.
Some are so amazing, considering the long way with constraints and compromises from drawing to building.

Back to colour, reading your comment, I have the impression that architects have and develop an eye for volumes, shapes, and space.

Colour, for me, should not be a a decoration, it is part of the object, building, and with a function, like in this example:

http://www.claudecormier.com/project/benny-farm

Green was a perfect choice for these balconies, it was chosen because here in winter we are in need of green.

Thank you very much Joan Ramon.

Joan Ramon's photostream in Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/42114709@N05
Benedicte's photostream in Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/bendelachanal/