BraveBirdy

A few weeks back, around March 18th to 28th, I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful historic Spanish town of San Luis Potosi in Mexico. The town itself is a gem of architecture, with gorgeous carved churches, stunning stone statues, and absolutely wonderful Spanish housing (from the conquest era). 

Among these great sights was the rather large Museo Arte Contemporáneo de San Luis Potosí.

(The museum at the central square of San Luis Potosi, Mexico)

I got very lucky that day, because lo and behold there was a popular exhibition of an artist by the name of Edgar Flores. Flores, who goes by the name Sanes, is a Mexican born artist that graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de México with a degree in graphic design. Sanes' creations are highly influenced by his native Mexican culture, and this is quite apparent in his work. 

The show was titled "Primitivo", or "Primitive" in English, and centered around the idea that humanity lives in a world that values achievements and technology, rather than the basics of life. However, humans are quite primitive in that sense as well, since the need to survive and achieve will cause individuals to stop at nothing to achieve their desires (murdering others, taking over territory, stealing, etc..)

(The Political Swindler , 2014)

The first piece that caught my attention was "The Political Swindler2". The image is striking because it depicts a traditional red Mexican coyote mask over a very rigid man in a suit. At first glance, without knowing his subject matter, I thought about the image representing a type of "wolf in sheeps clothing" theme. When I finally translated the description of the work, I realized that the figure is a symbol for the Mexican government and how they covered up the kidnapping and murder of 42 Mexican students. Sanes was reacting to how the government sat idly by as its own military conducted horrific acts of violence.

The work is bold, as if daring you to challenge it, and very intimidating to look at. 

(People vs People, 2014)

The next image that I came across was the dramatic "People vs People". Sanes incorporates a bold red colour to enhance the intensity of the overall scene. The two figures are once again represented by Mayan imagery, with the coyote masks and the fragmented faces. The piece speaks to the fact that humanity is killing itself by turning on its own. Sanes wrote that the top figure represented the government and the bottom represented the people, another reaction to the kidnapping and murder of the 42 students.

Overall, I found the gallery quite immersive. Sanes uses incredibly bold colours that really call for you to look at the piece in its entirety. The Mexican culture that is present in his works is quite interesting to me, as I absolutely love the folk tales of the ancient Mayans and Aztecs. The work was hung rather basically around the rooms, with large frames, as some of these pieces were 58 x 46 inches in size. 

The one thing I would've liked at the exhibit is different lighting. The lighting was very basic, white light, and I feel as though if it had been tinted or focused only on the paintings and not the room, the dramatic effect of the paintings would've increased.

But alas, the fact that the exhibit talked about liars and decievers in governement while being located within a conquered Spanish city really added a flavour to his themes.

This week I got to interview an amazing artist, known Kerby Rosanes, a Manila based illustrator that creates amazing pieces of artwork with micron pens. Kerby has always been an inspiration to me, as he incorporates the ideas of freedom, nature, and conservation the same way that I attempt to in my own works.

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Bio: kerby Rosanes is a 24-year old illustrator that uses a unique sketchy style with ink pens. Just recently he has begun using the iPad Pro to create some digital works with the Apple Pencil, however he claims that he would rather use his favourite traditional means to create his magnificent works of art.

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Mr Rosanes, it's a pleasure to meet you on behalf of Brave Bird Studios today for an artist interview of yourself. Our viewers are quite interested in your work and are elated that you are sharing your words of wisdom with us.

Good morning, it;s always great to meet new friends. I'm excited for this interview.

Q1: Mr. Rosanes, how did you get started in the art world? What was your inspiration?

A1: I've always wanted to be an atist. I always wanted to pursue a career in art. My college in my province did not offer any Fine Arts course, so instead I took an IT course. My notebooks were filled with doodle of characters, random ink sketches, and more, all mixed in with my math equations and study notes. It became hard to differentiate at times haha. As for inspirations, I grab inspiration from all sorts of things. I travel a lot, so I grab inspiration from, say, the animals I see, or how a leaf falls. Nature is quite beautiful and we can learn so much from it's design. I'm also inspired by dedicated artists like Hayao Miyazaki and Joe Fenton. 

Q2: What about nature fascinates you as a creator?

A2: Nature is powerful and constantly changing. The patterns you could find in, for example a bird's feather, can be adapted to so many designs. I mean, how many logos do you see with a leaf or a flower, even an animal? A lot. And that's the beauty of nature. It can be captured and applied over and over again in many different ways. I love the textures of trees and fur, and drawing them really gets my mind into the product.

Q3: What kind of work do you create?

A3: Well I mostly work in traditional means, most notably pen, ink and markers. A majority of my works are in black and white, and include a LOT of elements. There is a lot of line work involved in my art and I love it. My design style has been dubbed "doodle art" by the internet haha. In 2012 I started a sketchbook project, just a personal little thing where every day I would sketch something that I thought about, something that inspired me, or just a random object. This gained a lot of attention over Instagram and soon I found myself landing huge clients like GM, Mazda, Huawei and more. My works can be found on cover art for albums, books, posters, magazines, and I even have my own colouring books dedicated to grown-ups.

Q4: How do you work on your pieces? What does your studio look like?

A4: My studio is actually not a studio. It's just a desk that sits in the corner of my condominium. I usually surround my work with action figures, collectibles, and basic sketches, as well as play some music so that I can be inspired and really lose myself in the work. I do tend to take my sketchbook outside a lot so that I can draw what I see.

Q5: You've stated that you use mostly pens. What about for bigger clients? What do you use for their works?

A5: For bigger clients I tend to use Photoshop. Just recently I've discovered the ease of the iPad Pro and the Apple Pen. It's quite comfortable and easy to fix my lines and illustrations if I need to. 

Q6: Do you use any hardware for your digital drawings aside from the iPad Pro?

A6: Yes, I use a drawing tablet. It is a Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch tablet. It's mostly for refining.

Q7: Talk about your pens for us. What kind of pens do you like to use and why?

A7: For pens I use Uni Pin Fineliners. They are very light and seem to flat across the page when I use them. I've explored a whole lot of felt pens, ink pens, even gel pens, but I find that this brand of pen does the job very well. The tip sizes I use are usually within the range of 0.05 and 0.8. If I have a larger area, I use a Sharpie marker. It saves time and ink.

Thank you very much Mr. Rosanes for your time. It was an interesting interview. Do you have any final words for our readers?

Thank you for the opportunity. Honestly, just keep working at what you love. Do what inspires you and who knows, maybe you'll find a new calling.

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Kerby Rosanes

http://kerbyrosanes.com

https://www.instagram.com/kerbyrosanes/?hl=en