Interview with Enrique Guerrero

The privilage of interviewing student artist Enrique Guerrero was all mine. He gave me the opportunity to walk into his world and explore the ways he has taken to create art of his own. He has shown me the importance of thoughts and feelings which embody his paintings, as well as the role of symbolism he uses to convey messages dear to him. Unlike artists who strive to convey a theme through a particular painting style, Enrique aims to depict his themes or message strictly through the visual content. However, to fully understand Enrique's world of art, it is imperative to dwelve into the conversation the artist and I engaged in.

Me: So, this is a self-portrait. It's a very dark painting. Is it about sadness?

Enrique: No, it's about identity, It symbolizes me. Me and my personality. People are defined by what they do.

Me: Does the brush you painted represent anything?

Enrique: Yea, the brush symbolizes me. Me and my personality.
Me: Ok

Enrique: You know like, people are defined by what they do. It's like when a bussines person carries a briefcase, they are defined by it. So when people ask you, "What do you do for a living?" And you say "I'm an artist", you have that brush. But here, the brush is painted on the floor, so I lost my identity, and people can't define who I am anymore, that's why there is darkness painted behind me.

Me: hmm... I see you also have a collage.

Enrique: Yes. I'm trying to depict people here who are forced to live a bad life because of a war. I used the American Eagle logo to represent America in the Iraq war.

Me: Why did you choose to write over it, especially, the word 'life' in red?

Enrique: I want to make it dramatic. That's why I used a brush and just expressivelly wrote it in red. 

Me: Why do you also like collages?

Enrique: I like to deal with real, physical things, and put them together.

Me: What else interests you?

Enrique: I'm also into religious pieces. For example I have a painting of my friend, with a composition of one of Caravaggio's paintings.

Me: I see you have a nice portait. Your friend?

Enrique: Yea.

Me: Hm..she's kinda cute...does she go to school here?

Enrique: Heh, yea.

Me: Your style seems very solid and the painting looks rendered to the last detaill. It looks finished.

Enrique: Like you said, you rarely know when a painting is finished. I have the same issue.

Me: The painting does give out a sense of feeling.

Enrique: Yea I try to show the feeling with what I depict. I know you try it with the way you paint.

Me: Yea...is she a senior?

Enrique: Junior I think, hehe.

Me: Another selfportrait. I feel like you're trying to symbolize something here.

Enrique: This is also about identity. I want to show that I'm more reserved with the way I painted it. The look and being in 

the dark.
Me: Portraits I see here resemble Picasso style a bit.

Enrique: Yea I've been told that many times before. I've been looking at Picasso, Gaugin, and some Expressionists This painting was supposed to be realistic but then I felt like I wasn't going anywhere with it, so I just decided to paint it loosely and do whatever comes to my mind.

Me: I feel like you were trying to paint it realistically, but could'nt do it, so you turned to abstact.

Enrique: Well, it's not that I couldn't do it, I just thought it was dead and that it could be more interesting.

Me: So sometimes when you paint realistically, you feel like your paintig is dead?

Enrique:Yea sometimes. I just feel it. Like there's something missing.

Me: What oils do you paint with?

Enrique: Old Hollands. Usually when I paint, I first paint the base black and work from there.

Me: I feel like you're using a particular technique.

Enrique: I sometimes read books on old masters and their techniques and get ideas from there.

Me: Do you use any spirits when you paint?

Enrique: Yea, Liquin and I add it with the paint. It also helps the paint dry faster.

Me: Do you prepare you palette before you go painting?

Enrique: No, I use the canvas as my palette. I have a a blue, red, green,yellow, and white and mix them on the canvas.

Me: I lso feel like you have a drawing quality to your paintings.

Enrique: Yea, I love Da Vinci's drawings. He's my favorite artist.

Me: How long have you been painting?
Enrique: Since High School. I liked drawing and painting from the beginning.

Me: I feel like all your drawings and paintings have similar qualities I could quickly recognize.

Enrique: Yea should we keep going?

Me: Nom I think we're good...Thanks.