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By Adriana Fernández
All children are born artists, the problem is to remain an artist as we grow up.
Pablo Picasso
In many countries, Children’s Day falls in the month of August. In Argentina, it can of course be rather commercialized but it provides us with yet another excuse to put children at centre stage.
Here at Fantasy Readings, we decided to celebrate it by introducing our readers to some very young artists and illustrators, that is, children and teenagers who draw or paint and who have already shown they have a clear vocation for artistic production.
This is the first of a series of interviews with young artists that we will publish in this section of the Museo de Arte Moderno website.
Catalina is 15 years old and was born in Buenos Aires.
She now attends high school at the Escuela Técnica N°6 Fernando Fader, in the City of Buenos Aires.
-Do you remember the first time you made a drawing that you truly loved, that made you really pleased, or that made you think perhaps you would keep drawing forever?
-Yes! Well, there have been many drawings that I liked. Of all those, this is the first one that came to my mind.
I know I could do better now, but I still like the way it came out.
-By the way, do you plan to continue drawing forever? Would you like to?
-I’d love to keep drawing, I’ve loved it since I was a child, and even more so when I grew up. Luckily, I was given the opportunity to start working doing something I like, and I hope to continue doing it, at least until I get tired of it.
-Did you study drawing? Have you had any systematic training as an illustrator?
-I never went to any courses or anything like that but, ever since I was little, I always chose to go to the art classes offered at my school rather than swimming.
-Are you surrounded by art? Did you grow up looking at things that seemed different from the everyday, like images, paintings, etc.?
-Ever since I can remember, we did handicrafts, paintings, drawings, etc. with my mum. Even now, from time to time, we stop and buy ceramics to paint. Apart from that, my dad used to lend me his camera, and I loved taking pictures.
I always had more fun drawing and painting than looking.
-You are already working as an illustrator. Can you tell us about the work you have done and whether you were commissioned to do it? Were you given precise instructions in each case, or did you have some the freedom to create?
-I have done several works, all of which were commissioned. Some of them had to be more precise, as in V. Ciencia para una geografía íntima sin mitos [V. Science for an intimate geography without myths], which was a book on gynaecology, so I couldn’t deviate so much from the subject.
On the other hand, I have had some that were freer, like Relatos mitológicos de amores [Mythological love stories], where I had to read it and then draw a scene as I interpreted it. There have also been things somewhere in between, so I have been able to experience a bit of everything.
-What is your preferred style of drawing? Why?
-The truth is that I don’t have a very defined style and every time I do something it comes out differently. I’m working towards having something more consistent, but I like that [not having a defined style]! It gives me the opportunity to change how the image looks depending on what I want to express. I like to draw what I want and feel; the style doesn’t matter as much to me. Apart from that, I like to work with pastel colours.
-How would you like to continue working as an illustrator? What area would you like to work in, doing what?
-I’d like to be able to work designing characters and illustrating children’s books, it’s the most fun I’ve had out of everything I’ve done. But I’m always open to trying new things.
Catalina Linch shows us what she does
