Saturday 15 January 2022

Interview with Nico Garcia, Visual Artist


 Exploring the female beauty while using a variety of expressive characters 

I had the opportunity to talk to visual artist, Nico Garcia. In the interview, he mentions how he evokes different feelings in the characters he creates; while representing different moments of his life.  

What is your background?


 I am a Visual Artist with a background in Graphic Design, Street Art, and Fashion Photography. 


What does your work aim to say?


My work explores female beauty while I portray a variety of expressive characters.

Nico Garcia- Hope



 

How does your work comment on social or political issues?

 

I try to evoke different feelings with the expressions of the characters that I portray. Some pieces represent different moments of my life; paintings that reflect what I/we are living through at the moment, like the COVID Series that I am working on at the moment.

Can you discuss in further detail the current project you have been working on?

I’ve been working on a COVID Series during the lockdown as well as a Serie of peculiar characters and female portraits. My last piece is the version that I created to celebrate women and the fight for equality on International Women’s Day, inspired by the 'We Can Do It!' WWII poster by J. Howard Miller in 1943. 

Who are your biggest influences, and why? 

 

My style has been influenced by Graffiti/ Street Art, Comic Books, Fashion Photography, Pop Art, Realism, Expressionism...In terms of Artists:


Picasso: I think he was a genius; his drawing techniques from an early age were impressive and he changed the course of


art. Velazquez: I think his painting technique is amazing. Caravaggio: I really like the dramatic use of Chiaroscuro in his pieces.

Nico Garcia- La-Gondoliera

That’s interesting…What were your favourite comics growing up and why?

My mum says that I was a hyperactive kid and the only time I was quiet and focused was when I was drawing the characters of my favourite TV Cartoon, Dragon Ball. A couple of years later I started buying Dragon Ball, Spiderman, and other Marvel comics.

Are there any photographers/ street artists that influenced your work?

As a Fashion Photographer, I was highly influenced by David LaChapelle and Selector Marx. As Graffiti Artist I’ve been influenced by Logan (Seville), Daim (Germany), and Banksy (UK).

 

How have you developed your career?

 

I started painting commissioned graffiti for clubs, and shops when I was like 14-15 years old, I also studied Graphic Design and I’ve been more than 12 years working as a Graphic Designer for clients like Facebook, Instagram, IKEA, Boots, Discovery Channel… At some point, I was missing painting a lot, so I decided to rent an Art studio and start painting again, since then I’ve been producing a lot of paintings and participating in some exhibitions.

 

How do you seek out opportunities? 

 

Social Media (Mainly Instagram)

 

How do you navigate the art world? 

 

Through Instagram, Pinterest, Small and Big Galleries, Exhibitions, and Art Markets.

 

How do you price your work? 

 

Depending on Time spent, Size, Artwork complexity, and personal feelings.

 

How do you cultivate a collector base?

 

Nico Garcia- Lara     
I create promotions, prints & Paintings giveaway competitions, I also add some gifts to my buyers when they buy a painting.  

 

Which current art world trends are you following? 

 

I am following a lot of different artists on Instagram, not any particular trend but I am looking at a lot of sketches and “unfinished – Interrupted” paintings at the moment.

 




 

 

 




To check out Nico’s work, here are the links to his website and social media.

 

Website:

 https://nicogarcia.co.uk

 

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nicogarcia.co.uk/

 

Twitter:

 https://twitter.com/NicolasGarciaJi

 

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/nicogarcia.co.uk/