Artist Interview Artists Showcase 5: Maria Gil by Anthony Andujar jr 1/28/16

Artist interview Artists Showcase 5: Maria Gil by Anthony Andujar jr 1/28/16

Interviewee: Maria Gil

Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr  

1/28/16

Q1. What was the first set of drawings that you remember making as a child?

MG: One of the works I remember was a drawing I did in the 6th grade. It was a pointillism piece of Igor from Winnie the Pooh. That was my first one.

Q2. How did you get involved in art ? Was it always a desired career path?

MG: Well I mean since childhood, it was a hobby but I took it seriously three years ago (2013), when I went to college. Originally I wanted to be a vet tech but I found out it was very expensive to pursue that. So I changed my major to Fine Arts and I'll graduate this year.  

Q3. How does your environment influence your art?  

MG: I think it was in the way I used color because I didn't like it until I got into it. In my culture, I would utilize red, yellow, and blue. It wasn't that I lived in Colombia, but the way I was raised (on a farm) being surrounded by nature and my love for cats contributed to my art. I was 14 years old (in 8th grade) when I came to New York. I understood English but I gradually learned to speak it over time. These factors influenced my art in that sense.  

Q4. Who are your artistic influences? How did they shape you and your art style?  

MG: That's a hard one... Romero Britto and Gustavo Klimt. Botero, a colombian artist is another artist that inspired me.

Q5. What source of material do you use as a motivational push?

MG: In a way to express myself, I relate to cats. I feel that identify myself with cats more than people.

Q6. If you could do a continuation of a film series, what would you choose?

MG: Umm, I would say Eragon. I would keep the story line, I would change the final battle. I felt that the final battle ended too fast. I know you can't get everything in the book but I would have incorporated more, especially with today's special effects. I would adapt the sequel and the rest of the book series. It's unfortunate that it's not as popular as the young adult books like Harry Potter, Twilight etc. These days people are into erotica like 50 shades of Grey, so there's room for other material that has potential audiences for different kinds of material.

Q7. In terms of your art and the creative process, what do you find difficult?

MG: Good question. I think it's making the first idea, like how to start. Whether to start with pen, pencil, paint, etc. it's hard to establish my foundation on a piece.

Q8. What music do you listen to in order to get an idea of atmosphere that can be reflected in your work?

MG: Normally it was rock music or pop. But recently I've been listening to Sia, Stromae, and Portuguese music.

Ant. A: You should check out Sia's early stuff with Zero 7. It's great stuff.

Q9. What is it about your art that you feel best represents you?  

MG: well in a word, it would be Cheery. Of course I have my dark side like everyone else. Most people who know me tend to describe me as a very child.

Q10. What themes interest you to draw? Happiness or tragedy?

MG: uhh, I'd like to draw tragedy but I haven't hit that mark yet. So I stick to the happy stuff.

Q11. If you were to make a comic, film, or book based on an album, what album by chosen artist would it be and why?  

MG: Reune Car'ree by Stromae, a Belgian artist. If make a Novel and movie based on that album because the album tells a story. One song called "Carman" which is about relationships and how social meadow effects them. Ebora is another artist that I would make a book based on her work as well. In terms of movies I'd make all the song's and artists that I mentioned and I would make a cohesive movie.

Q12. If you had a chance to work with a living creator, who would it be? If you had a chance to speak with a deceased creator, who would it be? Why them and what would you hope to discuss?  

MG: First off for the deceased, it would be Gustav Klimt. I'd ask him why he chose women as a topic and what did he deal with when it came to controversy. Because he admired women and put them on an even scale with men in his art. In terms of living artists, Romero Britto and Jeff Koons because I like that they take ordinary things and make them more mundane.  

Q13. If you were to write a book about your life so far, what era would you focus on?  

MG: I would say 5 years ago. I'm 20 now but I'd focus on myself when I was 15 years old. That's where my personality really developed and made me into who I am.

Q14. What themes do you find difficult to illustrate?

MG: Faces. I don't like drawing faces. I can admire your (Anthony) work and see it go from cartoon but manage to make it look like the person of topic.

Q15. What would you advise to the next generation or to your younger "past" self ?

MG: Don't Trust. Don't trust other people. By that I mean don't be so naive and gullible. Don't trust people who seem close to you because sometimes you'll have expectations and they will let you down. Having expectations of people will take you nowhere and will never make you happy.

Q16. What are your hopes about the future in terms of yourself and the world?  

MG: I don't really have hope for the world. But for myself, I want to achieve being an animator and be successful. As for the world, I hope there is more understanding and positivity.

Here is a portrait of her that I did two days before her birthday. A lovely lady.