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Artist Feature # 8 – Javier Casanueva
About Javier Casanueva
Javier Casanueva was born in Avila the 17th April of 1995. He graduated in Fine Arts at Salamancaยดs University. That degree allowed him to study the Painting Master of the Basque Country University, Bilbao and later to continue studying his PHD.
His first exhibition was in Avila, at the Jose Hierroยดs exhibition hall, in the Episcopio, when Javier was 21. Commemorating that exhibition the book โShapelessโ was published. In that book, Javier collaborated with the poet Josรฉ Marรญa Muรฑoz Quirรณs, which lead to a close friendship. They have since collaborated on many other occasions in the magazine called “El Cobayaโ and in other publications, like the “2017 Poetic Round of รvilaโ.
Since the first exhibition, Javier Casanueva has done three more solo exhibitions in different cities, like Vitoria and Pontevedra, and has participated in some collective shows, like the Painting Biennial of Ourense or โCaminos y duendesโ – an exhibition where other participants included Jesรบs Mari Lazkano, Joseba Eskubi and Genoveva Linaza, to name a few.
Recently, Javier has worked as an Invited Artist at the Bodin KDA Skole, Bodo, Norway; where he taught a Creative Painting Workshop and made a benefit auction with his painting to assist the center with their humanitarian work.
Hi Javier, could you tell our readers a little bit about who you are?
Well, I am Javier Casanueva. I was born in รvila, a small city close to Madrid, Spain. Since I was a child I have been always interested in drawing, painting and anything I could do with my hands; so I studied the Art Degree at Salamancaยดs University.
Currently I live in Bilbao, where Iยดm doing my PHD studies that I combine with my exhibitions and art production.
Tell us about your art style or process.
I started painting landscapes, so thereยดs where everything started. If you look at my first series, Shapeless and BrokenShapes, you will find abstractions that are almost landscapes. After that I started to go deeper in meta-painting, I mean, gestures, textures and composition, so I took some distance with the nature. Now I am more into pure abstraction, close to minimalism.
About the process, I paint in an impulsive way. I usually start and finish pictures without pauses, just observing the changes that appear in the surface of the canvas and working on them. Then I reach a point when I feel is finished.
You have collaborated with the poet Josรฉ Marรญa Muรฑoz Quirรณs for the book โShapelessโ. Could you share this experience with us?
Josรฉ Marรญa was my teacher when I was 14. He is an important poet here in Spain and I have always admired him. When I was preparing my first exhibition, I invited him to my studio, and we decided to make a book with his poems and my pictures. The experience was great because we shared most of the process and pieces, fitting and creating new things.
It was so good that for my second exhibition at รvila, โLa Pompa Negraโ (The black bubble), we decided to make another book, โblack and whiteโ, where you can find one of my texts talking about painting, pictures, drawings and of course Josรฉยดs poems.
We have also collaborated in different art magazines and we are preparing a big project for the 100 years from Miguel Delibes birth. Collaborating with him is always great, I learn a lot and have fun also.
Where does your inspiration come from?
I understand inspiration like a part of the work. I remember a phrase from Pablo Picasso, who said: โInspiration comes, but it must catch you workingโ. My inspiration comes from the own process of painting.
Tell us about other artists/role-models or books that played a key role on your artistic journey.
I have a lot of reference artists, from the great artist like Rothko to teachers I had at the University, like Joseba Eskubi. One artist who changed my way of seeing art and image was Josรฉ Ramรณn Amondarain. Blinky Palermo is a great artist to look at too.
Talking about books and theory; Antonio Machado and his writings about intra-time are a pillar of my thinking. Gilles Deleuze has also great books about painting. Ortega y Gasset has an essay talking about Diego Velรกzquez that has also impacted me. There is a lot of great books I have read for my PHD, I couldnโt choose just a few of them.
Javier, you have worked as an invited Artist at the Bodin KDA Skole, Bodo – Norway, teaching a Creative Painting Workshop? Could you tell us something about this?
Yes. This was something amazing, definitely one of my best experiences. All started when I went to Norway with my family to visit a friend who lives there. On that trip I visited the Bodin KDA Skole and the quality of Norwegian education surprised me, so I started to talk with the school to plan the workshop. I based the classes on the creative process of the students and we made a little exhibition with the works at the school. In addition, I made a painting for the school in order to do a benefit auction. I hope to go back again soon, but my PHD also takes up a lot of my time.
How did you learn/acquire your technique?
I started painting and drawing classes when I was five or six years old in a small academy. When I was 11, I started to go to the รvilaยดs Autonomic Art School, where my three teachers taught me a lot. Later with the Art Degree and with a lot of practice I learnt the rest.
How has art impacted your life?
Art changes any life. I am thinking about my series, my concepts and looking for more and more, all day . I think that art gives you a different point of view and it is a job totally different to any other. I canโt explain it, but other artists will tell you the same.
Tell us a bit about your last work.
My last finished work is Beltza. Well, I want to continue with it, but trough sculpture. Beltza means black in Basque. I was looking for the painting that is not image at all. The purest abstraction trying to find a way to reconnect with the primitivism of the human being, investigating about painting as a human fact.
What is your current WIP?
As I said, I am working with Josรฉ Marรญa Muรฑoz Quirรณs for the 100 years from Delibes birth. Iยดm going back to landscape through the humanism and intimism of the author. We are doing a reflection about Delibes work using painting, drawing and poems. You will see more soon, at this moment I only can say that it will be a book and two exhibitions, but we are talking with the promoters and still working on it.
What does the future look like for you and your art?
My closer personal project is the thesis. I want to finish my PHD because I love to teach and I would like to be a University Teacher in the future. For my art, I am preparing two exhibitions for the Delibes projects and I am also investigating with sculpture and installation. It is difficult to imagine a far future because I work on it daily and changes are very progressive.
Any words of advice to aspiring artists?
My first advice is to be patient. Art is something really complex and needs lot of time to develop the skills and the knowledge that it requires. But being patient also means to be a hard worker; you need to be focused and accept critique.
My second advice is to enjoy. Art is a marvelous world, donโt miss the process looking at the goal.
Your art is amazing! Which project has been the most difficult or satisfying?
Beltza. It was hard to find a balance between esthetic and using black with no mixture, but it was also the most satisfying.
Would you like to share any more information with our readers?
Just tell them to keep an eye on this year 2020. Great things are coming on the projects.
How can our readers contact you or find your art?
They can see my finished projects at my website: www.javiercasanueva.com
If they prefer to see my daily work, they can follow me on Instagram: @javiercasanuevaartist
And if they have any questions or are interested in my art, they can find me at:
javiercasanuevart@gmail.com
Also, if they like a work on my website and itยดs sold, or is too big or too small…I take orders too, so I can make something similar for them.
An Artist Feature by Chriselda Barretto
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Artist Feature #7 – Michael Nette
I am so happy to introduce ART-IS-IN’s first young, upcoming and super talented artist “Michael Nette” – Discover more about him and his art below…
About Michael Nette
Michael Nette is an 18-year-old Photographer based in Melbourne Australia. He graduated High school last year and is now studying Photography at a tertiary level and starting his career as a photographer. He considers himself a portrait photographer primarily , but he also shoots landscapes and more recently wildlife.
Hi Michael…Could you tell our readers a little bit about who you are?
I come from a family of artists. My father is musical but itโs through my mother that I developed my love for photography. My sister is a musician and my brother is also quite musical. One of my grandfathers was a painter and sculptor and my other grandfather was a potter. One of my grandmothers was a theatre performer, and further back in my family tree I have more painters and an author. So artistry seems to be in my genes. It was in Year 10 (2016) that I began taking photography seriously. And as my secondary schooling progressed, photography was really the only thing I connected with. After leaving school, photography has become more about self-expression and creativity, discovering and enjoying colour, shape and tone โ as well as the technical side of digital editing. For me itโs all about exploration and emotion, which I feel is evident in my work.
What is your art style or process about?
Portraiture when it comes to portraits is hard to pin my work in one style as I love to express my emotions through creative angles and vivid colours. Part of my process is keeping the essence of my model inside the image so I generally try to keep posing looking natural and maintaining a connection throughout the shoot, otherwise the model can appear cold and disinterested. It is important to stay focused on the image you want while taking it and just as important to keep the model focused. Wildlife Wildlife photography is so fascinating to me because we get to see the sides of animals we would otherwise never get to in day to day life. When I shoot wildlife my aim is to show the animals personality and the individuality of each animal because most people donโt tend to think of each animal as an individual and mainly just what species it is.
Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes from a few different sources; one being social media โ I tended to gravitate more towards portrait photographers when I first started out and since then I have reached out to a few of the photographers that really inspired me and have since become friends. I also draw inspiration from other forms of media such as movies, books and a lot of time I find ideas in day to day conversations.
Have there been other artists/role-models or books that played a key role on your artistic journey?
Brandon Woelfel was the first big inspiration for me as in his portraits he creates a very magical feel in day to day places. When I saw his โbefore and aftersโ of his editing it really put into perspective how he does his work and the power of editing. Another photographer I have taken a lot of inspiration from is Drue Schnelle (@druephoto). Drue was one of the first people to respond back to me when I reached out and he answered the questions I had about portrait photography and helped me out a lot over the past 6 months. His photos are very creative, and he loves to play with angles and reflections so I could definitely relate to his style. The third biggest inspiration for me would be David Attenboroughโs Earth documentaries (Planet Parth, Our Earth etc.) as the cinematography is phenomenal and it really inspires me to take wildlife photos while also teaching me a lot about what angles are good to shoot from and how to properly interact with animals to help create the image I am after. a few more inspirational Photographers: @brandontonlu – @benjammixn – @rye_whiskey – @BEACASSO – @masashi_wakui
How did you learn/acquire this technique?
I learnt a lot from Kai Wong (@kaimanwong) through youtube and A LOT of trial and error with various types of photography. I started out taking a lot of photos of flowers and nature by experimenting from different angles and environments. After I felt like I had taken enough photos of flowers I began to experiment with portraiture by going to the city with a few of my friends and getting them to model for me, which was a lot of fun as neither of us really knew what we were doing. Since that first shoot I was constantly curious to what I could do with portraiture so I was always asking my friends if we could do a photoshoot together and eventually I started to get the hang of it and in the process I learnt how to work with models and the importance of keeping them comfortable, how to bring out the emotion I want out of my model and how to think creatively about the space that we are in to really get every angle.
Has art impacted your life and how so?
I have always appreciated art and liked going to galleries when I was younger but over the last 2 years art has really taken over my life (in the best way). Photography has taught me how to see differently and how to view art artforms from a creator point of view rather than an audience point of view, and what I mean by that is I will think about how they created it and the emotion behind the art work rather than purely the art itself. I find that once you start creating art (of any form) you begin to see other artforms differently as art is just as much about the artist than it is the art.
Tell us a bit about your last work.
My latest work was inspired by masashi wakui where I went to the city for some street photography and my theme was to have a red umbrella in each image to link them and to tell a story. The shoot was very successful and I found a new love for street photography so hopefully you can see more in the future.
What is your current WIP?
Most recently I am beginning to expand my brand and split my business into 3 sections. I will be starting an online print store where I will be selling my street ,landscape and potentially wildlife photography prints. I will be continuing to do private portrait sessions which will generally be more on the creative side (depending on client) and I will be diving into the world of product photography by doing contract advertisement work for businesses. If you want to stay updated you can follow me on Instagram or twitter @miggmedia or check out my website to which I will be updating over the next few months.
What does the future look like for you and your art?
I am very inspired to work in all kinds of photography (portrait, wildlife, landscape, product) so the future of my art will be very versatile. Hopefully at the rate I am currently learning, the future is bright for my artwork and since I am only 18 and starting my business, I feel as if I have a bit of a head start moving forward in my career. I hope I can continue to grow as a person and an artist and obtain the success that I strive for.
Any words of advice to aspiring artists?
The best advice I can give is to study your artform. Do this by following likeminded people, watch videos on youtube about the aspects you want to learn about and most importantly CREATE! The best thing you can do as an artist is to create, no matter your skill level you must gain experience and the only way to do so is to put in the time and effort to create. Go out and take photos of things that catch your eye. Go into nature and bring a canvas and paints and just paint what you see or even what your feel. You can create art in your bedroom,studio,garden or even at the top of a mountain. Stop creating excuses and start creating art.
The night of Gingerboy 
Don’t leave
How can our readers contact you or find your art?
You can contact me via twitter or Instagram @miggmedia or send me an email: miggmedia.michael@gmail.com
Also find me at www.miggmedia.com
An Artist Feature by Chriselda Barretto
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Complete Enigma Blog Tour – Nov 18-25 / 2019
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Author Spotlight – Reader Views
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The International Aircraft Cabin Air Conference 2019
What an amazing Conference!
Considering that the fight is ongoing and strong with the many crew and passengers still being severely affected after taking a flight, this conference gives us another incredible shot at trying to work towards finding an effective solution.
Thanks to Tristan Loraine, his efficient team and the +30 speakers that made this event a thorough success.
It has definitely motivated all of us and given me the fuel to launch the follow-up to my Podcast series “The 3 Pillars” – Aviation. Stay tuned for more information on Aerotoxic Syndrome and positive ways moving forwardsโฆ
Chriselda Barretto 