Omar Ortiz Interview

La Creacion de Eva - Omar Oriz

In your biography on your blog, you say that you studied with Carmen Alarcon, and she was your main professor of visual art. How did she help you develop your skills in Realism?

I consider the painter Carmen Alarcón as my main teacher because she totally introduced me to the world of arts. My background in drawing and painting was more focused on advertising illustration because I studied graphic design in college. I learned some techniques on how to illustrate with acrylics, watercolors, pastel, airbrush, etc. However, I did not learn oil painting because it was not required in my degree. A year after I graduated, I decided to leave my degree aside and go into painting, but at that time, I worked mainly with acrylics and an airbrush. I took classes with Carmen Alarcón, and she not only taught me oil painting but that the world of arts is very different from the world of illustration. I learned that painting should go directly to our sentiments and illustration to the intellect.

En su biografía en su blog, usted dice que estudió con Carmen Alarcon, y ella fue su profesora mayor del arte visual. Comó ella se ayudó a usted perfeccionó sus talentos del Realismo?

Considero a la pintora Carmen Alarcón como mi principal maestra porque ella fue la que me introdujo de lleno al mundo del arte ya que mis antecedentes en el dibujo y la pintura más bien estaban encaminados a la ilustración publicitaria ya que en la universidad curse la carrera de Licenciado en Diseño Gráfico donde aprendí técnicas de representación como acrílicos, acuarela, pasteles, aerografía, etc pero no me enseñaron oleo porque la Licenciatura no lo requería, un año después de salir de la Universidad decidí olvidarme del diseño Gráfico y dedicarme a la pintura pero en ese momento yo trabajaba principalmente con acrílicos y un aerógrafo así que tome clases con la Pintora Carmen Alarcón y que aparte de enseñarme a pintar con oleo me enseño que el mundo del arte es muy distinto a el mundo de la ilustración, ella me enseño a pensar y sentir como pintor y no como ilustrador, aprendí que la pintura debe llegar directo a los sentimientos y la ilustración va dirigida al intelecto.

Hipotesis de la Luz - Omar Oriz

Why do you love the medium of oil and canvas? How does it serve your work?

I love oil paint because I think it is the noblest way of painting, it allows you to do things that the other techniques do not, the quality of colors is really good, you can work with thick opaque paint or very thin transparent layers; the time of drying allows merging the tones very well to obtain the realism I look for in my work. I usually work with canvases stretched with linen because of the quality and durability of the material.

Por qué se ama el medio de pintura al oleo y lienzo? Comó sirve su obra?

Me encanta el óleo porque creo que es el medio de pintura más noble, te permite hacer muchas cosas que las otras técnicas no, la calidad de los colores es muy buena, puedes trabajar con empastes o con veladuras, el tiempo de secado te permite fundir muy bien los tonos para lograr ese realismo que busco en mi obra. Normalmente trabajo en bastidores montados con lino por la calidad y durabilidad del material.

What do you think are the marketing advantages and disadvantages of the website WordPress where you have your blog?

Nowadays, when we are looking for any kind of information, the first thing we do is to sit down in front of a computer and surf the web. The computer is a global and immediate way of communication, and using a blog to publish/post my work has given me many more advantages than disadvantages. I have been able to open doors around the world, and all of the contacts that I have gotten have been thanks to my work published on the Internet. If you want to make your work widely known, it is basic to have a website or a blog. In my personal opinion, a blog is more functional because it can be administrated it by the artist and work can be uploaded as soon as it’s finished, so people can leave their comments. Two to three thousand people visit my blog daily, but I do not use it to sell my work. I use it to show it instead.

Catarsis - Omar Oriz

Qué usted piensa son las ventajas y desventajas de comercialización del sito de web WordPress donde tiene su blog?

Hoy en día cuando uno busca información de cualquier tipo lo primero que hace es sentarse en una computadora y entrar en la web a navegar, es un medio de comunicación global e inmediata, en mi caso el usar un blog para publicar mi trabajo me ha dado muchas más ventajas que desventajas, me ha abierto puertas en todo el mundo, realmente todos los contactos que he logrado han sido gracias a que tengo publicado mi trabajo en internet, si deseas dar a conocer tu trabajo de forma masiva es básico que tengas un sitio web o un blog, en lo personal me parece más funcional un blog porque yo mismo lo administro y voy subiendo las obras conforme las voy terminando y la gente puede dejar sus comentarios, mi blog registra un promedio de 2000 a 3000 visitas diarias, el blog no lo utilizo para vender mi trabajo  más bien lo utilizo para mostrar mi obra.

Your work has been shown in Europe and you have been featured in Mexican, American and Spanish publications. Is there any place in the international market you want to reach that have not yet, and how do you plan to do that?

I would like to exhibit my work in New York City and Paris. I know that everything will fit into place, and I only need to concentrate on one thing: “Keep doing my best in that which I love…painting.”

Su obra ha sido mostrado en Europa, y usted ha sido reportajado en publicaciónes de México, los Estados Unidos y España. Hay alguna parte del mercado internacional que usted quiere que alcanzar que usted todavía notiene, y comó planea hacer eso?

Me gustaría Exponer en Nueva York y Paris, sé que todo llega a su tiempo y solo debo concentrarme en una cosa “Seguir haciendo lo mejor que pueda en esto que tanto me gusta.. Pintar”

Paradoja del Olivo - Omar Oriz

Your nude series is extensive. Do you see yourself changing subjects any time soon or in the future? If so, what else do you think you will paint?

For now, I am not planning on changing my central theme: Female nude. I could paint the human figure for all my life and still feel that there are more things to explore. The female nude is one of the most beautiful things in the world; it is something I love to do.

Su serie desnuda es extensa. Usted tiene algunos planes cambiar temas pronto o en el futuro? Y si es así que más piensa pintará?

Por el momento no tengo planes de cambiar mi tema central que es el desnudo Femenino, podría pintar la figura humana toda mi vida y aun así sentir que hay más cosas por explorar, el desnudo femenino es una de las cosas más hermosas de este mundo, es algo que me apasiona hacer.

Artist Biography:

Omar Ortiz was born in 1977 at Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico where he still lives. Since he was a boy he has been interested in drawing and illustration. He studied for a degree in Graphic Design, where he learned different techniques such as hand drawing, pastels, charcoal, water colors, acrylics and airbrushing. When he finished college he decided to make a living from painting. In 2002 he attended his first oil paint classes with the artist Carmen Alarcón, who he considers his main teacher. Omar Ortiz currently works with oil painting because he considers it the noblest technique.

A minimalistic – hyperrealism characterizes his work, where white colors, human body and a magical fabric play predominate. “His paintings act like intimate pieces, trapped in themselves, outside of space and context” He has showed in Mexico, Spain, Netherlands and London.

Artist Statement:

Since I started painting I have always liked to represent things as real as I can, sometimes I succeed sometimes I don’t, what is a fact is that it is very hard for me to do the opposite. I enjoy the challenges of trying to reproduce natural light and the nuances that gives us, particularly in bright environments. I like to keep the simplicity of the pieces because I think excess makes us poorer rather than richer.

Spanish to English Translation by: Miguel Bahena