Putting Your Creative Process First

Episode Transcript:

Gisela A. Lazarte  00:00

I've seen a lot of different types of art and listen to learn learn new types of music, and cultures. And I just honestly nowadays I just let all that become sort of like this compound of influences that just come in different forms onto the canvas. Yeah.

Isotta Page  00:23

This is Art Is a podcast for artists… where we brainstorm the future of the art world and the creative industries.

Gisela A. Lazarte  00:38

My name is Gisela A. Lazarte. I'm an abstract painter based in New York City. But I'm originally from Venezuela. My background is in film and video. And regarding painting, I would say that I'm mostly self taught, I did receive some training in oil painting when I was very young. And I did that for some years, and also started experimenting with different mediums for a while. But I didn't go to art school, I definitely considered it you know, at the time when I was in high school, going to college. But I would say that at the time, first of all, back home, I didn't really know any contemporary artists that were thriving and living off of their art. And also, I come from an immigrant family as well. And so I always grew up with a sense that it was really important that I found a line of work that was more stable, and perhaps more practical, that would be like the more certain that I be able to support myself, basically. So yeah, just at the time, it didn't seem like it was something that was attainable. And it was really a long journey for me personally, to get to that place where it finally clicked for me that I wanted to and needed to really pursue a career in the arts and specifically in painting. And so that's what I've been doing ever since

Isotta Page  02:02

that's really interesting. Thanks for sharing, you said that you had a background in film and video. How did you take the leap from that career into painting? More specifically, like, Could you walk us into those? I know that they're kind of connected fields creative visual. So I'd love to hear a little bit more about how that cross pollination happened.

Gisela A. Lazarte  02:27

Yeah, I guess I want to say that it was always pretty intertwined. Like I really started with with painting when I was really young. I mean, I mentioned oil painting training when I was I think 12 years old. And then I just ended up going in film and video, I studied communications back home, I have a BA in that with a concentration in audio visual arts. So you know, everything like video, film, photography, television, radio, even, and that I worked in video production for several years back home, but I always still felt that I wanted to continue exploring the more creative side of things. So that's when I decided to study film, I have a MA in film directing. And I went to Spain for that to Barcelona. So in that time, you know that I was sort of really focused on that. And I spent like two years in Barcelona, and then I also lived for some time in Peru, and that in New York have been for over six years now. So in that time that I was, you know, moving around a lot and still sort of figuring things out. I wasn't really painting, I took like a really long break from painting. And I was still sort of like, drawing on the side. I've also always been inclined to poetry, which I guess is something that, you know, it's sort of more abstract, and it's always has, you know, that sort of like, that was always sort of my inclination, it just personally took me a while to realize, you know, where all the dots connected, basically. And so yeah, it wasn't really until several years in New York, that I, honestly, also through a process with therapy, I started therapy several years ago now. And it really helped me to realize that, you know, it was more than like, the creative and more, you know, working with my hands and sort of that thing that has was sort of the origin of everything back when I was really young, that everything really made sense for me. So I think that when I started painting again, I still abroad a lot of the things that I was doing in film and video before. Like, for instance, when I started I was doing a series of projects that involved poetry, and painting and video so it's like video art. But the more I did that, the more I realized that I you know, felt the strong pull towards painting more than anything that was like, yeah, it's just the most natural and fulfilling for me, and yeah, I think that's still as I was saying, my instruction and painting has been, it was Very basic, but a lot of the things I know and that I apply in my practice, with composition and movement, it all comes from notions from film and video really, that it's just sort of like, yeah, it all gets mixed together. Yeah. And I want to say to that, something that I was always very interested on is the influence of sound and music as well. And you know, how we perceive images. And I think one of the main ways I still bring that into my practice is through the music that I listened to while are making, I think it has a very strong impact on the work. So I always make sure that I'm very intentional with what I'm listening to while I'm creating. Yeah, it's sort of all mixed together. I guess.

Isotta Page  05:46

That's really, really interesting. Thanks for bringing us in like that. So I'd love to hear more about, you have a really interesting and unique style and approach to painting. Could you tell us a little bit about what technique you employ because it really now that you've been telling me about this idea of sound, and also the influence of film and composition, I really am starting to see those influences. And I'd love to hear about maybe the technical side of your making a bit more,

Gisela A. Lazarte  06:19

I work mainly with acrylics. The only reasoning for that, even though I had learned with oils, and it was really also a bit of a learning process to start working with acrylics. It was more of, I guess, practical and also urgency. Like when I started painting, again, it was a sort of critical time in my life that I just felt like this urge that just really sort of ignited everything back for me to paint. And you know, acrylic was just like the fastest way to get my hands on it. And I just sort of went developing it that and I would say that definitely experimented with different styles through the years. And really until even last year, early this year, I was still sort of experimenting until I found sort of like the style that I work on now. And the way that I got there, I would say first of all, yeah, a lot of experimenting and trial and error. But also, I started paying attention to things like whatever I came with a sort of more open mind into the studio. And that sort of led all these things that I already have, in the background of Yeah, between film and what I had already been working on, and just not planned so much, it often turn out to be my strongest work. So my practice has become very intuitive. In that sense, I usually don't really come with a plan anymore into studio and maybe I have a color or a few colors in mind. And then just sort of Yes, set up a certain mood through music and try to just sort of get in a flow state are really and you know, sometimes turns into a sort of meditation in action that I think that really drives the whole process.

Isotta Page  08:01

It's really interesting to hear about how so much of your work is mental and really setting up yourself for success in the studio. And in thinking about making, which I think is such a cool and kind of understated part of art making that we really don't share that much about. So thanks for sharing, I'd love to hear a little bit about your experience in and how all of the different places you've lived in have influenced your work and kind of your career path. So you said, now you've been in New York for six years, which is such a creative place and so vibrant. I'm sure that that infuses a lot of energy into your work, but how has different international experiences shaped your creative path?

Gisela A. Lazarte  08:51

That's a great question. I think there's definitely like I was saying it's, I definitely try to work as nowadays as intuitively as possible. And I know that a lot of all those experiences come out without me realizing so or more like I realize it after I did it, but I would say that especially my background and being from Venezuela, it's a very colorful culture and even though you know New York is very vibrant I feel like there's something also about the seasons back home there's no seasons it's like well, I mean it's always like either sunny or rainy. The trees on change really and I just grew up with a lot of color, you know, stimulus and vibrancy and I think that is still something that is very present in my work. Same with Spain, even though there was you know, there's the four seasons there too, but I think that if anything I personally struggle a lot with changing of the seasons. I don't like winter. And you know, just that shift is always really tough on me and I think if anything through art, I noticed that I almost push color and just look for that vibrancy, my work at those times, if anything is a reaction to what I'm seeing, you know, in winter, it's not only like cold and but it's very monochromatic outside. And if anything, I just sort of want to bring that in my work and hopefully bring some color into people's lives, I guess. So I've seen a lot of different types of art and listen to learn, learn new types of music, and cultures. And I just honestly, nowadays, I just let all that become sort of like this compound of influences that just come in different forms onto the canvas. Yeah, that's really

Isotta Page  10:37

interesting to hear about how often it's, it's also a passive movement to just allow forces to act pressure on you and on your practice. And so you mentioned that you considered going to art school, but you you didn't, and you pursued film and video. So now that you're pursuing a professional path in the arts, I was wondering how you're thinking about building yourself as a creative professional, and as an artist, pursuing sustainable career in the arts and what your thinking around that development has been. And I'm sure there's been intersection with working in other creative fields. But I'd love to hear your thoughts around being an artist and also being you know, an art business person,

Gisela A. Lazarte  11:26

I think for sure that haven't you know, already, I was a freelancer with film a video for a long time, too. And so that definitely helped having already a sort of similar structure and some things. So I kind of already knew when I was going into this, that, or I thought that it was important, for instance, setting up a website, and I did that pretty early on. And I think also having some sort of social media presence and nowadays is also important. And I sort of in trying to develop a sort of basic strategy with with all these things. I think that, for instance, for me, I did a ton of research as well, I think there still could be a lot more information out there. And I think that, you know, podcasts like this are really helpful for helping understand better the side, you know, the business side of things. But I did find, you know, some resources online, I think also looking at other artists, I definitely knew that I wanted to start this independently. And I guess probably also, seeing other artists that were, you know, being successful, independently, was really helpful. And just also sort of seeing a bit of what they were doing, you know, how they were setting up their website, and their social media presence was definitely really helpful for me. I mean, I would advise just, you know, any artist tool so as I was thinking of doing this way to do the same this year, also around like March, I started having sessions with a team of art consultants. And that was really helpful in you know, they've been, they've given me really practical advice on both the business side of things and also on, you know, art critique to help improve my work. And especially for me, and you know, not having gone to art school, it was definitely really helpful. I've also been working on a model that is not necessarily the best one, but it's what's been working for me of working on collections of paintings, bodies of work that I release a few times a year, it just makes everything to run a bit, you know, better I don't know, if also influence from having been in film before that sort of the mindset of working on, you know, more long term projects. And then they were also really helpful in ensure that those collections were consistent go here and you know, strong as a body of work, and not just with that individual painting. So that's been really helpful as well, I think, yes, seeing our consultants can be really helpful to have, you know, specific advice for your specific type of work.

Isotta Page  14:02

And how did you actually find these art consultants? Were they recommended to you or did you seek them out online?

Gisela A. Lazarte  14:09

I saw some other artists that I was sort of talking to that I had only met online that they were talking about having met with them, their college days, and Confucius, the art consultants. And yeah, they told me that they had been also very helpful for them. So I just contacted them. You can book like a half hour or an hour session. And it was really Yeah, also online and through I guess, reference from another artists that I had met online, only

Isotta Page  14:36

virtually cool. And it's really interesting to think about how, even though as an artist you wear so many hats, you know, your studio hat, you're brainstorming, your business, your marketing, your socials, your networking, but at times, it's good to get another opinion. And you know, not only on the creative side of your practice, but also on the business side. And I think that's really cool that you're developing us strategy and getting help. And, you know, really investing in your business. And in your practice like that. It's, it's really cool and really inspiring. I was wondering, as you're working in this collection based model, could you tell us in a little bit more detail how that works? Do you spend a certain amount of months or weeks like working in studio, and then you spend time creating the like marketing material around that, and then you release them all at a certain time? Or is that like helpful for you in terms of having more separation between like the business side and the creative side, because I personally really struggle with going back and forth on things and like spending a few minutes a day, you know, working on Instagram, a few minutes in doing correspondence and email, and then, you know, having to shift focus into the creative side is sometimes challenging, it sounds like a really interesting model. And for those who maybe aren't familiar with how film and TV works, I think it could be really useful to hear in a little bit more detail,

Gisela A. Lazarte  16:00

I totally get that. And I think I've struggle with that myself. I think that scheduling your time with all those things is key, I don't separate them per se, like I don't just to create a for a while and sort of do them all at the same time. But I have found that scheduling my time, and figuring out what works best for me, for instance, I do better when I do the creative side of things in the morning, when I paint in the morning, and then do like admin work and social media and all those things in the afternoon. Something else that I have found to be really useful is to maybe plan it out a bit ahead of time. And I think that's something that, I mean, I was also sort of like, I didn't want to do that at first, because it seems like I don't know, I just want to be more spontaneous about it. But it can definitely be really helpful to sort of, you know, if you can spend a few hours, it doesn't even have to be half a day. Yeah, like a few hours in planning. Say what you're gonna share on a week, you know, your next week, like, say, on a Monday, you plan that, for instance, it definitely helps you know, instead of spending a few minutes, sometimes even more time on social media each day, if you can just you know, put the time work on that, you know, I'm going to share this, I don't know three posts or more, whatever you want to do. And then just you can sort of forget about it. And then just remember, you know, when you have to post it, and then just some people, I don't use this, but there are definitely tools for scheduling even your social media posts, so you don't have to think about it at all. Yeah, I usually started working, I spend a few weeks sometimes it really depends. But on average, it's about a month in sort of experimenting with different color palettes and different techniques that I want to sort of keep in my, you know, throughout the body of work. So even though it's intuitive, I do spend some time first like sort of thinking about what I want to do there. There's been times when I've had very specific concepts and inspiration for that collection. For instance, for my last one, it wasn't really as specific and it was more about that more onplan intuitive process and just letting the experiences and memories and everything they were just collide to bring these paintings. But I definitely spent some time before just working through color palettes. And even though I didn't come with like a specific one in mind, to each painting session, I'm sure that you know, everything that I had worked on right before then in that first month, influenced the work of the whole, you know, the whole series. So yeah, so then I usually go documenting that, as I'm working, either with pictures, I gotta say, I still struggle with remembering sometimes. Even though you know, I did that it's hard to when you're so caught up in the practice to remember to take pictures or something that I've been doing is I got a tripod and I sort of just set that up for recording video, I actually started doing that more for myself at first to be able to look back at it. And now you know, the more intuitive my work has become, it's very easy to forget sometimes, you know, how I got to where I got and the choices I made. So it's been really helpful in you know, being able to take a step back and learn from my practice from this like, sort of third perspective, you know, point of view third person, and yeah, then, you know, just choosing some moments of that to share on social media. So yeah, I found that it's always the most successful personally in the sense of you know, I make better use of my time when I just dedicate a specific time for going over that and then just focus on everything else like say, painting in the mornings for me and then working on emails and everything else in the afternoon. For instance, my website www.galazarte.com and my email is hello@galazarte.com .And then you can also find more my process and just a bit more of an insight into my practice and my studio on Instagram, instagram.com/laz__arte

Isotta Page  20:30

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