ANDREA BARJA

Name: Andrea Barja

Age: 25

Country: Chile

Website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrea_barja

At which age did you start creating art? And why do you feel compelled to create?
I remember my first drawings on the wall in my room at my grandparents house. They were a of a house and a happy family. Just your typical childhood doodling, but nobody ever took them down off that wall for like fifteen years. I've always drawn and my grandma kept all my early “work”. In those early attempts I would draw lots of women in 17^th century style dresses, expensive jewels and tall hairstyles inspired by old MGM movies.
I never ask myself if what I made was art or not. My point of view on art is old-fashioned and really all that I do is just draw.

What are you inspired by? And who do you look up to?
I'm inspired by beauty, beauty that I find in women and children.

Which influential artist would you like to ask for advice?
J.H. Lynch and Rene Gruau (though he's dead).

If you had to put up one piece of artwork on your wall and stare at it for a year, who would it be by and why?
Bosch’s triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights” would be enough for a year.

Tell us about your creative process.
Only when I want to. No method to it.
If the girl's turning out ugly, I'll delete her. Sometimes I give them a shot… some “plastic surgery” so she can become as beautiful as she can be.

As an artist, are you Technical or passionate? (Do you lose yourself in the work or do you make precise decisions?)
Passionate. I can’t do technical illustration of humans, animals or real things in general. I don’t like to, nor is it possible for me to do hyper-real images.

How do you determine when a work is finished? Or is it ever finished?
My illustrations are finished when I get bored of drawing them.

Do you think there are boundaries you would never cross in your art making?
My only boundary would be plagiarism or copying someone else's style.

What frightens you most about your art?
It's a hobby for me so I don’t take it too seriously, and that's what frightens me. My newest challenge will be transferring what I do on the computer to paper. Technology sometimes makes me forget the allure of working with your hands.

Do you have any magic cures for creative blocks?
Not really; I never press myself like that.

Do you dream about your artwork?
I dream about women with extravagant looks, elegant. Adolescents full of sweetness and perfection. As I can’t go about reproducing those images with photos, and because trying to make these dreams into fashion is out of my means economically, I draw. But the drawings seem a tad too basic in comparison to my imagination. It's a delicate subject for me.

What kind of art education do you have? Do you think it is important?
I’m a graphic designer. I think education is important for growing up, learning different techniques, but is not strictly necessary. Talent and energy is crucial to creation.

What kind of career do you ultimately want? And what kind of career do you think you'll end up having (or already have) realistically?
Now I’m learning dressmaking and sewing in an academy. In the end I'm really a frustrated fashion designer, that’s what I wanted to study and couldn't because my father, who payed for my degree, is hopelessly old-fashioned. He said architecture and I said fashion, but I wasn't headstrong or rebellious enough and wound up in front of a computer using a wacom tablet and Adobe Illustrator for freelance design work.

Who are some of your heroes outside of the visual art stream?
I heard that Sisi (Elisabeth of Bavaria) collected images of girls of unique beauty. I like doing much the same thing and when I heard about her, I was infatuated with her story.