What is your name and what city/country do you live/work in?
I’m Víctor Otero, I live and work in Ispra, a small town in northern Italy.
How old were you when you knew/decided you wanted to be an artist?
When I was 16, my mom gave me an oil painting box and an easel for Christmas, that same day I did my first oil painting and since then I’ve never stopped.
What do you hope to achieve/want to communicate with your art?
Understand myself better. Painting is some sort of psychologist for me, that’s why I paint so many self portraits.
Where do you get your ideas/inspiration from?
Mostly it’s all about my feelings, and about what I see behind the masks we carry daily.
Do you have a daily routine for your work / time in your studio?
I spend around 8 hours per day from Monday to Friday in the studio, painting, and doing all the tasks a painter has to do (emails, pictures, social media, etc,). The weekends are to be with my family.
What do you find most rewarding about making art?
To move other people’s hearts.
What do you struggle with / find most difficult about making your art?
To stay away from my comfort zone. I tend to push myself to my limits, and it means hours and hours of frustration, but once a painting is finished I feel the most rewarding feelings.
What do you do to motivate yourself to work especially on days you might not feel like it?
The only way to overcome a tought day in the studio is by pushing yourself to work. If i’m not focused, I start doing random sketches and preparing my supplies, once I feel myself focused enough, I go back to work on unfinished works or starting a new ones.
How do you deal with tough days in the studio? Any tips/advice for others?
To me, almost everyday is a battle, they are always tough until at the end of the journey I enjoy watching what I’ve done.
How do you know when something is finished?
I am still trying to learn that lesson. Let’s say it’s a matter of keeping the freshness of the early painting.
It’s better to stop early than too late.
Do you think art has a purpose / function in the world beyond your own need to create and if yes what do you think that is?
I think, as human beings, sometimes we need external help to drive our emotions out. Art is just a catalyst for our feelings and thoughts.
