The Taste of New Ideas

Bitter is a great new website created by Nicolás Plaza - a young, Chilean journalist - to celebrate and promote all forms of creative expression, and I am very proud to be part of the first edition.

Bitter is a site that showcases independent art, and reveals the stories behind the works, and the motivations that drive the artists. Every month it will introduce five people from every creative field; painting, photography, design, among others.

The first five people presented by Bitter are Thais, the new lead singer of Chilean pop band, Saiko; Sofía Oportot, an unbridled creative talent; Felipe Santander, a graphic designer and visual artist; Muriel Miranda, a young and exciting theatre director, and myself.

The name Bitter is drawn from an analogy with chocolate; the flavour hits you, stimulates you, and then leaves a lasting, sweet aftertaste.

Go to http://www.ideasbitter.com/ to have a look, and please spread the word.

Here is a rough translation of my article, in case your Spanish is not up to par...

Stephan Fullagar is a painter from Swiss and British parentage. He lives in London, but is a lover of Latin American culture, ever since a trip he made to Ecuador. There he witnessed the realities of the indigenous people, poverty, and child exploitation; themes that are reflected in a series of his works, and which are expressed in the colours of “El Mercado de Riobamba” and “En Dios Confiamos”, two of his pictures dedicated to Latin America, his muse.

Although he has never lived in Switzerland, he recognises its influence in his work. “I believe that in the Swiss people you can see a strong appreciation for colour, a respect for tradition, a generosity of spirit, and a profound love for the land”. Stephan is referring to the origins and recurrent motivations in his work. “I hope that some, if not all, of those qualities can be seen in my paintings.”

His tendency towards realism comes from his English side. “If you look at the cinema world, in America they have hits with fantasy films made by directors such as Steven Spielberg, while in England our best films are based on everyday life; I’m talking about Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, for example. Sometimes I alter the colour or composition slightly to better express an idea, but mainly just try to record what I see.”

Another British characteristic that he has inherited is the stiff upper lip, the reserved emotional nature of the English. He feels that it has helped him to control his emotional, Swiss side.

Although he has always liked art, it was only when he began working in oils, at the age of 17, that he began to love painting. “Before, I was using watercolours and acrylics, and the results were never satisfying. I found them difficult to work with, and I thought the colours were flat and boring. When I was introduced to oils, suddenly painting became exciting. I think oil colour is much more expressive; I like the texture of the paint, its plasticity, and the richness of the colours”.

After this decisive experience with oil colour, Stephan enrolled at university to study Film and Literature. He now thinks that was a mistake, as he should have gone straight to art school, but at the time he lacked self-confidence, and he had to make the decision whether to follow an academic career, or an artistic one.

His first paintings he made were at school, and were mainly still-lifes: “Then I became a fan of Van Gogh, above all of his portraits, and so I began to paint friends and family.”

His encounter with Latin America

“I knew very little about Latin America until I met Eduardo, an Ecuadorean, in 2001. He is a very special person, and one of my closest friends. He invited me to his home country in 2003, and he introduced me to his people and culture. Ecuador, and Latin America in general, has inspired me ever since.

His first painting dedicated to Ecuador was “El Mercado, Riobamba”, which shows a small boy standing unconcerned by a heap of cow heads. According to the artist this scene is not intended to shock or disgust people; “I just wanted to present a scene of daily life in Ecuador in as honest a way as I could.”

This connection that Stephan feels with American lands has also been evident in other artists, such as Andre Breton, a French painter, who said that Latin America with, “it’s landscape, its climate, its flora, and spirit, breaks all the laws that we are subjected to in Europe.”

For Stephan the same could be said about India, Africa or China: “I think a better way of thinking about Latin America is to think of it as a kind of parallel universe. To paint about Latin America, for me as a European spectator, makes you re-consider your own opinions and attitudes.”

The indigenous people, the children, and the activity in the markets of Ecuador have been three of the subjects he has based pictures on. There are different motivations for each one. The paintings which he has made which include children, above all that one of the shoe-shine boy called, “En Dios Confiamos”, present a sad reality of Latin America: child labour.

The other great motivation was the celebration of the culture and traditions that he saw in Ecuador: “Perhaps I am attracted to those themes because I think that in England we losing our traditions, and some of our identity. As a Londoner I also feel removed from nature. I don’t have that relation with the land that I believe Andean people still have.”

Idols

When I first began learning to paint in oils I tried to imitate the style of Van Gogh. What I like about his work is his passion and his sincerity. I love his use of arbitrary colour; I love his rough and strong brushwork. I painted in that way for a long time. Now my paintings have changed, but I still try to emulate those qualities that I admire in him.”

So Stephan relates his feelings for the people that have influenced his work, including Charles Chaplin, who has been another great inspiration for this artist. “I have learnt a lot from watching his films. If you look at him, there is so much grace and beauty in his movements, like a ballet dancer, and in my compositions I try to capture a sense of rhythm too. It’s a great way to express energy and feeling.”

After a couple of paintings based on the streets of London, Stephan Fullagar has returned to his theme of Latin America. “My goal now is to paint some canvases about Colombia and Chile which, with my Ecuadorean ones, will make up my first solo show.”

Gracias, Nico, por esta oportunidad. TFA