ARTIST INTERVIEW: CYN VALENTINI
WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?
I hadn't painted for a long time and when I returned after 15 years without painting I did it on a surfboard. I liked the result so much that all I could think about was to do it again and again and better and better. I believe that a white board like any other is impersonal and we deserve something special, something that represents us ...just like our tattoos !
HOW DO YOU WORK?
I work on the terrace of my house, looking at the sea. I look for a comfortable place, I put good music and some aromatic candles.
WHAT DOES YOUR WORK AIM TO SAY? (if anything)
I believe that life is the colour we choose. I like to paint a world in which everything is possible, colours are for me freedom, liberation .... breaking structures, "thinking out of the box".
WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND? (How did you start making art?/Why do you make art?)
I went for 5 years to the academy of fine arts in Argentina, as it was not a sustainable job I studied oenology. More than ten years later when I painted my first surfboard I did watercolour painting courses and the one that opened my head to a new world was a cartoon course. I love the idea of making a funny version of reality, exaggerating things and turning the world into a surrealistic scenario.
IS THERE ANY ONE THING THAT IS INTEGRAL TO YOUR WORK?
MUSIIIIIIIIIIC !!!
WHO ARE YOUR BIGGST INFLUENCES?
Joan Miró , Gary Baseman , Phil Roberts
IS THERE A PARTICULAR PIECE OF ART YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF? WHY?
well, not one ...two in particular . The first one is a board that I painted for my first client : Jarán Rodriguez, professional surfer from the Canary Islands. My second work (not the best but the one that makes me feel very proud) is a board I painted for a coffee shop. I dreamt that there would be a work of mine in that roundabout where it is full of cafes, one day I saw a board hanging and I said "this is the place" and so it was.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN A WORK IS FINISHED?
I am a perfectionist so my work is never finished hahah!
but usually my work is finished when the composition gives me the feeling of relax.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
I am inspired by nature, the strength and color of the waves ... the feeling of power and majesty they have when they break.
I love birds, skulls and what I like the most is to play with the beauty of women, sometimes bad girls, sometimes with a simple beauty, I also like to play with the contrast of a childish image with a little bit of evil.
IS THERE AN ELEMENT OF ART YOU ENJOY WORKING WITH MOST? WHY?
definitely waves, each one is different. You can mix as many colors as you want , there are no rules or dimensions , just let the brush flow.
HOW DO YOU SEEK OUT OPPORTUNITIES?
Well, fortunately opportunities for some reason come to me. I must confess that I should move to look for big projects. The times I've looked for it has been in conjunction with local producers like skate brands and for surfdecoration of bars. I've been lucky that the response has always been positive.
HOW DO YOU PRICE YOUR WORK?
Well, call me a nerd, but I have a spreadsheet in Excel where I am placing the cost of each of the materials I need (I like to work with quality products and you know, quality is not cheap). I have an Excel spreadsheet where I put the cost of each of the materials I need (I like to work with quality products and you know, quality is not cheap), hours of design (if it is something I have already designed I do not charge) and finally hours of work.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR?
The colorful girl who paints surfboards
IF SOMEONE WANTS TO BUY YOUR WORK OR HIRE YOU, HOW DO THEY REACH YOU?
I live on an island and many of my clients come from word of mouth , much of it through my Instragram @cyn.surfart or through my facebook Cyn Valentini Art.
Some photos taken by @fuertephotoventura
and also some of my work can be seen here :
https://www.behance.net/cynvalentini
email: s.t.art.creation.co@gmail.com
facebook: s.t.art_creation (@s.t.artcreationco)
instagram: @ s.t.art_creation
website: www.startcreationco.com
Best,
Tasha
s.t.art_creation
