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TOE Exclusive :: Carlos Patino Interview

herocious

Where were you born and where do you live now?

I was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia in 1981… Im considered an “old man” now. But I grew up in Bogota, which is the capital of Colombia for those people who failed geography in high school.

Right now I am living in London. Just moved here from living for over 7 years in New Zealand. London RULES! So much stuff to do and surrounded by TONS of art related things.

Tell us about your education.

My degree was a bit all over the place. It took me 7 years to graduate. I have a degree in Industrial Design and that’s what I studied the whole time. I graduated in New Zealand but I did 2 years previous to that in Florida, USA and previous to that I did 1 year in Colombia. The reason why it took me so long was because every time I changed universities they would not take any of my previous credit, but I managed to graduate. The funny thing is that I do NOTHING related to my degree. Sure it’s design but not product design. At the moment I am doing graphic design, which is what I really like.

What is the one book you will regret never having read?

I still haven’t finished Watership Down and every time I think about it just makes me angry. But one of these days I will finish that book!

What is your favorite ingredient?

Not sure if this counts as an ingredient but AVOCADOS. I guess it does because I use it with everything. I put it on soups, rice, toast, curry, lasagna, spaghetti, you think it, it goes on it!

How did you get interested in art?

I drew my whole life but always thought of it as a hobby or a way to kill time. When I moved to New Zealand a lot changed for me because I realized I could do anything I wanted so I started drawing more, started my own record label, started a couple of punk bands, and anything I thought about I realized I could do it and if not then at least I gave it a shot. And that’s what happened with me and art/illustration.

But my best memory regarding art was a teacher telling me I should study design or fine arts because all I did in class was draw and it really frustrated her. I told her I was going to prove her wrong… and I DIDN’T. I failed but from then I went on to do design. Thanks (whatever your name was) teacher!

How has your practice evolved over the course of time?

Hugely! If I see something that I like I’ll try to recreate it and not to copy it but to see how I can incorporate it into my own work. I take tutorials, youtube questions I might have and try to improve in general. Sounds time consuming but it’s not really if you are willing to stay up till 1am every night and then go to work at 8am.

What do you consider to be your greatest success?

I’ve been skating for over 13 years now and I think my greatest success was seeing my artwork onto skateboards and walk around town and seeing little kids skating my work. It’s funny because I would like to approach them and be like DO YOU LIKE IT!? But I prefer being anonymous when it comes to my work. I also managed to get my skateboard illustrations onto a compilation book with lots of other cool skateboard illustrators. I like to think my work will be forever now in books! Makes me happy.

If you could ask yourself one question, what would it be and how would you answer?

Who is your favorite illustrator/artist? The answer would be simple… Wassily Kandinsky. Not just because his work is mind blowing but because his theory that art and music are connected and one can’t survive without the other. These are probably the 2 things I like more in life and I can totally understand the reasoning behind. 2 great ways of expressing art connected… A NO BRAINER! He was also a teacher at the Bauhaus and that was the foundation for a lot of whatever surrounds everyone. If whoever is reading this hasn’t heard of Kandinsky or the Bauhaus then make sure you take 5 minutes of your busy facebook time to google them and find lots of information that you have on the web. And don’t just stop there, keep on looking more and more because I think everyone should be educated in the field that they like. When you see shitty artists you realize that they probably haven’t looked into it much and that explains the mediocre outcome. STUDY STUDY STUDY, that’s the secret, it doesn’t have to be boring textbook study but make sure you find your own way to study that makes you feel confortable.

Carlos Patino has a website here . He illustrated this children’s book.

September 2, 2012 5:15 pm

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