Interviews

1. Can you tell me a little about yourself, the area where you grew up.

I was born on Valladolid, the capital city of Castilla y León. Is on the north-center of Spain, and all the area is very well known for the castles, cathedrals and medieval legends. The city is quiet and pleasant , full of culture and interesting places. I lived there for almost all my life; now I live in a very near village called Villanubla (that means "the village of mist"), but I work and spend my free time on Valladolid.

2. What influences caused you to get into art?

I was mostly influenced by the books and comics that I read when I was a child. I spent all my free time drawing and reading, first humor stories, then horror and fantasy stories. At fifteen I began to write too, so almost all my activities were around the art. But I didn't take it seriously until I was 19 years old. At that time I take the decision of draw one of the short stories that I writed in comic format. The experience was great, so I began to work in comic and illustrations as a way to show out my creativity.

3. What are the basic steps to becoming a great artist?

Experience and hard work. As any other profession, if you want to be good you have to work daily.

4. If you were stranded on a desert Island, what basic things would you want with you. (there'd be no electricity).

Well, I will choose to have a knife, matches and a blanket for the practical part of my mind, some books, a notebook and a pencil for the creative part.... and a cell phone to ask for help when I get bored.

5. What was the first piece of art that you developed that you were truly proud of and wanted the whole world to see.

It was "Spider's Soul - Aracne". Because when I first did that image I spent about a month working on it and then my computer crashed and I lost almost all the image. So I did it again. I spent almost two months for the new version, but I have a special love for it.

6. Who are your biggest inspirations?

Well, they're not a "who". It's just a feeling. Sometimes it's something that I see, a landscape, a night, people... sometimes it comes from the books I read or the movies I saw... but most of the time it just comes, I feel something and then I have an idea.

7. Do you listen to music when you paint? Which music?

Always. I can't see myself painting without music.

I like almost all kind of music, but I choose to listen the pieces that remind me the kind of work that I'm working on, or my own mood.

My usually choices are pop/rock, jpop, ghotic and celtic.

8. How many hours a week would you say that you devote to art?

I think about 40 hours in my free time. But if you also counts the hours that I spend on my full time job (art director on an advertising agency) it would be about 80 hours.

9. What sound advice would you give to young artists out there?

First to work hard, they need to have patience and practice all the time they can, because practice and experience is the most important thing in this profession.

Second, have a free mind, learn everything you can. Knowledge can help you to find new ways to express yourself. Also don't be mad when someone critics your work, bad critiques can help you to find your mistakes and fix them.

And third, but not least important, don't ever give up. If this is your passion, keep working on it.

10. How would you promote your website Spiders Soul in a paragraph or two?

Spider's Soul is a website in which you can find two different kinds of art: comic style and realistic style. Both of them are full of fantasy, magic and horror stories, showed in illustrations, comics and writings.

11. Can you tell me a little about the piece 'Nine Days - Mirror Mirror on your Comic side of your website?

"Nine Days - Mirror Mirror" is the last piece of the trilogy called "Nine Days". It was a piece for my upcoming project "Community", a comic book about fantasy and horror themes.

I wanted with this piece to show a gate (the mirror) to the other side, let's say "the side of the death". She is the guardian of this gate and can see the good and bad about you. That's the reason you can see both sides of her. The spirits that are floating behind her are lost souls, damned for they sins.

This work was very fun to do, althought the dress was a very difficult part of it. I didn't have the intention to show the spirits; they were part of another piece that I never finished, but when I was working on "mirror mirror" I had the inspiration to include them.

12. Can you tell me a little about the piece 'The Well of My Desires' on the Realistic side of your website?

"The Well of my Desires" is one of my favourite pieces. I spent at least two years with this idea on my mind, but I couldn't find the good time to do it. It took me a month of work to finish it.

It was so fun to work on it that I think I worked harder than I usually do. I think the most difficult part were the leafs on the ground and the well.

The story behind this piece is about a girl who have a lover only in his dreams. In one of this dreams she spend the time with him near of a well in the middle of the forest. When she wakes up, she began to search for this place. One day she finally finds the place and make a wish to the well: to never wake up again.

13. How do you see art changing for the future? Is it for the better?

Well, changes are both good and bad, it will depend of your point of view.

I think most changes will be about the techniques, from traditional art to digital art. But artists will ever find the way to express themselves, sometimes will be about the social themes and sometimes about their wishes. Art is always changing.

14. Who are your very favorite artists and why do you like them?

Luis Royo, a spanish very well know artist. I'm a fan of his work since I was a child, I think his pieces show great fantasy worlds with a awesome technique.

Jonathon Earl Bowser, who shows masterpieces with romantic themes, full of fantasy and magical forests.

Linda Berkgvist, a great digital artist with fantastic dark themes and a very good digital technique.

John William Waterhouse, one of the masters of the prerrafaelism, with the most awesome pieces.

15. Is there anything that I may have missed that you would care to add?

Nope, I can't think on anything more in this moment :).

16. What's in the future for Cris?

Well, I hope to be able to work on this all my life, and have the opportunity to improve myself a lot.

For the moment I'm working on an important project, and I have many projects and ideas that I want to do someday. Time will say :).