Name: Bouna, Ethiopian bestiary (50x65cm)
Brand: Jata
Price: 95.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

MEET THE ARTIST

JATA

"My approach is very instinctive, sensitive. It consists of expressing my desires for travel (intra and extra), my wishes to see humanity slow down and change direction, my desire to sing of the beauties of a world that I already imagine is lost."

jata

JATA

DRAFTSMAN/ILLUSTRATOR, AUZAS (31)

The artist shares with us his creative process, from suffering to "creative fire"

See the Artist page All illustrations

Tell us your story, how did your vocation come to you?

I've loved to draw since childhood, but that desire had faded into the twists and turns of life. Ten years ago, I returned to this unfulfilled passion. It had undoubtedly been calling to me subconsciously for a long time. Reading the great comic book authors (mainly from the 70s and 80s) spurred me to get to work, and they greatly influenced my style and my way of drawing.

How would you describe your style, your artistic approach, in a few words?

I draw my inspiration primarily from my observations and my surroundings, which I blend with my imagination and my other passion, music. My approach is very instinctive and sensitive. It consists of expressing my desires for travel (both within and beyond), my wishes to see humanity slow down and change direction, and my longing to sing of the beauties of a world I already imagine to be lost.

What themes or subjects inspire you most in your work?

Music, the power of nature, and wild landscapes. I like to revisit existing places, transposing them into timeless eras to give them a new life. The idea is undoubtedly to encourage the viewer to take a step back and reflect on their surroundings, whether familiar or unfamiliar.

How do you work?

I exclusively use traditional tools: paper, pens, brushes and ink, watercolor for the colors. I like the idea of the original drawing, whose soul is invented as the work progresses.

Do you have a particular technique, a specific expertise? Without revealing all your secrets, have you developed your own methods and techniques?

Using India ink is a complex skill, and after ten years I'm still learning. The biggest challenge is taking care of your equipment because the ink clogs everything. It dries on nibs, burns brush bristles, and clogs the feeds of Rotring pens (refillable architect's pens). Paper gets stained and suffers from heat and humidity. So I've developed tricks and techniques, often borrowed from comic book artists: using light tables, applying patches to fix mistakes... In short, craftsmanship in all its glory!

Tell us about your daily life, your constraints, your joys, your successes…

Creating a drawing, especially a large one, takes me through several stages that are often the same: the struggle to establish the composition of the work, its structure, so to speak. Then comes another rather trying phase of pencil sketching and drawing to create the drawing itself. This is followed, when I move to inking, by a great euphoria, a "creative fire" that obsesses me, fills me with joy, and alone justifies all the suffering endured. Then comes the finishing of the drawing, a difficult period of doubt and weariness. The satisfaction of looking at the finished work is very rare... These stages probably summarize my daily work at the drawing table quite well.

Do you have a message you'd like to share, or anything else you'd like to say?

I encourage everyone to listen to their creative impulses and take the plunge. Because the joy of doing a job you're passionate about, without constraints other than your own limitations, is, for me, the only thing that can make a human being truly fulfilled.

See the Artist page All illustrations