Page 332 - YGARTUA : The Work Of A Genius

before they went to Germany, before the All Stars Club, Hamburg, your feelings and your ideas. The power of creation. The challenge
before they became famous. is to influence your viewer, to enable others to experience the same

emotions, the same high the artist experiences through the energy
Of course you are influenced by everything around you. First time, expressed at the moment of creation. High energy, imagination,

I met John Lennon in the Crack Pub near the art school, during a freedom of expression through experimentation and challenges to
drinking contest, a pint of beer in less than four seconds, we were achieve a completely original thought; to re-create original thought

watching together and I said “How do you drink a pint in 4 seconds” with a three dimensional form to enable the viewer to experience
and John said “Not me” I used to walk with John down from the the emotion and passion through the artists’ recreation, to capture

Liverpool Art School to the Cavern where they used to jam at lunch that moment in time whereby the artist and viewer are one.
hour. I used to reserve a table at the Grapes for the group otherwise
there wouldn’t be a seat for them; I liked George, he was very WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE MURALS AS THE MAIN WAY OF

sensitive and very nice, at that time Pete Best and Stue Sutcliffe EXPRESSING YOUR ART?
played in the group before Ringo. Influence came from being in Murals give you Public Exposure, it is another form of expression,

a melting pot and an environment of nothing was impossible. This larger, more challenging. Exposing the public to a large format gives
lasted for about seven years and deep down you knew it was the artist international exposure through one work of art. It is in the
special and now reflecting back it was the best years in retrospect, public domain, a permanent fixture, it is monumental and impressive.

those times people were obsessed with music and Liverpool was Domed Ceilings and Murals create a completely different challenge
the greatest and we lived through it it was special. and a real physical workout. Working on large canvases or a large

wall gives a much vaster expanse of space to expand a visual
ANOTHER INFLUENCE COMES FROM THE AMERICAN NATIVES. WHY impact from many yards away, allowing viewing from a distance
DOES A BASQUE FROM LIVERPOOL START PAINTING MURALS ABOUT and visualizing a finished product. Every artist aspires to painting

AMERICAN NATIONS? majestic canvases and no better is achieved than painting wall
In the early 70’s I started painting the North American Native, I murals. Most of the walls I have painted range in size from 30x50 to

found strength and a passion of a race struggling for their identity 25x300 feet. The challenge is creating the composition in the right
similar to the Basque People of northern Spain. These influences proportions at such a large scale.
dominated my work for many years; even today I still feel a need to

create with a passion and strength that captivates your mind and This is approached with a vision of the wall finished before you start.
soul. I like to stir one’s emotions; I like my patrons to feel this energy You need to see it in your mind’s eye just to get the perspective,

that runs through me. balance and correct proportions. You must always take on the
opportunity of working without a projector, in this manner the
INFLUENCES AND INSPIRATION KEEP CHANGING AND RENEWING, freedom of the hand will often bring that third dimension that you

OF COURSE, BUT WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO EXPRESS WITH YOUR have always been trying to achieve. It is only then when you will
PAINTINGS? actually envision the subject matter on the wall.

There is energy, a high when creating. When you are influenced by I always ask for the surface of the wall to be ready and prepared
everything around you, whether it is the people in the world, their ahead of time and like to sketch the face the first day and the next

culture or nature itself, it is emotional and personal. It is these day I paint it. I work straight eight hours and am intense on finishing
emotions that one tries to express, an inside view of your thoughts, the sketch the first day, this way you don’t lose sight of what you

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