Fernando Jaramillo is an experienced Colombian painter whose works have been featured in prizes, publications, and exhibitions nationally. Constantly seeking new insights from colors, lines, shapes, and textures, he composes detailed urban cartographies in an abstract fashion. His principal themes are the city, outer space and the universe, the sea, and other forms of nature. Jaramillo’s observations of both urban and natural environments are transferred into his works which showcase interesting color combinations, rhythmic elements, and unique sensations. We sat down with Fernando Jaramillo to talk about his current projects, inspiration, and the start of his artistic career.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
During my adolescence I started to become aware that I wanted to be an artist. Also, I had the privilege of being born and raised in Santa Marta, a city in the Colombian Caribbean, where from a very young age I spent my time drawing and looking at art and history books. We used to live in front of the sea so I have a special sensitivity towards nature and landscapes with sunsets.
I remember that when I was 13 or 14 years old I was already trying to paint pictures, and a couple of years later, I attended drawing classes at the School of Fine Arts. Before finishing school, I decided to study Plastic Arts and seriously dedicate myself to a career as a creator.
Can you talk about your artistic influences and other artists you are most inspired by?
I have been influenced by a wide variety of artists from different periods such as: Monet, Turner, Klimt, Kandinsky, Moore, Ernst, Hundertwasser, Hockney, Moebius and others. However, every day I discover more artists that I am adding to my infinite list of inspiration.
It is not easy for me to differentiate between the artists that inspire me and the ones that really influence me. I take from here and there. I like pre-Columbian art, Paleochristian and Byzantine art, Pre-Raphaelism, impressionism, informalism, abstract expressionism, Franco-Belgian comics, Japanese manga and anime, etc.
Do you prefer to work alone or collaborate with others?
I think I have the soul of a hermit and need concentration to listen to my inner voice. I do not work on the basis of a preconceived idea, but venture alone into the unknown.
Can you tell us about a project you’re currently working on?
At the moment I am working on a new series of paintings that have a strong, thick, very expressive, and vigorous material charge. I want the medium to speak for itself and generate a sense of vitality and freedom.
What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t an artist?
When I was a child I also liked to sing. I was a member of the school choir and I wanted to be a singer, but I always had a clear vocation for the visual arts. I studied Plastic Arts, Design, and Photography, but without a doubt, painting for me is the best profession in the world.
Have you found any other artists on SINGULART whose work you admire?
Yes, there are many talented artists with interesting projects that I am learning from. For example; Luc Villard, Kotaro Machiyama, Peter Nottrott, Jon Parlangeli, Benoît Montet, Eric Stefanski, Juan Vasco, Kiseok Kim, Bernard Simunovic, Tomasa Martín, Dinah Wakefield and Olivier Messas, among others.
What advice would you give to young artists starting out?
This can be assumed for any hobby or any profession.
If you really love art passionately and feel the inner need to express yourself creatively, my advice is to work hard and do it with love. Don’t get discouraged, you must have hope, perseverance, self-demand, discipline, and sacrifice. It is important to break your own schemes and have fun working, and to manage this as your own business, a creative business.
