Julian Guevara

Julian Guevara

AoA – Where do you find inspiration?

Julian – I really love stories and how people tell them. Whether it’s a book, graphic novel, film, or show, I soak it all up like a sponge. When I think of people that inspire me, my pick would be Jeff Smith, reading Bone as a kid propelled me into wanting to tell stories my whole life, from his art to the way that saga is paced, it couldn’t have left a larger mark on me to this day than anyone I’ve looked up to since. Various filmmakers of old and new plus musicians of various genres all have given me a lot as well. Working on art through so many mediums, it’s really the only way I could show people all of the ideas that are in my head. It can sometimes drive me crazy thinking about how many things I want to get done at the same time but I tend to let myself do it naturally so I’m really focusing in on what I’m doing at the moment.

AoA – What is your work concerned with?

Julian – In my Pen and Ink work, I’ve tried various styles and could say that the way I draw today is the amalgamation of all of those. Just maybe in 2014 I began using more of a distinct method for filling in faces and backgrounds, which I still don’t have a name for cause I don’t really remember how i got into doing it. I’ll work on a lot of portraits of people I like or scenes that tells me a story beyond what’s happening.

Especially with certain series that I’ve done, like my National Archive drawings, I’ll browse the archive for hours and there’s photos barely anyone has browsed online, which maybe doesn’t mean that they haven’t been seen, but man there’s so much history to these photos and interpreting them in my style will hopefully bring a connection to more people to witness what’s already there to see. When it comes to film, ive mostly done Genre movies. Lots of Sci-Fi, Crime, Violence, didn’t ever really think to make coming of age or romance movies. It’s not the only kind of pictures I’d want to make I guess, but damn are they fun to do. Who knows if they’ll be successful to make independently in any capacity in the future, but that’d be a dream. It has been a minute since my last short I’ll admit but maybe just maybe I’ve got some stuff down the pipeline I want to do soon.

Also, on a more recent venture, the past few years since getting into AV I’ve gotten more background in Audio. From working the mixer for big events like WGA meetings, Steven Harvey’s motivational summit, and a CEO event with George Bush, to recording demos and starting a Cassette Recording company with my long-friend Ben Buck called SpeakerBump Productions.

AoA – What are your preferred medium(s)?

Julian – Pen and Ink on Bristol is how I usually do it. I do keep sketchbooks that I fill up but I like to be able to put in a little more detail and knocking out a 20pg pad of 11x14s on Bristol brings much more satisfaction when finished. Once I’ve given my work a lot of post finishing critique I might decide to print them out for Street Pasting, which I began doing regularly mid-summer of last year. I’ve done larger pieces in the past using different things like Canvas, Gesso Board, and paper but always more sporadically than my normal stuff.

AoA – Can you talk a little about your creative processes?

Julian – When im sitting down with a pen I like to do a few starter drawings to get the flow going, keeps my lines from being too loose when I get into a lot of detailing. A lot of drawings I’ll flesh out the initial linework seperatley and come back to finish all the shadow work I’d do by brush or touch up lines. Nowadays pieces can range in time to complete, from a little under a hour, to a couple, or five or six but it really depends on the size. 11x14s and larger I don’t like to rush so even some I have almost done, but I’ve worked on them for months and they’re either never going to be finished or theyll be buried in my stacks of work until I come across them again.

AoA – Do you have any feelings towards Digital Art versus traditional mediums?

Julian – I spent a lot of time learning Digital Art/graphics Programs and in my personal opinion, I would rather work on paper. You can do great work on Computers don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my fair share in the past, wouldn’t be opposed in the future either, but for right now i feel like I spend just the right amount of time compiling and formatting work already so happy to work on paper most of the time.

AoA – Who are some artists that you look to?

Julian – Currently, I want to shout out the artists that I was lucky enough to share their work in the last ZINE I did called Book of Ink, @sleepisfamous @fed_btw @deadcell84 @tayviss @griffininsight @artknocker @uloang @lafemmedelavenir @mechanicalpen_ @bretts_illustrations @simple_compositions @highsettler @thecatscult @cptn_str33t @wy.doodles @ismeusall @saque718 @jokedt_ @alexgvart @1mushrooms @fatherdjango @foreign.everywhere @shelby.elizabeth.art @djkabz

All these people really are artists that I’ve either followed or got to meet putting the zine together and I’d recommend you follow them too if you’re into pen and ink/ street art work. The best part of it was that all the artists aren’t all in one place, lot of people in Texas, but from Australia to Spain, they all showed their own world on each page. I want to note too that I look to all these people to see how theyre process is or just to motivate myself to keep up!

AoA – If you could own 1 piece from a living artist, who would it be?

Julian – Probably Jeff Smith, if he’d bless me with the opportunity to get an original page from either RASL or Bone that would be the ultimate piece. I couldn’t even imagine seeing it in person honestly.

AoA – Big question. What do you feel the role of art is in the world?

Julian – Art to me doesn’t necessarily need to fill a larger role in the world other than to mirror our reality and show it through unique individual perspectives for people to see. How it speaks to people can vary so much because art is so subjective, so I think the influence it has is another beast and that’s one of my favorite things about art. Take myself, when I first picked up Bone, the world and that story blew me away, and I believe that many others shared that experience with me reading it, and because Jeff put his art out into the world and I got to experience it, I make my own art today.

AoA – What else do you enjoy besides making art?

Julian – Love all your typical austinite things to do around town, before Covid you could find me hitting thrift stores for VHS tapes and Cassettes almost daily haha. Before Covid I also did mostly AV for work, been to almost every hotel in town working various events doing different positions on shows and that was a constant love-hate but It was cool having to go to work in a suit everyday.

AoA – We almost hate to ask because that’s all we hear about these days, but how have you had to adapt as an artist to the current Covid-19 pandemic? Where can we currently find your work?

Julian – Ah yes, things really have changed haven’t they! Just before everything was coming to a halt I had some events planned to showcase new work. Since about March I’ve hit the pavement to do more Paste Ups and tried to knock out more work at home though while we all try to stay safe. If you’re looking for my stuff right now, find me on Big Cartel, and Redbubble for more zines, apparell, framed pieces, and the like, if you want a commisioned piece or just want to snag something I’ve already done just send me a DM on IG!

AoA – What advice would you give all the artists reading out there?

Julian – There’s no one that’s out there that didn’t do it before you or who won’t do it after you, what really makes the artist is the vision. There’s a huge boulder that artists carry too much, and that’s ego. If you have something in your head as an artist you have to put it out there. For me, I do it cause it would drive me crazy to keep thinking of the idea than to put it to paper, the important thing is to do it.