Basic Information
Where are you located: Paris - France
ArtMarketDirect gallery URL:
http://artmarketdirect.com/collections/helene-habbot-bautista/
Website:
https://helenebautista.weebly.com
Email:
ha.habbot@noos.fr
About Me
Fun Facts
Any phobias?:
None I'm aware of ...
What’s your favourite colour and why?:
Black is still probably my favorite color, because it includes all the others, and because our eyes and brain can translate it immediately in colors. Doing so, I leave more liberty to the spectator to supply if he wants to, and I can concentrate on the contrasts and balance with white.
Do you live with any family and or pets?:
I wish I had a cat, but always fear it would be too complicated with ink!
Tell us a little about your full-time job and/or education?:
As a full time job, I teach french and foreign literatures to teenagers from 12 to 15 years old ... ... and as second full time job, I'm a printmaker Books, always, books and langages : words, typo, prints ... as a reader, and as an illustrator specialized in printmaking
If you weren't an artist what would you be doing instead?:
If I weren't a printmaker, I should be an artist anyway: it's just vital for me. It could be with music, writing, sculpture, photography... but I need it, every single day....Or a monk?
What moment in your career are you most proud of?:
It's probably my first solo exhibition, in Germany, because I saw there the work and progress I've accomplished in three years, and I could see this work much as a spectator than as the artist. It was really interesting to change my look on my own work, and to understand what people see in it.
Getting Down To Business
There’s a lot of artwork on the market these days, how do you differentiate yours from the rest?:
The illustrative dimension of my work, and the poetry carried by it makes it singular. And sometimes uncomfortable for some people I guess. My point is more to suggest than to tell : I like creating an image and an atmosphere which bring the spectator up to a story, but he has to imagine it: what happened before ? what happens next ?
What is the most challenging part about being an artist in todays market?:
Making people know what we do and find places to show, without sacrifying our own style
For you what is the best part about creating art in the way you do?:
I love each part of printmaking art: from the conception of the image to the printing itself. It's very complex and I like the process that takes me from an idea, with a small sketch, to the work on the plate with specific tools and acids, and then to the choice of the paper, the ink, and the printing process.
Visual art is often love/hate. How do you handle negative feedback?:
I think love and hate are emotions, and art is to provoque emotions, so if someone really dislike what I do, I try to forgot my ego and understand why he or she has such a reaction.
What do you feel when something is sold? Why?:
Some pride, and happiness in meeting someone who wants to discover my imaginary and accepts to get touched by it.
What is your creative process like?:
For intaglios as for linocuts, I start with quick sketches of the idea I have, then transfer it on the plate and be careful to keep the spontaneity of the sketch. Then, according to each type of engraving, I choose the tools and think the different steps to get what I have in mind, and work for hours to get it. At last, the printing part comes and I adjust my press to have the most perfect print. When it's done, I ink the plate(s) and print, and then put the prints to dry.
What do you believe is a key element in creating a good composition?:
For me, it's in creating something I've never seen before, or in working on an image or an idea which is really intimate, and in using the medium I choose in its most expressive way
And Finally...
What’s the best art tip you’ve ever received which you would be willing to share?:
"Be patient" ...
How has your style changed over the years?:
It's difficult to say, but I think my style affirm itself more and more as I know more and more the processes and the tools I can use. And also because I accept (and often want) to be surprised by these processes, to play with.
Tell us about any experimenting you are doing lately?:
I'm working on illustrating a book with linocuts, and it's very interesting because I haven't choose the writer, and then I have to make my imagination ting in with his, but without saying the same and trying to open to other meanings. Like a dialogue between words and prints, to offer more to the reader
Do you have any upcoming events we should know about?:
Next exhibitions will be all around the world : Triennale de Gravure en Taille douce - 17 mars au 4 juin 2018 - Musée Raymond Lafage (Lisle-sur-Tarn- France) 18ème Salon des Oeuvres sur Papier - 23 mars au 15 avril 2018 - Hôtel Anne de Pisseleu (Etampes - France) Authentic Marks - 2nd Annual International Print Exhibition- mars 2018 - Dubaï (Emirats Arabes) Red dot Art Miniprint Exhibition - 16, 17 et 18 mars 2018 - The Granary Gallery (Stow-on-the-Wold, UK) And more are to come !
I like creating an image and an atmosphere which bring the spectator up to a story, but he has to imagine it: what happened before? what happens next?
