| |
Translation :
Daniel Serrano
Sometime ago, Pablo Roig
asked me to
collaborate with “Galeria de Autor”
but for some reasons I couldn’t
until this moment, so I have to
thank him for his patience.
First I must admit that it’s a bit
bizarre for me talking about me!
But, for those of you who are
interested, I’m writing this little
biography and some thoughts about
our hobby.
I
was born in Santiago de Compostela
in November 1971, one of the most
beautiful cities in Spain and even
in the whole world. I’ve lived in
that city the most part of my life,
with my parents and my two brothers.
I studied in its University my
academic degrees (Teaching and
Psicopedagogy). After doing the
usual exam to work for the
Administration, I work as a child
teacher with children of between 3
and 6 years old. Teaching those
little kids I’ve learned a lot. Due
to my job, nowadays I live in
Pontevedra with my wife Sonia and my
15 months old son, Iago.
My
entrance in this world is because of
chance and curiosity. Since I was
young my real passion was comic
books and drawings, from ‘Mortadelo
y Filemón’ to Asterix, Tintín and so
many other characters of the TBO’s
pages. My dream was to draw like
Ibañez, and I even participated in
some comic contests with not too
much luck. By other side, I always
asked me what was inside of those
boxes of kits of planes, tanks...
that I saw daily in my local hobby
shop. Nevertheless, I spent the most
part of my time in… well, that’s
another story. With 18 years old, I
broke my knee playing my favourite
sport, soccer. I had surgery and
after that I continued playing
soccer for another 4 years more but
everything was different... and that
was the time when I get the magazine
“Modelismo y dioramas”. With those
issues I bought my first tank and
that same year there was a contest
in my town where I participated with
a diorama done with my neighbour, it
was a basketball game in the Boston
Garden with transformated Tamiya
german soldiers. In that show I met
my good friend José Manuel Gómez
García, who encouraged me and gave
me a lot of advices in my first
years, showing me his techniques and
works after a lot of years dedicated
to the hobby in Galicia (THANKS
JOSE). Thanks to him, I knew
Verlinden and other magazines and
books who talked about a show in
Folkestone (Great Britain) where
each year, the best of the world
showed their works. Since then, I
contacted a group of miniature fans
in A Coruña, with people like Luis
Esteban, Manuel Picatoste and Chema
García Torres. With the last one and
with my girlfriend those years we
did our first trip to Folkestone.
At
the Euromilitare I met some other
Spanish guys who I just knew from
pictures of their works at the Todo
Modelismo magazine. After that show
I put faces to the names of Pepe
Gallardo, Miguel F. Carrascal,
Jordi Escarré, Jesús Gamarra, Raúl
G. Latorre, Joan M. Masip, Rodrigo
Hernández Chacón and international
people like Derek Hansen, Adrían
Bay, Nello Rievecco, Mariano
Numitone, Stefano y Pascuale
Cannone, Bill Horan, Stefan Mueller
H., …
After that show I tried to get
better day by day in every figure
I’ve sculpted and painted (and
there’s been a lot of them since
then). Every new figure that I begin
is a new personal challenge for me,
I try to go further my skills but it
doesn’t end perfectly every time. In
the process of getting better it is
essential the contact of those
people that paint or sculpt and
don’t have fear of showing how do
they work, that’s why I consider the
shows and contest as those ideal
places to watch incredible works and
a unique opportunity to ask and
share with its authors how did
achieve this or that what got our
attention. I think that the
competition point is also necessary
because it’s a way of knowing the
level of the works, but sometimes
people looses the reason why we
paint figures. I do just because I
like it and I enjoy sharing my work
with other guys that like me, spent
hours of their spare time with a
miniature and a brush on their
hands. Talking about me, I think I
haven’t learnt enough to be
completely proud with the last
figure I’ve finished.
Since I started I arranged sculpting
one off pieces and painting
commercial ones. That helped me to
sculpt those subjects that caught my
attention without being limited by
the commercial figures.
About sculpting, I would like to
encourage you to try it because I
think that the most satisfactory
thing in the hobby is starting a
figure from zero to finish it with
your painting. Today there are a lot
of articles that can guide you.
Artists Joaquín Palacios, Raúl G
Latorre, Diego Fortes, Bill Horan,
Mike Blank, Kostas Kariotellis, J.A.
Gillios, Marjin V., Mariano
Numitome, Nello, Andrea Jula and of
course the master Stefano Cannone,
explain clearly how to start
sculpting with their works.
About painting, actually there’s a
really high level, and people like
Gianfranco Speranza, Pepe Gallardo,
Raul G. Latorre, Luis Esteban, Román
Navarro, Albert & Jordi Gros, Jóse
Palomares, M. Pascuali, Jose
Hernández Sánchez, Alfonso Prado,
Cyril Abati,…and a long etc.,
surprise me with every new project.
This days, I still arrange sculpting
one-offs with painting commercial
figures, but with more difficulties
each time because of the lack of my
spare time.
To
end, I must say that in this past
years I’ve been lucky to meet a lot
of people of the hobby and I can
assure you that I’ve enjoyed sharing
laughs, beers, chats, trips, and
above all, different points of view
about the hobby. That’s why I would
like to finish this little biography
saying thank you to those of you who
enjoy miniatures as me, and
specially: Jose M. Gómez; the
fantastic Gros Brother´s Albert &
Jordi, Luis Esteban and the Alegres
Turulones, Pepe Gallardo, Luis
Platón and the Euromodelismo staff,
Joan M. Masip; Miguel F. Carrascal,
super-Román Navarro; Diego Fortes;
Manolo Moya; Art Girona; Juan Miguel
Fernández; Alabarda Society, the
people at U-lo Pincel; and of
course, Sonia, my wife, and that
little dwarf that has come home with
who knows intentions…
“Iago”.
See you in the next show.
Hugs,
Juan
Album
Gallery
|
|
