Anhelo Escalante (II)

PD: I love your artwork, do you remember when you started to actually work on it? Did you look to any other artists for inspiration?

Anhelo: Well I attended the Nuevo Leon School of Visual Arts. Just for a couple of years in 2000. My family was more interested in me studying music, but I thought it was pretty stupid because I didn't want to end up playing in a shitty orchestra making 80 pesos a week, which seems pretty stupid now, since I don't even make 50 a week nowadays playing in a small indie band. There's a lot of artists, painters, musicians, and poets in my family; it's a big family, my mom has twelve siblings and my dad has eight, so I grew up in a crowd of about twenty children of all ages for whom fun meant lying down in the cold floor of my grandma's patio to draw. But back to your question, I was never good at drawing, unlike the rest of my family, I seemed to be less able, and not even college made me better, in fact it made me hate it. It wasn't until almost four years ago, I went through a very depressive state during which I locked myself up at home and drew for no reason at all other than killing time. Coffee all day and a joint, that's what made me have some confidence in art. I haven't stopped since, I love drawing and all the different methods to create images.




PD: Is it easy making a living in Mexico with a "creative" profession?

Anhelo: funny that you mention it, most of the illustrators I know were really planning on working as something else: painters, graphic or industrial designers. They work as illustrators to make a little more money. I don't know a single person who works exclusively as an illustrator, it's usually only an alternative to make a few extra bucks, and all of it being overworked. You have to work for differente employers, but I think that's pretty common anywhere.
Usually in Mexico people have two jobs: the one that feeds them, and the one that makes them happy. Most employers want somebody that can do three jobs in one, but gets paid for half of one. But I also think it's a question of attitude, if money is what you want, you just sell yourself and do it. Mexico is a country where if you want money you can just "buy it" and if you want passion you starve to death.

PD: What about the States?

Anhelo: I think that in the states if somebody wants money he can just go to school and pay attention, and if he wants passion he'll do ok. But in Mexico, a college education is either a luxury or a reward for your constant determination and effort.

PD: You just finished a book that probably no one reading this blog will ever see, want to plug it?

Anhelo: Yeah, sure. There's a small press in Mexico called Samsara, it's a small independent publisher that makes books pretty much as a labor of love; they have division called Habitación 69 where they intend to publish any kin of erotica: photography, poetry, illustration, etc.. You're right, maybe no one will see it because it will be a very limited pressing of 100, but it's not bad considering it's my first book an artist and illustrator.