Tom Balderas interview By Realism Without Borders
RWB: First, could you talk a little bit about you? Tom Balderas: I was born in Southern California and currently live there. I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a household that encouraged creativity. My father was a photographer and working with him are some of my earliest memories of creating. Due to my father’s business in sales he was constantly on the road. He traveled quite extensively around the world and more often than not would take along one of my three brothers or myself. Seeing other cultures, museums, meeting people and immersing myself in these various places has helped to instill in me a deep sense of observation. My mother is a very spiritual person and has imparted upon me a sense of the mystery in life and that deep under the surface of all things is where real truth lives. Also I grew up near the ocean and being so involved there I find that nature has been the greatest influence upon my outlook toward painting. An eye opening moment came in 1984 when my parents took me to see the great Impressionist show called "A Day in the Country". It was a major influence for me to see the work of those painters. I still have the exhibition catalog and often refer to for inspiration. I take the book with me just about everywhere I go to paint. A funny thing is I often put that catalog and other books from my collection on top of my boards and canvases until I am ready to paint on them. I’d like to think that by doing so they might impart some wisdom into my materials.
RWB: Your style is very distinct how did you come to this? Balderas: My mentor Joseph Mendez who was schooled by the Russian painter Sergei Bongart imparted in me a color sense. I spent about five years in study with him. I started out as a landscape painter but one day Joseph told me that he thought I would eventually develop as a figurative painter. At the time that sounded crazy. He also taught me that if a person paints and studies the things they truly love that positive development and progress is guaranteed. One thing Joseph often reminded me of was that painting would never come easy. I agree. I have studied color and become obsessed with it actually. In my work the painters from America, France, Russia, Britain and Spain heavily influence me. For me it is important to attempt to achieve and develop into what might be called a ‘complete painter’. What I mean by that term is I want to become competent as a painter of ALL subjects -- landscape, figurative, interiors, still life, seascape and to be able to describe or abstract them in paint. I want to study light, the sense of the time of day, the mood or poetry of a moment -- the gesture of the figure, the gesture of a still life and the objects it might contain. I see all objects as simple geometric shapes that happen to be getting in the way of light. I want to describe that light. As far as brushwork or a type of style in my painting goes it’s no more than a bi-product of working to attain the description of light. I can honestly say that I have never tried to acquire a ‘style’ or ‘look’ to my work. I can compare it to writing in that I was taught the fundamentals of writing, ‘the ABC's’ of writing, but the act of putting those letters together and on paper with pen just comes naturally. I would not want, or cannot change, the actual ‘style’ or ‘look’ of my handwriting.
RWB: How do you choose your subjects? Balderas: Extremely spontaneously. When I set out to paint a certain idea or subject with too much forethought I find the work ends up in failure. I might start a day with the intention of painting a figurative piece and find I end up with something very contrived or lacking in honesty. I think it is nice to ‘find’ subjects. For me the work goes more smoothly that way. As I started to develop seriously as a painter I was working overnight shifts. Each morning my wife would go off to her career as a teacher. I would get my son and daughter ready and off to school. Most times I had just a few hours or less to get some painting done. I think it developed in me a way of working quickly, intuitively, often in one sitting, in an exhausting frenzy and with no choice but to trust my first impressions of a subject. That way of working has had its upsides but I have struggled (and for me struggle is the real incentive) to work on paintings over a longer period of time. I have struggled to develop paintings with layers of paint and with changing emotions. Someone once told me that when things are going well with a painting it could be likened to having an exciting time at a party. It can be extremely difficult once you leave that party to then try to recapture that feeling with the same sense of excitement.
RWB: SO, what is your normal painting process? Walk us through it. Balderas: First thing each morning, since my studio is in my home, I find it imperative to leave and do some writing as a way of getting away from the morning rush about the house. Writing is like doing yoga for me. It helps me to get into the necessary frame of mind to create. I’ll end up back at studio and listen to music while working. I concentrate on that music as it helps me to ‘get out of myself’ - out of what is my conscious self. As I paint I work intuitively. I allow my impression of a subject take hold and just go with it. Typically I start each painting with a gesture drawing in oil on the board. I then proceed with that same gestural hand as I continue develop a piece to completion. I view drawing within painting very differently than the sort of drawing that comes from working in pencil or charcoal on paper. I see drawing as it relates in the act of painting as the coming together of spots, shapes or notes of color. For me it is about how those spots of color move one to another.
RWB: Any Favorite artists? Balderas: There are so many - Elmer Bischoff, Walter Sickert, E. Charlton Fortune, Armin Hansen, Lucian Freud, Charles Movalli, Sergei Tkachev, Morisot, Aleksei Tkachev, Mikhail Shemyakin, Degas, Monet, Repin, Serov, Sorolla, Charles Hawthorne, Diebenkorn, Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell, Ken Howard R.A., Dan McCaw, Sergei Bongart, Joseph Mendez, and just about all of ‘The Bay Area Painters’ of San Francisco. The list could go on for days. I’m drawn to paintings more than anything else, and it’s less of a concern to me who created the work. I’m drawn to painting that holds a timeless quality.
RWB: Anything you feel an urge to paint but did not yet? Balderas: Yes, I’m striving to paint something that is extremely ambitious, something less routine for me, paintings with a true timeless quality, paintings that convey a sense of honesty, something worth leaving behind. Also multiple figurative pieces, double still life’s, and very large works that still retain freshness and a sense of spontaneity.
RWB: What do you think is the next step for you in your art? Balderas: To continue to strive forward in my work and use each painting as a stepping-stone to the next. Sometimes going backwards on those stepping-stones is to remind myself where my work was and where I want it to be. To share my perspective and the many varied approaches to painting through teaching. To get out more and become a part of the art community as a whole.
RWB: Advice to young artists? Balderas: Approach all of your work, no matter the type of work you are doing, through the eyes of a student. Never attempt to repeat a successful painting. Approach each painting with fresh eyes. Stay honest in your work. Always step out beyond your comfort level and push forward in order to attain growth. Paint what you love in order to do those things justice. Most importantly embrace the struggle of creating and dwell in that struggle. Keep in mind that it’s in the struggle that authentic art is created.
RWB: Anything you would like to add? Balderas: Remember the idea that there is only one of you. Be content with that. Be happy with that. Be lucky with that. Remember the idea that if you are driven to create then to move toward finding yourself and your own way in that process. Remember to be encouraging to fellow artists and a positive force to all you encounter.