Today we’d like to introduce you to JC Barba.
Thanks for sharing your story with us JC. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am an immigrant from Mexico. I came to the United States when I was seven years old. I came with my Mom who had already lived here and my Dad who got a work visa. I was one rowdy kid. Trouble maker all the way, hahaha. I literally had that reputation all throughout my neighborhood in Aguascalientes. If there was one thing that stopped me dead on my tracks from causing havoc. That was “Drawing.” Drawing was something that whenever I did it, nobody, I mean nobody would do anything to bother me. Why? Cause it kept me from causing trouble. So, if “Junior” was drawing, I wasn’t bothered, this meant that if I did start to draw I would draw for 5-8 hours straight. This helped a lot to get better. I also had two uncles that drew as well and encouraged me too. Fast forward to today, after a shit ton of pitfalls, errors, mistakes, going to jail, etc… Somehow against all obstacles I am a professional artist having worked and done work for big-time non-profits, select art shows, video game studios, animation studios, I have taught Conceptual Illustration at four different schools and currently teach at the Creative Art Center of Dallas and also teach out of my own studio in the Oak Cliff arts district. If there is a credit outside God and my parents, how I got here today I owe to one thing. Training.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been one nutty ride. Of course, there have been struggles. It’s pretty much a path of struggles if you’re going to choose to be an artist as your career. Do not get me wrong though, I like the struggle. I embrace the grind. I thrive if it were easy it would be pointless. For real, reals, the love the happiness is in the journey, it is a shame that most artists and people, in general, have their sights to set on the accomplishing of the goal or project. It is the journey where the magic is. Where the fun is. The accomplishments only last a few minutes before it’s passed. If you are waiting to be happy until you accomplish, then you are wasting (in my opinion) all those hours, days, years that the journey to that goal or project is going to take. I’ve had several challenges that life throws at me. Some with family, some with career, but if I was going to say there is one struggle that has affected me the most, it most certainly is my self. See, I’ve gotten myself in trouble and out of good jobs in the past because I use to be a loose cannon, hahaha.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I run a studio where I teach other interested people how to draw. That is an understatement though. I teach them an advanced form of classical drawing that few will ever get a chance to be taught. I am an illustrator. Most people get the wrong idea from me when they see my work. They believe I specialize in Anatomy since a large bulk of my work right now is that. But, the truth is anatomy is simply one of seven major pillars an artist has to be great in. Some of these take longer to learn than others. For example, anatomy has taken me five years to learn. For this reason, people see my art and believe my specialty is anatomy. My specialty is that I can draw and draw anything. This is a hard thing to do it takes about 10-15 years of serial training to get to a place where you have no limits as an artist. See most artists out there have limits to what they can do. So, they stick to a narrow area of art that fits their comfort zone. Otherwise, if you pay the price and smash through all them artistic barriers, which keep you from exerting the full potential of your imagination, then and only then can you can truly be free as an artist to express whatever it is you desire. I am most proud that I have done this training it’s difficult to put away all of your childhood dreams and go on to train and do drills for over ten years.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I think the city is great it really has a true artistic side. I love the latino cultural center in which I have done serval shows. I am also loving all the murals and street art that is all over Dallas with my absolute favorite being “The Storm” Art Mural on Ace Parking Garage at 717 Leonard Street. If there is something that is needing to improve, it has to be all the political correctness going on. Art is about having the ultimate freedom of expression. If you silence or censor artists, art and their message simply because it rubs you the wrong way or it’s not your opinion or belief, then you are hurting the art community and killing the country.
Contact Info:
- Address: My studio address is 1005 W. Jefferson Blvd. #402
Dallas, TX 75208 - Website: jcbarbadesign.com
- Phone: n/a
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jcbarbastudio
- Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/drawingmanga.jcb/
- Twitter: https://www.instagram.com/artofsolarpuff/
- Yelp: https://www.etsy.com/shop/JRillustrationsink?ref=ss_profile
Image Credit:
JC Barba
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