Meet Federico Gómez Maya | Artist
We had the good fortune of connecting with Federico Gómez Maya and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Federico, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Since I was at the University Studying Visuals Arts, people used to ask me what I was gonna do after finishing my studies. The only thing I knew was that I was not going to be a full time school art teacher. (Which is what you actually are studying for). People saw me painting and the started commissioning paints from me, so that gave me a lot of confidence and I rented a house and opened my studio, a few months later I had to rent some of the house rooms to be able to pay the house rent. It wasn’t easy and hasn’t been easy through the art. After few years I preferred to rent a smaller place.
It was a process where I never had any support, advisory, or anyone to tell me how to do things. So it took me time to learn how to.manage projects and make some money. Then with more experience I left my homeland and I have been traveling the world learning and painting. It’s a beautiful planet I can say it.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Since the very first beginning of my career I had an issue regarding my drawing skills. It was easy for me to do perspectives, proportions for distances, take objects far away in the landscape, my relationship with the color has been close which gave me some confident. In the others side, anatomy, shapes and chiaroscuro were not easy to me, to understand.
I had to struggle with that at the University against my teachers and over come that situation in somehow. Finally I understood better the chiaroscuro and started looking for my own shapes. Finishing my bachelor’s degree in Visual Art was the easiest part of my career. After that many challenges happened. Opened an studio, Casa-Taller where I did a lot of project with many other artists, like musicians, circus’s people, cinema club. I learned from all them.
After that Casa-Taller was closed, I explored other spaces and started traveling more, lived in a couple of cities in Colombia and then in 2020 I left Colombia with my partner in love (Just before pandemic), we went to Turkiye and I started painting more and more and traveling more and more, we became nomads traveling the world. In this trip around the world I have had the opportunity to paint in many iconics places, such as Berlin’s Wall, Galata Tower in Istanbul, Portobello Road Market at Notting Hill (London), Calle 8 in Miami.
Never has been easy, but once you learn how to play, you earn more than lose, making deals is an other art that one have to learn if one want to make you life from the art.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Mother, my partner, my dad and my brother have been my biggest support, for them I am what I am and I am where I am. Many other people shared knowledge, experiences and love for the art.
I thanks to everyone who really wishes me the best with no hipocresy.
Website: https://www.fredlock99.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fredlock99?igsh=d3hoeGE5c211cTVj
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1AbhKAf3cr/
Image Credits
All pictures were taken by Federico Gómez Maya.
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