Interview: Odette Dessire

In conversation with graphic artist Odette Dessire, an architecture student at the University of Santiago, Chile.

Can you talk about your journey into or interest the arts?

My artistic interests are linked with the exploration of the figurative, focusing mainly on the body as well as synthesizing ideas related to symbols that are usually archetypal, in this way I manage to transmit ideas and scenes within my works.

Do you use a sketchbook? I’m interested in what a sketchbook means to you and your work?, or how people develop their ideas.

I do not have a sketchbook, since I usually approach the creative process directly on the canvas or medium in which he works, I start with a simple and synthetic drawing and then shape the figures through the different layers of oil. Use physical models to create the compositions and in this way observe the lights and shadows that are produced on the bodies and objects.

Can you talk about the influences upon your work?

The influences to produce my works are diverse, I have references from Surrealist women Leonor Fini, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo, Susana Wald and Dorothea Tanning. In addition to artists such as Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, Egon Schiele. Sometimes my works are produced by readings that I make or introduce scenes that come from my subconscious which I write down and then develop them with a model and be able to put them on the canvas.

Your work features stark portraits, what are you exploring though these?

My portraits seek to explore the ability to capture the psychological state of the person, for this I usually emphasize the gaze so that in this way a message is generated, which is closely related to the emotions and feelings of the person portrayed.

Can you talk about your process of working. How do you work, how often, is there a particular pattern?

Regarding my artistic process, the first thing I do is have a mental idea of the composition he makes, then I make the scene with models and from that starting point with a drawing on the canvas, then he begins to polish the shapes and the scene using the different layers of oil, until reaching a moment where the game of light and dark is what I want. My artistic development is constant every day between 09:00 am and 19:00 pm I am painting, drawing, fixing details, among other things.

Do you find the process of creating work relaxing or therapeutic? I’ve become increasingly interested in the relationship of the artist to their working patterns and environment.

The development of my works is a fact that is fundamental in my life since through art I learned a lot, and I can show my ideas in addition to delivering messages and creating a connection with the viewer. I personally like to keep my work environment tidy and clean, I feel that in this way that same environment helps my ideas flow and I can land them in a good way to carry them out.