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“If
there was one message that you were trying to communicate through
your art, what would that be?
Si hubiera solo un mensaje que estas intentando a comunicar por
tu arte, que lo fuese?”
“Be yourself. Try to be more tolerant.
Try to be calm.
Sé tu mismo. Intenta a ser más tolerante. Intenta
a ser tranquilo.”
When
I met Spanish artist Mercédes González Marmolejo at
her home in Cártama Estación, one sunny Saturday morning
in April, her calm and tolerant attitude to life was clearly apparent.
She obviously felt at ease. She was being herself.
Cuando encontré a la artista española Mercédes
González Marmolejo en su casa en Cártama Estación
una manaña soleada en abril, su disposición tranquila
y tolerante estaban obvios. Estaba su mismo.
On
the walls of most rooms in her house there were examples of her
work and there were so many brochures and leaflets about her many
exhibitions, as well as dozens of photos of her paintings, that
it was some time before I could get to the questions on my list.
En las paredes en las mayores de los habitaciónes en su casa
había tantos folletos sobre sus exposiciónes y fotos
de sus pintas, que tardó mucho ante de pude preguntarle las
preguntas en mi lista.
Mercédes
has had exhibitions in Malaga, Cartama, Estepona and, most recently,
at La Trocha in Coin during December and January, which was the
first time I had seen her paintings.
Mercédes ha tenido exposiciónes en Málaga,
Cártama, Estepona y, lo más reciente, en La Trocha
en Coín durante diciembre y enero, donde yo vi su arte por
la primera vez.
Most
of the exhibitions have been very successful and she has sold about
half of the paintings she has done.
Lo mayor de las exposiciónes ha tenido éxito y ella
ha vendido la mitad de todas las pintas que ha hecho.
“Sometimes
it makes me feel sad to see the paintings go and once my daughter
actually cried when one of them was sold, but I am pleased when
I sell them because it gives me the means to continue painting.
I am also pleased that they make other people happy.
A veces me hace sentirme triste cuando las pintas se vendieron y
una vez mi hija lloró. Pero me gusto cuando las vendo porque
esta me da el media a continuar. Me gusta también que otra
gente sea feliz.”
Mercédes’s
daughter, Carolina, who runs a physiotherapy centre in Cartama Estacion,
often writes poems to describe her mother’s paintings.
La hija de Mercédes, Carolina, que tiene un centro de fisioterapia
en Cártama Estación, describe a veces poemas para
describir las pintas de su madre.
“Yes, they do describe what I have in
mind too, we are very close and we understand each other very well.
Si, describen lo que yo tengo en cuenta, nos entendemos mucho.”
Mercédes
was only a little girl of three years old when her parents moved
to Belgium and she began to paint at her school, which provided
her with all the necessary equipment. When she was older her father
did not want her to go to art college because he felt that it would
be too difficult for her to make a living as an artist. Instead
she studied art from books, although she admits that she would like
to have gone to college. When her father died, she returned with
her mother to Spain and she got a job in an office before getting
married and having a daughter herself.
Mercédes hacía solo tres años cuando sus padres
se mudaron a Bélgica y empezó a pintar en escuela,
que le dio el equipo necesario. Luego su padre no quiso que ella
fuese al colegio de arte porque creyó que sería demasiado
dificil a ganarse la vida. En cambio estudió arte de los
libros, aún admitió que habría querido a ir
al colegio. Cuando murió su padre, volvió con su madre
a España y se encontró un empleo en una oficina antes
de casarse y tener una hija propia.
“I
planned to take up painting again when I retired, but as soon as
my daughter became more independent, I started again, about 12 years
ago.
Estaba en plan de empezar pintando siempre cuanda me jubilara, pero
en cuanto mi hija llegó más independiente, yo empecé
siempre, más o menos hace doce años.”
“Do
you have favourite subjects that you like to paint?
Tienes temas favoritas?”
“Yes, people, my family, flowers. One of my most favourite
subjects is mothers with young babies. Sometimes I like to paint
what I see, which I find easier. At other times I paint more abstract
subjects, which is harder because you have to draw more on the imagination.
Si la gente, mi familia, flores. Una de mis temas favoritas es madres
con bebes. A veces quiero pintar lo que veo, pero otras veces me
gusta a pintar temas más abstractas. Esto es más dificil
porque se necesita más imaginación.”
“What
materials do you use?
Que materiales usas?”
“Watercolours mainly, acrylic sometimes
and pen and ink. But sometimes I also like to experiment with other
materials, for example, building up textured effects with cement,
sand, wood, gum and silicon.
Acuarelas generalmente, acrílico a veces, madera, cola y
silicona.”
“People
often talk about the light in Andalucia. What have you got to say
about it?
La gente habla veces sobre la luz en Andalucía. Que dices
sobre eso?”
“The light in Andalucia is particularly
good. Light is colour. Colour is light. It is essential.
La luz en Andalucía es muy buena. Luz es color. Color es
luz. Es imprescindible.”
“How
do you feel when you are painting?
Como te sientes cuando estas pintando?”
“Gone. Lost. Not there. In another place.
Fuera. Perdida. En otro lugar.”
“Do
you have a particular ambition?
Tienes una ambición particular?”
“To continue painting is my ambition.
Continuar pintando, eso es mi ambición.”
“At
the moment you are teaching art. Do you think that a person can
learn to paint or must they have a talent?
Piensas que se puede aprender a pintar o se debe tener un talento?”
“Anyone who wants to learn to paint
can do it, but if you have a talent you will paint better.
Alguien puede aprenderlo, si lo quiera, pero si tengas un talento,
pintaras mejor.”
“If
a young person told you that they wanted to be an artist, what would
you say?
Si un joven te diga que quiere ser artista, que le dices?”
“There are many painters in the world,
but only a few who can earn a living from it. If you have good contacts
with wealthy people, or your family is important, it is easier.
Painting to sell or selling what you paint are very different things.
Hay muchos pintores en el mundo, pero solo un poco pueden ganarse
la vida por pintar. Si se tiene buenos contactos con gente rica
o si tu familia es importante, es más facil. Pintando para
vender o vendiendo lo que pintas son cosas muy diferentes.”
“Many
people worry about what other people think of them. Is it important
to you what other people think?
Mucha gente se preocupe sobre lo que otra gente piense de ella.
Es importante a ti lo que piense otra gente?”
“No. It is not important to me what
other people think. I do what I like and I like to paint.
No. No me interesa lo que otra gente piense de mi. Hago lo que quiero
y quiero pintar.”
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