Excerpt from the interview with Marcos Viso in 190º THE MAGAZINE

Who And How Is Marcos?

My name is Marcos Viso Dopazo and I have a brother and sister, of simple father and mother. I have also been a father for a while. Like many I survived "Chanquete", Heidi and Marco. I grew up, like everyone else in the neighborhood, playing with plates and marbles on an unpaved street. I was never very attracted to stories, but I do remember especially my first box of watercolors, drawing from time immemorial or so I remember. I’ve always liked all kinds of animals, but I’m not a vet, I ended up being a Draftsman, Technical Architect and Building Engineer, someone won a lot of cards with the invention. And finally Illustrator. Critical with everything and everyone, I try to bite my tongue but it always betrays me with an expressive look. I prefer the train to the plane, I avoid crowded meetings and with a pencil and paper I am happy.

What led you to put aside your profession as a technical architect and dedicate yourself to illustration?

The contempt and disrepute of the guild, the unfair competition and the ingratitude of many businessmen, politicians and clients have caused him to gradually lose the illusion in the profession and the sympathy towards a society that always justifies and exalts the cheater. The future didn’t look any better for me and I started thinking about the possibility of changing course.

With the announced economic crisis I enrolled in the Higher Cycle of Enlightenment. At the School of Art of Ourense I discovered a world that did not exist for me until then, it was wonderful.

The final push gave me the father of a beautiful girl, Iria, a year later. The desire to be the best parent required change.

I picked up my pencils, packed my bags and went to Barcelona to do a workshop with Rebeca Luciani, Jorge Zentner and Mariona Cabassa.

Since then and enjoying, I try to make a dent in the world of illustration.

Digital illustration or hand-drawn illustration ?, How is your way of working?

At the moment, mixed technique; drawing with graphite pencil and applying textures and color digitally.

I confess that I don't draw much either, I mean I don't do a lot of sketches or big detail studies in the "Moleskine" type notebooks.

I "look" more than drawing, I spend a lot of time thinking, empathizing with the character capturing emotions or generating a feeling that can be transferred to the paper. Sometimes I can get a clear picture in my head, other times it's a more or less complex message, a word, an emotion, sound, smell…

Once I'm clear I take the pencil and start drawing, I say I do not make many sketches, one or two, sometimes if I'm not clear some position I ask my partner to interpret it and wherever I make a quick note (not so much for her) of what interests me and if she is not I ask Mr.Google.

From there… apply the technique.

A dream to realize…

Live from illustration.

Okay, this dream may not be that simple but… why not?