Meet Guillem Font

We recently connected with Guillem Font and have shared our conversation below.

Guillem, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome is something that has always haunted me. You start painting freely when you are a child, but as you grow up and especially when you decide to enter the professional world, that’s when you get that feeling that you don’t know enough to be offering something that is really good.

After 15 years of living with that feeling, you learn to live with it. Often, imposter syndrome has also helped me to be more of a perfectionist when working, but it is important to know how to control the feeling and not let it block you.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I would describe myself as a cartoonist who experiments with different techniques and media. I have worked for many years as a freelance illustrator for various agencies and publishers. When I was studying fine arts at the University of Barcelona, ​​I was awarded an international mobility grant and was able to travel to Mexico. What was initially intended to be a 6-month grant ended up becoming a 10-year adventure.

In Mexico, I discovered the world of engraving and muralism. During my first year there, I decided to travel from Mexico City to Colombia by land. For 7 months, I traveled through Central America from hostel to hostel with one condition: I only moved when I managed to get a hostel in another town or city to accept an exchange of nights’ lodging for a small mural on its walls. That is how I began to become interested in large formats.

Currently, I make a living from my own production as a muralist and illustrator and I teach classes at an arts university in Catalonia. I have undertaken mural projects in Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Austria, Macedonia, Morocco, United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia. Additionally, I have participated in group and solo exhibitions in Spain, France, Italy, and Mexico.

In parallel to my personal production, I have the pleasure of co-directing a community art project with my partner Luisa Estrada. It is an engraving and printing workshop adapted to a van with which we move around cities and towns bringing the world of engraving to many different places through participatory workshops.

I have just opened an exhibition in Barcelona and at the end of the month I am going to Bulgaria to make a mural subsidized by the Goethe Institute and the Cervantes Institute.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

For me, the three qualities that most influenced me were:

Constant learning of new techniques and experimenting with them:
Before studying Fine Arts, I studied a two-year illustration course. This allowed me to start my degree with a much more solid technical base and to take advantage of the degree to focus on practicing and developing an artistic discourse or proposal. I would recommend that everyone who wants to start out invest a lot of time in learning to control drawing and painting techniques by studying references, tutorials or courses and through constant practice.

In parallel to my studies, I spent years to work as an illustrator for publishers and agencies where everything I drew was under orders from my bosses and adapting to as many styles as necessary. I learned a lot about managing my time and practicing a multitude of styles with a professional result. Entering the professional artistic world, although it is not exactly the dream job, was a great experience for me that I highly recommend.

The development of my own style:
After several years working for these companies, I decided to stop working for them and focus on developing my own style that over time would allow me to enjoy what I do. In this way, currently almost all the projects I do are with great creative freedom and my clients seek me out for my personal style.

Being your own boss:
Wanting to make your artistic production a profession that you can live is a very difficult task. You have to take many aspects into account, you are your own community manager, your own accountant, your designer, your creator, you set your own schedule and no one is going to tell you how to do it… It is very important to take these factors into account and keep all the points active and not neglect them. It is a constant job that never ends. Freedom is great but it also requires a lot of self-discipline.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I think that something very common to all of us who dedicate ourselves to artistic creation is that we often go through artistic crises. Creative processes are very delicate and mixing a profession that feeds you with your passion sounds great but at the same time it means that you will not always have the same energy or ideal personal situations for new ideas or projects to emerge.

As I said, having artistic crises is something that happens to me constantly and something I have learned is that having them and experiencing them is absolutely necessary to keep moving forward.
For me, a creative crisis is the prelude to a good idea. Something I have learned to handle these situations is not to force the machine; when one is overwhelmed it is better to stop, take a break and occupy the mind with an activity that is totally different. Most of the time after a break (which can be an hour or several days), inspiration returns.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://guillemfontart.bigcartel.com/
• Instagram: @guillemfontart
• Facebook: @guillemfontart
• Twitter: @guillemfontart
• Youtube: @inusite