An Artist among Us: The Sketches of Jorge Beltran
There’s no doubt about it – the Sparano + Mooney Architecture team are a talented bunch. We work hard to deliver thoughtful, innovative and contemporary design solutions; every day striving to produce beautiful architecture for our amazing clients. The interpretation of an idea from start to finish often involves numerous iterations of sketches, renders and plans. Putting pen, pencil and brush to paper is a key aspect of our practice and drawing skills are essential to the profession. But did you know that our team member Jorge Beltran, who recently celebrated eleven years with the firm, also produces phenomenal sketches at work and in his free time and is a supremely talented artist in his own right? We are blown away by Jorge’s talent, and interviewed him to discover more about his work.
When did you first begin to draw? I started drawing in elementary school. The first notebook my mom bought me had Scooby-Doo on the cover. I tried to sketch it many times.
How did you learn to draw? Did anyone in particular teach or inspire you to draw? I would always sketch on my own until I enrolled in our local community center to take the “Intro to Art” class. By this time I had been fascinated by the paintings that were inside our Bible. I always tried to sketch them – those paintings were my daily inspiration.
Do you still love drawing as much as when you first began? I stopped drawing for a long time. The last “serious” drawing I made was way back in 2001. That was my “retirement” from art! After this, I only produced architecture-related work. Now that I recently started free-hand sketching again, it does feel the same as when I first began as a kid and I love it!
Why do you draw? After all these years in architecture (I started college as an Art Major before I switched) I kept telling myself that I needed to start sketching again. Years passed by and maybe only a handful of (non-architectural) sketches made it to see the light of day. If I’m not drawing, I feel as if I am missing something – I need more than the click of the mouse every day!
What inspires you? My family is my inspiration. They do what they love and they are great at it. I hope to think I do the same.
How does drawing influence how you practice architecture? Sketching gives me a lot of freedom, it makes me see architecture with fresh eyes every time.
Have you ever exhibited your artwork? Not in a gallery, but I was fortunate enough to have had some of my work exhibited. My art class work was promoted in the local TV news, and my piece was one of the few that was featured in the press. I entered art contests throughout my school years and was lucky enough to have those artworks exhibited.
What is your favorite subject matter? As of now, my favorite subject matter is diverse and just something that catches my attention.
What is your favorite medium? My favorite medium right now is pen and/or marker on napkins. I love napkins since they give me the freedom to not hesitate and just draw anything as loosely as I want. I sketch any artwork or images that catch my attention online.
Do you like talking about your artwork and talent? I tend to keep it mostly private, especially since right now I am only sketching from images that I find online. I share a few sketches with my family and a group of friends BUT once someone asks me about it I can’t seem to stop talking about it! On that note, I hope my family doesn’t get tired and annoyed with me drawing their portraits!
When is your favorite time to draw, and do you have a favorite place to draw? My favorite time(s) to draw is late at night and sometimes whenever I can during lunch at work.
How do you title or describe your work? I don’t have any descriptions of any of the sketches since they are sketches of found images. If I find an image I like, I sketch it.
How do you hope your artwork will develop? I hope I can make more time so I can draw more often. As it is, I only sketch once or twice a week at the most. Eventually if time permits, I would like to go back to where I left back in 2001 and with the practice/inspiration/exploration I get from the images I find online, I might get to where I’m doing my own drawings…one napkin at a time.
Watch this space – we have a feeling that Jorge's talents will continue to flourish! In the meantime we are so grateful to count Jorge as a longstanding member of our team and can't wait to see what he draws next...
