The art of Jean Carlos Puerto
This is the kind of artwork we want on our walls.
A while back, I caught up with artist Jean Carlos Puerto to talk about the stories behind his stunning images.
You’ve written that you’ve been drawing and painting since a young age, but it wasn’t until your early 30s when you took painting classes that things got serious for you. Do you regret not taking those classes sooner?
Sometimes I think that when I was choosing my university career, I wonder what would have happened if I’d decided to do Fine Arts instead. In that moment, I decided to study Psychology but I remember that it was a very difficult decision for me – Fine Arts was a real alternative option.
Ultimately, if I wanted to study Fine Arts I would have had to move to Valencia, which I didn’t want to do, so I chose Psychology.
On the other hand, I think I wouldn’t be the same painter if I hadn’t studied Psychology. It would have been great to start sooner, but it’s never too late to express yourself.
How does your background in psychology inform your painting?
I worked as a psychologist for almost 10 years before I started painting professionally.
All my paintings talk about humans and relationships. In particular, the paintings in the Psyche series have a clear psychology background. It’s my world and I have to show it that way.
Your series of images of men under water are stunning – what’s the creative process that you follow to create these?
It’s obvious that I use photography to inspire my paintings. Life painting of men underwater would be a bit difficult!
Everything started when I saw a photo of a man underwater, and wondered how it would be if I painted it. So I tried, and I was very happy with the result.
After that, I wanted to take my own pictures. So, I bought a cheap underwater camera and started experimenting with myself as a model. The ideas and feelings that are behind the work have to do with solitude and loneliness – it’s the closest feeling you can get of being inside your mother’s womb.
How do you find your models for these underwater images?
I started with myself as the model, because it’s not easy to explain to others what I want in the photo. But, little by little, I’ve been finding some models on Instagram that have wanted to do a naked underwater photo session.
Where is your favourite place to swim?
My favourite place to swim, and to take pictures also, is Ibiza and Formentera. These islands are wonderful – their waters are extremely clear and you can find huge variations of blues. I prefer the sea, not the beach, because the water is clearer. Each summer, I get on board a boat and navigate around the Ibiza and Formentera coast, looking for the best waters.
I love swimming naked. I don’t understand using swimsuits. I don’t like the sensation of wet swimsuits. Being naked is the only way to be free.
