From my studio: Lineth Márquez

Lineth Márquez is a Panamanian painter who managed to exhibit her works in New York thanks to Artelista. Today is the protagonist in "From my studio".

1. When and why did you start painting?
As a child I was drawn to painting, the colors wrapped around me, I even used my mother's make up to paint, creativity was always present in me, I liked to imagine and build from there! That call was present in my life but I studied Marketing and Advertising at the university, a career that I consider related to art. An artwork stops us to think about what it's trasmitting, Advertising let us create and deliver messages.

The big moment came at the culmination of my college career, I made a cultural exchange with the European University of Madrid in Europe and I began to visit museums. It was love at first sight to see the works of Velazquez and Goya in the Prado Museum, the works of Sorolla in his house museum, the Van Gogh's works in The Netherlands, the works of Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum , not to mention the sharp artworks of Botero in Colombia. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I visit a museum, excited and happy.

2. Which is your favourite time of the day to paint? How much time do you dedicate to painting?
I have no specific time of the day, any time I can use my brushes, when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when someone or something inspires me, but because I am currently organizing my upcoming exhibitions both nationally and internationally in early 2013, I'm completely immersed in painting all day long, absorbed all day long on my canvas, in my passion for painting.

3. Of all your paintings, which is your favourite one? Why?
For me my paintings are the children I do not have, because each of them were born with feelings, anxieties, love, happiness, sadness, I have created with love and they make me feel satisfied. I love all of them but there is one to which I have a special affection: my firstborn, which sparked my passion for the native of my country and has given me so much satisfaction. Its title is "Esplendor precolombino indígena".

4. What are your sources of inspiration?
Everything inspires me, they say we all have a bit of artists, poets and crazy people, I like to create poems and am part of a network of writers, some poems inspire me, but also the dawn, the moon in all its splendor, the native of my country. I have a special attraction for the eyes because I agree that they reflect the soul, I think "Silence can tie our words but nothing can tie our soul when reflected in our eyes" so I like painting expressive looks of indigenous, peasants, dances and folklore, all related to my roots, I love anything that screams Panamá.

5. If you could reincarnate in an great master of art, who would you like to be?
Life is so beautiful that I would not die to reincarnate in one of them, if I can choose, I would prefer to have a bit of their virtues: a bit of Goya's passion, the delicate brushwork of Velázquez, the sharpness of Botereo, the persistence of Van Gogh, the strength of Sorolla, the rawness of Frida, the Guayasamín indigenous pride and I would could not finish ...all art teachers inspire me! I want a little bit of all of them in me, but the most important! "While still being myself."

6. Of all the artistic movements, which one influences you more?
I'm proud to say that I am a product of different cultures of Panama, my works are a mix of everything, because I believe that life refreshes us, is like adding and subtracting. Anyway, Impressionism always prevails in me. On the other hand, I like Expressionism for its light management and for allowing express anything without censoring me.

7. What is art for you? Which role does it play in your life?
Art means "Expression" for me. It allows us to convey what we feel, to understand what others feel or felt, is present in my daily life, everything I see, what I play, what I hear, becomes a poetry that inspires me to create, to paint. Art has given me many rewards, has let me cross borders, meet interesting people. I can be myself and put my ideas on the canvas.

8. This year you had the opportunity to present your works in New York shows Eclecticism. What can you tell us about this experience?
First of all I want to thank Artelista for the opportunity it gives us all to present our works presented so they can be discovered and appreciated. In my case I was exhibiting my work for a couple of years when one day someone contacted me to participate in the New York exhibition Eclecticism. Artelista gives everyone the same opportunity and apparently reviewers and art curators were following my work on the website. When they contacted me I thought it was a joke when because I know nobody from the competitive art world of the United States, even less in New York, I could not believe it! After a few calls and emails I could confirm that it was true, I felt nervous but very excited, I will be alwasy grateful to Artelista because it made it possible.

The experience was unforgettable, I became "The artist who reflects the native Panamanian" I began to feel like an artist! my paintings were exhibited in New York, specifiaclly in Soho, the world-renowned art district of Manhattan, for a moment, I felt as an Ambassador of my country abroad, representing my culture, it was my first international exposure.

I have to thank God, Artelista and Ganexa Art University of Panama, my teacher the artist Blas Petit, all my family, friends and supporters who encouraged me, thanks also to Ward Nasse Gallery and the curators Gigi Gafoglio and Leda Prado, who discover my work in Artelista and saw my potential.