Néstor Heredia is a self-taught artist based in Argentina. His work includes fabulous portraits of people from pop culture as well as people who are in his life. Néstor describes his style as realistic and works with a wide range of media including pens, graphite, pencils, and ink. Keep reading to learn more about his journey as an artist.
Where are you from and where do you currently reside?
I am from Salta, northern Argentina, 1600 km from Buenos Aires. I am based in my city, I have always lived here.
What drew you to become an artist and what do you like about illustrating with pens?
Like most people who continue to draw over the years, I remember feeling driven to draw from a very young age. I always loved drawings and was fascinated by artists, not only fine arts painters but illustrators, comic strip artists, etc. It is that passion that keeps you learning all the time, and even more so if you are, as in my case, a simple self-taught artist.
When I was a child, my dad gave me the first double fascicle of a collection about the “technique and history of Art, with methodical examples.” I also remember an aunt gave me a wonderful little Disney book with the techniques to draw, step by step, some of the famous characters. Around the same time, I saw a street artist paint Gericault’s “The Raft of the Medusa” with chalk on the ground in the downtown area of my city while shopping there with my mom – I don’t think I ever saw anything like it again – Of course, I found out what that painting was many years later.
About the pens: it was sort of a “game changer”, a pivot point in the realistic style that I was trying to imitate, with graphite and charcoal pencils. I realized that “photorealism” didn’t make much sense, and pens were the ideal way to get away from that trend. I mean, when the internet became popular for artists around the world showcasing their work on social media, the first thing I came across was sketchbook artists and notebook artists sketching in all kinds of notebooks. They were creating absolutely incredible drawings, in ink, markers, and pens of all kinds…some of my favorite artists.
Well, I wanted to try that: and I tried all the pens I could get in the local market – and mixed them with other techniques, like watercolors, for example, on my notebooks too. Plus, it was a much more affordable option than using traditional art supplies.
How would you describe your style?
Can I say it is “realistic”? Traditional, not digital – although sometimes I use digital for commissions.
I like portraits above all, drawing people. I found inspiration in drawing characters from popular culture, a kind of “fan art” about the music I love, the artists I listen to, the movies and images that have a great impact on me. Ballerinas, models, celebrities, but also common and unknown people.
What has kept you engaged and committed to your craft over the years?
To put it bluntly, what keeps you going is the love for what you do, that is, love for what you have been doing almost all of your life, and that means a continuous and constant practice and learning, that grows with each new drawing.
I have never taken myself too seriously as a drawing artist. I drew for family and friends, especially for my sister – she´s an artist too and used to commission me some drawings when in need of a specific image.
I never followed a formal career in Art. I studied philosophy and literature at the university instead, also because I could not afford the Architecture career. However, after several years, I returned to the drawings one day and decided that I´d be spending most of my time dedicated to this craft, in better shape than the last time, with many more resources and available material to learn from: references, tutorials, the internet, and so on. When I finally discovered a way to offer my artwork online and make some money to pay the rent with commissions, I became more committed and responsible about what I was doing.
How have you grown as an artist in the past five years and what are the major contributing factors to your growth?
With practice. I have been trying to keep it up despite all odds. Although I didn’t have a very good time in 2020, not only because of the pandemic but because I couldn’t practically draw almost anything, due to a very uncomfortable pain in the upper region and arms. But the following year, I got a client with a long-term project, drawing “quick” portraits, every day, for several months. In addition, they commissioned me to make a series of illustrations with markers for another project.
I have never stopped drawing in my sketchbooks, as usual, with pencil, charcoal, or ink.
What materials do you most commonly use?
BIC pens, colored pens, charcoal sticks and pencils, graphite pencils, watercolors, colored pencils, markers, fine-liners, and ink.
I would love to start using oils now – but it’s a lot more expensive – and acrylics! I believe I´d need to change my setup a bit for that, more of the painting realm instead of the drawing thing.
Can you describe some of your favorite pieces you’ve worked on?
My notebooks? I mean, as a whole piece – if I can put it this way, especially my Citanova appointment book, which has good quality paper and allowed me for the first time to experiment with pens, without previous pencil outlines, and try mixed media also.
Among my favorites is a color portrait illustration of Gustavo Cerati – an Argentinean musician and songwriter, with brush markers; some charcoal illustrations of Jorge Luis Borges, of Serú Girán – a great Argentine rock band, and a graphite pencil portrait of my late brother I recently completed.
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming artists? Are there any tips or techniques you can offer?
Keep doing what you love; drawing, painting, playing the guitar, whatever artistic activity you do, as long as you perform it honestly, with respect and responsibility. Perhaps everything you do, even when it has nothing to do with art, will lead in some way or another to persist in the pursuit of art. Sometimes, it´s just not possible to keep doing art and one must even give up almost completely and follow another path. But if you love it enough, I think you’ll come back someday to it.
In my case, I tend to be quite organized when following the work of the artists that influence me the most, since it is very easy to get lost in the tide of information and social media.
And regarding the drawing practice itself, a good tip is to go for a walk and forget about everything when a drawing goes wrong, doesn’t turn out well, or doesn’t turn out the way you would like. Go away and get back to it after a while with positive energy.
What are your website and social media links?
I´m working on it – I´d like to offer custom portraits and illustrations on a personal website of my own.
