Javier Ortas’s working method operates under a fundamental condition: the absolute absence of visual references throughout the entire creative process. His pictorial production stems from internally generated imagery, demonstrating that it is possible to construct complex figurative works relying exclusively on the resources of the imagination.
The Creative Process
1. The Imagined Drawing
The work originates from a pencil sketch conceived entirely within the mind during what the artist terms the "creative instant." This rigorous method demands the absolute absence of visual references.
Ortas dispenses with the use of models, photographs, or any other visual aid in order to preserve the most direct relationship possible between the imagination and the artwork, preventing external elements from interfering with the construction of the image.
Figures, elements, and composition articulate to shape the initial, comprehensive configuration of the piece.
Sketch for the artwork titled "Pintores pobres, pobres pintores" (Poor Painters, Poor Painters).
Sketch for the artwork titled "Pintores pobres, pobres pintores" (Poor Painters, Poor Painters).
2. The Value of the Creative Impulse
Ortas contends that the creative instant generates the primal idea, which must serve as the sole foundation of the work. He rejects the production of serial drawings based on the same concept, as well as successive versions aimed at refining it: a single idea generates only one sketch.
Once finalized, he faithfully transfers it in pencil onto the definitive support, thereby preserving the exact thought that originated it. Any adjustments made are minimal, consolidating the sketch as the fundamental architecture of the artwork.
Decisions regarding color, style, intensity, contrast...
3. Materialization and Internal Resolution
During the pictorial phase, the artist continues to make critical decisions, resolving the composition step by step.
He applies broad fields of color to evaluate the overall chromatic balance, subsequently determining the interplay of lines.Color, light, and shadow are also entirely imagined and decided in real time, through a dialogue where the mind identifies the exact requirements of each element.
4. Graphic Language as a System of Thought
The artist replaces conventional atmospheres and textures with a proprietary visual language, driven by bands of color and formal linework executed directly with the brush.
These are not mechanical patterns, but spontaneous graphic solutions adapted to the needs of each form: rhythm and brushstroke construct a complex figurative universe governed by its own internal logic, where the sovereignty of the imagination grants limitless freedom to the act of creation.
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