Latino, Hispanic Culture, Arts and Entertianment at BF Cafe

Otto “Tito” Sturcke is an amazing talent and proof that creativity is a mindset as much as it is a God given gift. Tito not only creates such realistic pieces of artwork, he art directs, acts and finds time to give us a delightful feature that we are sure you’ll find interesting and humorous!

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BFC: Where and how did it all begin for you?
I was born and raised in the Northeast San Fernando Valley, specifically, Sun Valley but with so many relatives in the area, I felt like I also grew up in the surrounding communities of Pacoima, Arleta, Sylmar, and San Fernando.

I grew up with 6 sisters and 1 brother competing for bathrooms and elbow space in a house that still bewilders me to think we fit so many people in it!  Keep in mind it felt like we always had some relatives staying in from Mexico at all times.   My dad worked in construction for thirty-some-odd years here in the states, but before that, he worked the fields in central California shacking up (and I mean literally in a shack) with 15 other farmworkers for a few years.  Papa was a no nonsense tough guy who was a champion boxer and champion basketball player, who also served in the Mexican Navy, and was determined to pass those genes along.  If you didn’t work hard with your hands, it wasn’t work at all.  My parents didn’t know much about the world of art and with the exception of the local butcher’s hand out calendar depicting Helguera’s romantically embracing Aztec lovers, we didn’t have much art hanging around.  I do recall this one sculpture I truly abhorred that was placed in the living room.  It was a dark lanky figure with a HUGE afro sitting crossed legged wearing what looked like diapers to me.  Where the hell we got it from is beyond me.  Nope, as far as I could tell, if I was going to be an artist, I was going to have some serious odds.

BFC: Your career started at an early age, but almost stopped before it began. What happened?
I knew at a very young age I wanted to be an artist.  Proudly won my first art award in 2nd grade, but I remember being passionate about art even before that.  Believe it or not I remember my first self-taught lesson.  I must have been 4 or 5 because I hadn’t even entered kindergarden.  My brother and sister came home with their books and I remember opening one and noticed sets of arrows that stated which direction your pencil should go if you wanted to draw numbers.  The arrows where filed one after the other pointing downward if you wanted to draw a number one.  The arrows pointed up and around and down diagonally to the left, then abruptly to the right to draw a two,…and so on.  Well, I was smart enough to follow the arrows but not smart enough to grab a piece of scratch paper.  Instead I grabbed a very large blue crayon and proceeded to the masonry wall on the side of the house.  The blocks were just calling to be drawn on.  So I began with one, then two, then I can’t remember how far along I got, but I know it was in the double digits before I heard the shrill coarse yell my father let out when he was seriously pissed!  Man, did I get it bad that day!  Did it stop me?  Obviously not.

BFC: Your portraits are amazing pieces of art. Can you tell us a little about your process and what do you look to convey or achieve with or through your art work?
I remember going to a Lowrider show in the mid 80′s and being mesmerized by the guys whipping their airbrushes around like nobody’s business and the money just kept piling up in their pockets.  “I want some of that!”, I told myself.  If they weren’t painting t-shirts they were painting on cars and I couldn’t believe what a person could do with just one brush.  I figured if one brush could do all that, I just had to learn!  And if I inherited anything from my dad it was the will do something at will.  I went and did the research, got myself an airbrush and taught myself how to use it!

Being self-taught can be a real bitch!  Didn’t have enough money for supplies, let alone art classes.  I do remember saving up the quarter I would get from each bag of oranges I would sell at Sun Valley Park.  I wised up and stuck around the kissing couples rolling on the ground until each couple bought two bags just to shoo me away.  Still quarters only go so far and at 14 I lied about my age to go work at a framing factory to get some money under the table.  I finally got my first airbrush!  It was the “tank” of airbrushes, not much finesse but I worked that son of a gun, despite all the backyard bonfires of the failed painting attempts.  I started making money in high school painting t-shirts and for a long time didn’t know how to use anything else but the airbrush.  I started getting flack at shows by other artists because they said I wasn’t a “real” artist, just an “airbrush artist”.  I was determined to learn and teach them otherwise but it would take years as I joined the Marines and ended up fighting in Desert Storm.

After 6 years I came back with a vengeance and with enough money to start taking art workshops.  It was like ending up in “Neverland” and discovering a whole new world you didn’t want to grow out of.  I learned about every medium and about artists I never dreamed of,….life was good.

I don’t use the airbrush as much anymore, I found a love for all types of applications with so many different mediums.  Much of the work I do now is done by crushing pastels to a fine powder and applying it like makeup on my portrait subjects, sealing each layer as I go along.  I then work it up by using thin watercolor or acrylic glazes.  This stage can be painstaking as I work with fine brushes before I continue to apply oil glazes if I choose.  Sometimes depending on the mood or subject matter, I skip straight to the oils.  I found that with time I don’t really have a solid step-by-step approach or any one certain “recipe” for my paintings.  I’m allowing myself a little more freedom to let the painting sort of choose it’s own direction.  Planning a painting is still a great part of the process but I’m discovering more freedom with each painting, giving me more motivation to learn even more.

Some paintings depending on the size, and I do enjoy working in many different sizes, have taken up to 3 years to paint.  Glazing in certain mediums means you have to have the patience to let the medium dry thoroughly before applying the next layer.  This is how many of the old masterclass painters would paint, and I find it’s a process I enjoy well enough to continue to learn about through each painting.  I find that I can spend 10 hours easily on a painting without rest in some instances.  There’s a certain place the mind goes to that beckons one to continue.

For years now I’ve been painting Latino Icons.  I grew up watching movies with Cantinflas, Maria Felix, Dolores Del Rio, and Pedro Infante.  There are countless others of course, but I just loved those silver screen stars that my parents introduced me to when I was young.  So many kids don’t know about these great icons and I felt that I had to paint them to sort of keep their spirits alive.
If anything, I want to leave a lasting impression with my art.  If you are awed by the technical patience of the paintings, I’m flattered.  But like most Chicano, Mexican American, Latino artists, I want to leave an experience behind.  A remnant of our history and culture, of the proud legacy we carry and hope to pass on to the next generations.

BFC: You also work in the entertainment industry… What type of work do you do? We also noticed you’ve art directed award winning films. What is the difference between creating concept images and art directing a film?
A good friend of mine and phenomenal artist, Mike Butkus, has been working in the entertainment business for 20 years now, introducing me to an entirely different art machine.  You have to be fast, creative, willing to work long hours on a moments notice, and have thick skin.  Basically, when it comes to concept and commercial work, you’re a taxi for hire.  But working as a concept artists lends you to learn a lot about what markets work and don’t work, you get to see the dealings behind the giant marketing machines that promote toys, movies, video games, and so on.  I believe I’ve become a better artist for it, and it’s afforded me to work on my fine art without stressing about where the next batch of frijoles are coming from!  Mike and I are now working on our own personal properties including “Ghettoteria”, a sort of “South Park” meets “Fat Albert”, meets “Family Guy”.  But we also have great kids properties like the “Wick Kids”, and “Fairchild” we hope to license in the near future.

Concept art tends be just that, concept drawings that will eventually, through passage of the executives, move on to become the final art or finished poster that will hopefully translate well to your audience.  So far I’ve worked on at least 200 projects that some thankfully have been very successful.  I’m currently working on art directing the poster for “Narnia 3, The Dawn Treader”.  You might be familiar with the “Blind Side” poster I conceived through sketches.  Eventually they took two of my sketches and took them to the photo shoot with Sandra Bullock that then became the final poster.

The process usually begins with a phone call to see if you’re available to work on a certain project.  Then there’s the confidentiality agreement you have to sign, making sure the art doesn’t leak out and the discussion over how the agency or studio wants to market the project.  If the studio is at a loss for ideas they generally hire you to come up with your own and this is started off by handing over “thumbnail” sketches or rough small but clear indications of what you intend to “tighten” up.  The thumbnails that are approved move to the next stage of tightening up the drawings and getting likeness of the actors if the project you’re working on is a film.  Much of the time the agency or studio will send you “scrap”, reference that will help you see the project through.  These sketches may go through a lot of revisions before the final is decided, and much of what is drawn never sees the light of day, and many times we are unrecognized, unsung heroes so to speak.

Art Directing film is quite different.  In the mid 90′s I was fortunate to learn a lot about art directing through academy award winner Eugenio Zanetti.  His credits as a production designer include, “Zapata-El sueño del Héroe”, “Restoration”, “Tall Tale”, and “Soapdish” with Robert Downey Jr..  On a film set, a movie relies much on three people: the director, the director of photography (camera man), and the production designer/art director.  The art directors job is to create the artistic impression of the film.  If I were art directing “Halloween 47″, I might not want to put everyone in pink or want to put flowers in the masked guys hair,…although, I guess that could be creepy.  An art director oversees the artistic production of the film, working closely with the Set Designer, Set Dressers, Construction Crew, Make Up, etc.  The job is big enough they’ve granted it an Oscar category since early on.  It takes a lot of preparation and sit downs with the production heads to get a clear understanding of what the film should artistically portray.

BFC: Of the numerous films you’ve worked on, “Alondra Smiles – A Quinceanera Story” was a popular film, what was it like to work on the film and what was your contribution?
Other than being the Art Director for “Alondra” I also had the role of playing the dress designer, Andre.  My dear friend and the very talented Conchita Nora Villa who was amazing to work with, directed the film.  She’s definitely proven herself as a remarkable director, writer, and producer, which is not easily done all at one time!

Working on “Alondra” had some challenges in that independent films tend to struggle to find the means to make the film.  The budget was not huge but the story was, and it was through the amazing efforts of the Villa family that the film came to fruition by spending their hard earned money.  I’m glad to have been of help in creating “Alondra’, especially because the atmosphere on the set was extremely positive.  I think a lot of that came through in the film.  Everyone really put in their best, becoming one big happy film family.  I expect you won’t be seeing the last of Conchita!

BFC: Your artwork has given you tremendous opportunities; from creating beautiful art to acting in front of the camera… What do you believe are the common elements/approach that enables you to work in the art, TV and film industry?
Well, firstly, thank you for that wonderful compliment.  I happen to think that the common element that ties me to these different artistic venues is the willingness to adapt and create.  I approach each project with excitement though they may seem daunting at times.  Yeah, I’ll kick and scream through much of them, thinking I should be better, I could be better, or I could have done this or that differently, but I am who I am as an artist today, and expect I’ll be better tomorrow.

I never think myself knowledgeable enough not to learn more than I already know.  Hope that made sense!  I expect I’ll be 93 and still nudging the person next me for answers.  As a kid, I annoyed the heck out of my brother and sisters because I couldn’t stop asking “why?”.  I was the “WHY?” kid, and I believe it’s that tenacity to learn about these different artistic venues that has lent me to live a little dream.  Heck, AND I married the love of my life.  Yeah, the art life is good.

Papa thinks differently about art and artist now.  He still ponders on the fact that one could actually make money by drawing.  I guess I could always show him the pencil blister on my finger if it’ll make him think I work even harder.

BFC: What are your plans for the future? Where do you see your artwork taking you in the future?
I see myself leaning more towards the fine art in the near future.  It’s what really makes me tick, and there are a lot of paintings in my head I’d like to get out.  I see my artwork expanding in even more subjects and mediums but never wavering far from the culture I truly cherish.

Saludos,
Otto “Tito” Sturcke

Visit Tito’s web site: www.sturckestudio.com

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