It was planned for me to go to the drawing lesson, but I would have never imagined I was going to draw. Arriving at the Union of Artists in Old Riga, a really soviet architecture building, I joined the class.
After a few minutes, Reinis, a very nice and smiling guy, made me confortable and asked me to take place in front of a easel. He showed me a awk I had to draw. I really felt inconfortable at the beginning as I never draw and I can barely hold a pencil in my fingers if it's not for writing.
Ten minutes and some explanations later, I'm alone in front of my white sheet of paper. Taking some time, clearing my spirit, I drew some lines and kind of a bird appered on the paper. Reinis helped me, gave me some advice, but 1h30 late, I gave up. For the first time, I'm a bit satisfied with the result even if I don't think my drawing is not that "labi" (good) according to him and Laura.
But this experience was nice and I had a lot of fun. Then, I did what I do the best during this travel, asking questions!
Reinis is educated in Art from the Art Academy of Riga and gives lessons since september to almost 10 students. Drawing and painting for a long time, he confesses he passed by two different artistic periods. When he was younger, he was only interested in painting naked women and material things. But he got bored and was looking for something more spiritual."The technic has its importance to some point, but then, the feelings and what you convey through the painting become the most important" he explains me. He moved on to spiritual ideas and his last painting is about the soul of life and how to depict it.
His works are exposed in a gallery in Riga and a few months ago, he had the chance to come to France. Thanks to the ministery of Foreign Affairs, he stayed two months at an artist residency. His aim: to catch the mood of Paris.
But being an artist in Latvia is somehow difficult. Apart from his job as an art teacher, he works in a company doing story boarding ans brand advertising for 8 years. "It's difficult to live on paintings only, he says, sometimes I sell a picture of I have orders."
What about a Latvian artistic movement? "Nowadays there is not a "Latvian artistic movement". We are just working on our own, doing our art as we want and not as we are told to."
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