5 Questions: Xavier Casalta
I first came into contact with Xavier Casalta's work through the social media of Louis XIII, Remy Martin's exquisite brand of cognac. He had been commissioned by the maison to create a piece depicting their famous decanter. I was instantly intrigued by the technique and got in touch with this up-and-coming Aix-en-Provence-based artist to find out more about his art. Welcome to 5 Questions, our new interview format easily digestible for those living on-the-go.
Hi Xavier, could you tell us a bit about how you got started with your art? Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I started drawing as a teenager but really focused on art when I was 21 after graduating from visual communication school (I'm 27 now). I wanted to try a career as an artist, so I spent almost two years at home learning how to create images out of dots, practicing all the time and experimenting. It first started with a passion for typography, but quickly evolved to drawing many things. There are lots of subjects I like to study. Architecture and still life are my long time favorites. But recently I've been really into antique imagery, I started collecting antique coins in order to draw them. I am also exploring antique busts and mosaics.
I love drawings with dots, the render is fascinating but the stippling technique takes forever, even the smallest drawings require a few days of work, which is quite frustrating as there are lots of things I would like to explore. I usually need a few months, from 500 to 800 hours to create large works as I am working alone on the drawings. Recently I've been focusing on even larger works, which require much more time and patience. We're now talking about thousands of hours and years of work for a single piece! The material I use is quite simple, I do my sketches with pencils and the inking process is done with rotring ink pens on watercolor paper.
Well you can easily get in touch with me by email (hello@casaltaxavier.com). I love working on commissions for brands and private collectors, especially when the work requested fits my universe.
Are you currently selling any prints? Do you have any plans to do so in the future?
I released some in the past. I plan to release a really large print in the future but I think I will need at least two more years before it's ready. You can subscribe to my newsletter on my website to make sure you won't miss it... Patience is key!