‍Elisa Alcalde, a full-time painter from Santiago, Chile, initially studied Cinema at Escuela de Cine Chile. Her career took a new direction in 2012 when an aunt gifted her a watercolor painting set. Elisa worked on Pequeño Zine and published No Corresponden, a book of short stories. Since 2020, she has been dedicated to her work as a full-time painter and illustrator, creating vibrant and distinctive art.

We spoke with Alcalde about the interdisciplinary nature of creation and her love for storytelling, whether she is watercolor painting or watching a film.

What initially drew you to watercolors? What interests you about the medium?

‍I received a watercolor set from an aunt for my 23rd birthday and I had it without using it until I lost a job. I had more time [on my hands] so I took it and painted – and I remember perfectly – a sapphire, but in a very raw way. That was it, I started to paint every day and realized that it was the thing I enjoyed the most, so I remember thinking ‘this is it, this is what i want to do but I have to practice.’ I didn’t have money to pay for classes, so I thought, I should paint with watercolor to become a professional at least with this medium. Later on I also thought it was interesting that watercolor was sort of considered a less important medium, so I was convinced to prove that watercolor was as noble as any other medium.

‍You came to painting after attending film school. How do you feel film and filmmaking has impacted your creative process?

‍I think I had to reconnect with film after I finished film school because I made a very bad movie and also had a son at 20. There was a time when I didn't see any movies and all I was thinking was, 'this is not for me, I’m so bad at it.' But then, when my son was 2, I remember I started to watch films again and began to remember why I studied cinema in the first place. I think it reflects in my painting because I like to tell stories. I think some of my paintings are part of a bigger scene almost like a frame exclusively with objects to put the scene in context, only that in my painting you have to imagine the story by yourself. Also I think that everything I learned from art direction I apply when I compose my paintings and I'm still watching movies that inspire me. When I’m feeling down or having a creative low, I watch a film. Movies gave me everything: stories, art, music, feelings, things that I’d like to give with my painting.

‍How do you feel the sights, the colors, the landscapes of Santiago have influenced your painting practice and vision?

‍I think that Santiago is not a particularly beautiful city, but we have the Andes that you can see everyday and it is inspiring enough to see beauty in the common things or in the details of it as a city. Also I think it inspires me in the sense that as it is not that beautiful, I’d like to create beauty in it. Pasolini said that the true beauty is in the imperfections and I think I can see that, in the imperfections of a city. So it inspires me to create more, to be able to capture some of its own beauty in a painting, even if it's a plate of fish and chips over a gingham tablecloth. When you take something very simple from its context and put it on a painting it resonates, and generates empathy.

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Illustrated by Elisa Alcalde.