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Since the creation of the Marisa Mell Blog in honor of her life and work almost 7 years ago I have met a lot of interesting people from all walks of life who are fans of Marisa Mell and her movies! They all have a special story to tell about her so I am always very curious and eager to hear these stories. A few weeks ago I was contacted by mail by an Argentinean graphic artist Patricio Carbajal who had send me some art of Marisa Mell. The drawings were based on stills of her movies like the one you seen at the top of this entry. What struck me immediately was the intense power of the drawing, not just a common representation of the original picture of Marisa Mell, but her intense look for which she was very well known oozed from her eyes and face. I had never seen anything like it in the past when artists depicted her in an artistic way. I admit it I fell in love with this picture immediately and was blown away by the sheer intensity of this drawing. Whaw! Patricio Carbajal captured in my opinion the essence of what makes Marisa Mell such an interesting women and actress. It is not many artists given to do that! Eyes and face that talked to you! So I asked the artist to see more of his work which fascinated me as a genre and cult lover immensely. After seeing some other beautiful pieces of his work, you can imagine that I wanted to know more about this artist who was capable to make such stunning art. In the next interview Patricio Carbajal tells us more about his life and work! Enjoy!
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Marisa Mell Blog (MMB): Hello Patricio, thank you for granting this interview on the Marisa Mell Blog.
Patricio Carbajal (PC): Thank you for asking me.
MMB: Can you tell us a little about yourself.
PC: I am 38 years old, but usually I say that I am 48, that way people can say "Wow, you look so much younger!" LOL I live in South America, in Argentina, in the City of Neuquen, near the Andes mountains!
MMB: Your drawings are amazingly beautiful and very appealing! How did you become a graphic artist? Were you already as a child interested in drawing and genre related subjects like movies, books, comics, cult figures...?
PC: Yes, it all started as a kid and as so many kids growing up, we all doodled along for fun, just that after a certain while I took it more seriously than other kids of my neighborhood, just like every other person who becomes an artist later in life, I guess. It is something that you need to do. I never gave up on my dreams and talents so I read a lot of comics, watched a lot of cartoons, copied them and created in the end my own artistic style, stories and characters.
MMB: What artistic graphic art eduction did you follow?
PC: Not that much honestly. I'm mostly self thaught. I did attend some classes with a few professional comic book artists to learn the tools of the trade, as it were, but nothing serious like art school or college or any sort of formal artistic eduction.
MMB: Seeing all your different amazing creations I can hardly believe that!
PC: I wish I did though, but I am a terrible student, I would probably miserably fail as an art student!
MMB: Since when do you work as a professional artist?
PC: Well, I started fairly young, at age 17, doing political cartoons and portraits for a local newspaper, but after a couple of years that dried up and I couldn't get any other gigs, so I got a job in an office. After 10 years I took a trip to the USA to show my work around and that is when the offers started to come my way! That was in 2007.
MMB: Can you tell us what professional work you have since then done?
PC: I have done a lot of work like comic books, storyboards, family portraits, book covers, you name it, I have done it! One of the first things I did for the American market were covers for political biographies. The first one was of US senator Sarah Palin, then president Barack Obama and other political biographies. After I started working in comics, I did my first graphic novel based on Allan Quatermain, then a horror comic book called "Vincent Price Presents", starring Hollywood screen legend Vicent Price. There are lot of great artists out there with not enough publishers so I am thankful of any opportunity I got to enter the business when an editor liked my portfolio enough to make me an offer. It was hard work, continously practicing, getting better every day untill I felt I was ready to show my work.
PC: I have also done a number of books about films for Hasslein Books, a couple of books about the Planet of the Apes, two more for Back to the Future, Red Dwarf and this year an encyclopedia about James Bond. I also create exclusive t-shirt designs for Rotten Cotton. At the moment I am working on a new horror series called "Bottomfeeder". I am very excited about this book!
MMB: What drawing techniques do you normally use?
PC: Traditional techniques like watercolors, acrylics, pencils, pastels, nothing digital, not that I am against digital art. I just get bored quickly when working on a computer, looking at the screen all the time, so scanning my art is enough computer work for me! LOL
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MMB: What is your favorite graphic art technique?
PC: My favorite technique is the good old black graphite pencil. It is the first step in creating an illustration. I always sketch the art in black pencil and then I paint it over with colors, but that original black graphite art is my favorite. Of course, I do hundreds of illustrations just in graphite and leave them like that, sometimes because I don't have the time to paint them in color.
MMB: How long does it take to make an art piece?
PC: Well, that depends on the wishes of the client. Sometimes they need an illustration in one week, so I try to adjuct to what the client asks but in general I work about 8 to 10 hours a day on an art piece! For example the Marisa Mell art created exclusively for this interview took me 5 hours to make.
MMB: Thank you so much for doing that! I appreciate it very much! It is so wonderful to see this beautiful artistic rendition of Marisa Mell.
MMB: Some of your work like the above Swamp Thing from DC Comics or the ill-fated movie are very detailed making them stunning art pieces where you can discover new things again and again when you look at it! Which by the way is one of my favorite pieces!
PC: Thanks, yes, I like to capture what I see, what I imagine, and what I like. To put that on canvas, or paper, takes a lot of work. Portrait work is though, you have to draw a lot. Some people say about my art "that it looks like a photograph" but frankly I don't like that, that they say that. I know what they want to say is that "It's alive" and that I is what I really appreciate.
MMB: What is that you like in the subjects that you draw?
PC: Wenn I find something that excites me, inspires me, amuses me or intrigues me, I just have to draw and paint it. What inspires me? I love all kind of movies, I love to draw actors and actresses like Marisa Mell.
MMB: Next to humans, do you also draw other subjects like animals, plants, objects...?
PC: Yes, I also love big wild cats.
PC: At the moment I am designing lingerie and swimwear. One of my dreams is having a clothing line for women. I'm working on this project now with my dear friend, my model and muse, actress Irene Huber. We are hoping that this dream comes true. It is a business that I have no knowledge about at the moment but we do have a lot of ideas.
MMB: How did you got to know Marisa Mell as actress?
PC: I love Marisa Mell, she is so cat-like. I first saw her in "Danger: Diabolik!". It is one of my favorite movies. Marisa Mell as Lady Eva Kant is just mesmerizing, I think she really steels the show. You can't take your eyes off her. And of course, the moment I saw her I just had to draw her. She is so mysterious and feline. I can't get enough of Marisa Mell! LOL
MMB: Can't we all! LOL
MMB: Have you seen a lot of movies of her? Which movies do you like best of her?
PC: In my collection I have "Danger: Diabolik!"and "Una Sull'Altra", as fan of directors Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci. I also have "Gangsters in London" with Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski and "New York Chiama Superdrago" with Margret Lee. My favorite are Diabolik and Gangsters in London. Why? Diabolik, not only because Marisa Mell is amazing in her rol as Eva Kant but also because the movie itself is a real masterpiece. John Phillip Law is a perfect Diabolik, one of the best comic book movies. Gangsters in London is a movie with one of my favorite actors in it, Christopher Lee and of course I love Marisa Mell as a good girl. BTW I love to hear speak German. I am a fan the German Edgar Wallace movies. I wish she had done a Dr. Mabuse movie. A series of movies that I also like a lot. Did you know that she once was considered for the role of Tatiana in the second James Bond movie "From Russia With Love", the role went in the end to Daniela Bianchi. Marisa Mell would have been a great Bond girl!
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What is your fascination with cult and genre figures like James Bond, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Lucille Ball...
PC: I have been a lifelong fan of James Bond since I was 6. I love all the Bond actors, some fans say that Sean Connery was the best Bond, others say Roger Moore, I don't have a favorite. I like them all. Naturally I feel inspired by the whole 007 world, not just Bond as a character, but everything that make the movies so appealing like the women, the cars, the gadgets and of course the villains. Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price are some of my favorite actors. I like the elegance and menance of the characters that they portray and of course their kind of dark humor. I have always been intrigued by the "dark side", the macabre and the bizarre. These actors were the ones that created a perfect mix of these elements with elegance and panache. They had their own brand of terror which I try to capture in my art that is based on them.
MMB: How can readers contact you when they are interested in art pieces to buy or as a commission?
PC: Of course I am on Facebook (
Patricio Carbajal) and I have my own art blog called "
Patart"
I do a lot of commissions and love getting in contact with your readers and fellow Marisa Mell fans. I am very grateful to fans and collectors all over the world enabling me to do my art. After all those years I still can't believe there are people out there who want to collect my art.
MMB: Patricio, thank you so much for this interview and the beautiful art you made!
PC: My pleasure!
