César Canseco is an illustrator and graphic artist, proudly from Oaxaca. He began his artistic project in Mexico City where he seeks to communicate his personal exploration and the impact of everyday life on Mexican graphic culture. Mezcal Verde represented his canvas to capture his memories of the sensations, aromas, sights and sounds that Oaxaca, his homeland, offers him.

How did your interest in art/illustration begin?

Since I was a child, I have been naturally drawn to graphics: volumes, shapes, color, etc.; visual experiences and understanding space make up a large part of my intelligence. Combine this with the context I come from, and the ease of access to artistic archives that I had in Oaxaca. Making the decision to become an illustrator has been a very erratic path because I am self-taught, and because I lacked examples in my early years.

How did your project as César Canseco begin?

I am at a stage in my work in which I am assuming both professionally and personally my artistic nature. This new stage of my project began here, in Mexico City in 2019, and I owe it to the various artists with whom I have connected in recent years; I owe it to the city, and I owe it to my creative restlessness that was often undermined by my personal insecurity and that now heals as I heal. At this stage I leave behind the pseudonym I used for several years and I become the project in progress.

What is the part of your job that you enjoy most?

Personal exploration is what I find most fulfilling. The exercise of learning new ways to resolve an image, whether in a simple way in quick sketches, or in longer analog or digital studies. My personal work satisfies me emotionally/spiritually and is the base from which I build the rest, the commercial work. Without the first there is no second.

What techniques do you use?

In my commercial work I will always prefer digital files. My main tool is Photoshop, and secondly Illustrator. This is because these files allow me to edit a project non-destructively, and therefore a better workflow with my clients. In my personal exercises I allow myself formats such as pencil and paper, ink and paper, and gouache and paper, my favorite because of the shape and texture that the pigment leaves when resting on the support.

What are the themes, narrative and/or discourse of your work?

The most recurrent theme in my personal work is diligence, living by doing. Because I am afraid of dying “wishing I had done.” Within this guiding path, the somatization of my emotions has also always been present, since I have lived a large part of my life without knowing how to put words to my feelings, so I made drawing my catharsis. At the same time, there are many things in everyday life that feed my visual curiosity, such as music, sculpture, food, architecture and even human relationships and the exchange of knowledge.

What is the inspiration behind the label for Mezcal VERDE?

'Ojo Jaguar' is a personal vision of the Oaxacan mystique that exists around mezcal. The mask as the face of alchemy; the eye, the door of perception that the substance opens. The inspiration is the Oaxacan climate, the dry heat and the dust that sticks to your face. The color of the earth and the smell of rain. The background music and the dance that comes out of nowhere.