We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bert Farache a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bert, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

On Jan of 2015 I was diagnosed with throat Cancer. This was quite a shock as I did not drink or smoke. Preparing for what laid ahead was relatively difficult.

This book concept came from my personal journey and my son’s reactions to my Cancer treatment.

The book came directly from all that I was encountering during my treatment. My oldest son was trying to communicate by mimicking my experiences to some degree. Being an artist at heart, I started sketching him imitating me. I found it funny and a magnificent way to communicate about the situations of cancer without infusing sadness into the narrative. I felt that this story needed to be told in a non threatening and in a light hearted way.

This was the genesis of my book. :)

Bert, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I remain a traditional artist/painter who migrated into the digital world. Later, I included animation to my portfolio.

Studying anything and everything art, I consumed books from anatomy to the Impressionists. Shifting into the digital world while infusing some of the classic art techniques would greatly benefit my career. This led me to be hired at a gaming company. Developing my digital skills there I wanted to pursue animation. Not only to create art but to have it move. In my free time I returned to my studies of art and started working on personal projects. Starting off slow it finally escalated to a decent pace.
I possess eclectic influences and try to free myself from what is “popular” or “trending” at the time. Being true with my thoughts and ideas remains important to me.

Choosing to create a fun illustrated book about cancer. Not because it was a dream of mine but because it was an experience that I wanted to share with the world.

I think it is important not to always focus on commercial success or how many followers you have.

I wanted to release something that could communicate in an easy going and lively way that wasn’t terrifying like the illness it was about.
Though I am currently working on many other projects that are completely on the flip side of the spectrum (art and story wise) compared to this book. I am proud to have completed and released an informative, comical and maybe inspirational book into our planet.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal is comparatively fundamental. To fully complete any of my unique projects. Not to only conceptualize or to take them 85% of the way but to essentially complete the entire project. This includes the concept, creation of the product to editing, printing and advertising to shipping. The comprehensive package. As artists we need to stop talking about doing things and actually completing any of our ideas worth fully developing. Stop talking about it!
The only mission I am trying to fulfil is to stay true to my ideas. Not to be pressured or influenced by today’s media machine. This doesn’t mean things cannot change or grow into something else. For me, it means keeping commercialism out of it as much as possible. Keep true to your ideas and not fall to peer pressure.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Oh yes, this has been a typical issue in my life. I have had to reinvent myself a few times without losing my essential core. Being a traditional artist in a time that it was considered a “nice hobby” was difficult to navigate through. Embracing that opportunity, I developed my digital skills when computers starting to be the thing. This led me to enter the world of video games. I continued my art studies. The gaming world experienced its share in downturns; artists were no longer in high demand. Animators were “the next big thing.” So, I went to animation school to stay employed and refine my skill. This allowed me to see things in an extraordinary light when creating my own projects.

A short time ago I reinvented myself not in skills but in attitude. Once diagnosed with cancer, I “woke up.” I stopped putting off things and started completing my ideas. It can be extremely difficult but then again that is true for all creative people pushing themselves.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busybertart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/farache/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/toldbymethebook/ https://www.instagram.com/frankandstein.art/ currently working on my personal website. sorry

Image Credits
All art is original and fully owned by Bert Farache