"It's not all about winning in life": a family that has made art their daily routine

BarcelonaI enter the bright Eixample apartment shared by artists Lourdes Ral and Roger Salvadó, and although we're in the middle of Barcelona, there's a peaceful atmosphere that surprises me. It's a small apartment where time seems to have stopped. Perhaps it's because of all the antique furniture that belonged to Lourdes's grandmother, or perhaps it's because of the sheer number of books in each room. They're both avid readers and passionate about film and music. They remind me a bit of Renaissance humanists, but updated for the 21st century, where academies are the Barcelona cafés where they seek inspiration.

The story of Lourdes and Roger is one of second chances and starting over. A couple who decided to let go of many personal and professional burdens to risk making a living from art because, as they themselves say, "life isn't all about winning." They live with Lourdes's three children: Sibila, fourteen; Artau, eleven; and Erola, again. A large family and a home full of jars, canvases, paintbrushes, and bubble wrap for wrapping their artworks, because the decision of both artists has been to never separate work from life.

"We tried painting in an outside studio, but it didn't work out for us because we have impossible hours, and in the end, it's easier for us to work from home," says Lourdes. "We're used to getting up at five in the morning to be able to paint, and the first thing we do is leave the washing machine on. We work until the children wake up, and then we start on the children's workshop, and now we're starting on the children's summer camp. Sibil·la is in charge of making the sandwiches, and the truth is that the three of them are quite independent. They also teach cooking classes at Cookiteca, and one Saturday a month, they attend the Al·lots Bookstore reading club, which specializes in children's and young adult literature," she continues.

Working from home makes the dining room the center of operations and the multipurpose table. They eat, do homework, crafts, invoices, and checkout. Lourdes explains that they often work for art galleries in Central Europe. "That's why in this house we always have packages about to go out and wrapped paintings," she points out. And the Catalan public? "Figurative art here isn't at its best, although during the pandemic we experienced an increase in sales because I suppose people were seeing the empty walls at home more," she notes. They can dedicate themselves entirely to painting because they come abroad. "If at some point this doesn't work for us, we'll relocate and teach art classes or whatever suits us. We're always open to change," they add. In fact, the couple has only dedicated themselves exclusively to painting for ten years because both came from other professions: Lourdes is an art historian and graphic designer, while Roger was a creative in an advertising agency.

No schedules or holidays

"We currently have no schedules or holidays, so in the summer we try to concentrate all our work in the mornings and dedicate the afternoon to family activities," they comment. They also tell us that when it's one of their children's birthdays, they break the rules a bit, and "that day, everyone who has been there for ages doesn't go to school." "We organize a special day and personalize the celebration," they explain. As for vacations, they can't plan on going away for long periods of time and only take short breaks based on gallery orders. "The children are used to these short trips to other cities where they know they'll discover new foods and come back loaded with memories. We have anecdotes like when we dropped our camera in a river in the south of France, the croquettes we tried in Burgos, or the smoke from the chimney at Fonts's (Osca) house. We traveled from Huesca so we could walk through the fields or see how the colors of the olive trees and vineyards change. They are very curious children, and thanks to the trips, they learn new words or expressions that become part of their daily conversations," they add.

They leave Barcelona in search of new settings, but never with the idea of disconnecting from work because they have the habit of painting every day. "In fact, in Rome, we brought fifty pieces of wood from home to make sketches and we finished them all. We have integrated art into our daily lives and into our conversations; it's an integral part of everything," Lourdes confesses. Of course, they also try to make time for their life as a couple. In the small light well where the washing machine and clothes are hung, they have a tiny table. "Here we sometimes have a quick date where we have a glass of wine and a quiet chat," Roger explains.

Sanity and rapture

Lourdes Ral's work is characterized by capturing the joy of life, cafés, conversations, and readers. Bright and colorful paintings highlight moments she observes in everyday life. "Part of my work is outside the studio, sketching in bookstores, cafés... and I also go a lot to Flax and Kale (where we ended the interview). Very often, children join me and read, or they also draw and paint. This need to paint in urban environments is because each work has its own story," explains Ral. Roger Salvadó's work, on the other hand, approaches hyperrealism and, in contrast to the noise of Lourdes's paintings, conveys loneliness, waiting, absence, and the slow pace of life. He is sanity; she is rapture. And are children artists too? "Well, Artau is very creative, and Erola is constantly drawing and crafting. Sibila, on the other hand, is passionate about reading, and every time we go to the library, we come back exhausted. She could spend the whole morning reading," she adds.

I leave them sitting on the terrace, chatting animatedly. Like a palette of colors, Roger and Lourdes have blended their passion with family life, and together they've turned art into a way of life. This is a story of starting over, as many times as necessary. Because they've proven that it's worth leaving everything behind for the love of art.