Belén Huidobro & Juan Aresti

A lightness of touch

• Belén and Juan collect and create hand painted paper
• Their first creation was a flower pattern wallpaper
• Each mural is one-of-a-kind, created to fit a given space

Belén Huidobro de la Torre and Juan Aresti Alfaro both come from artistic familes and an academic background. BuenaVentura epitomises their love for the decorative arts, and champions the value of craft, which they initially practised as a hobby. In 2004 they founded the workshop with the mission of bringing to life handmade products, natural and with the utmost quality in the making process. Through trial and error they developed their own personal painting technique, researching materials, to create and make one-of-a-kind murals and wallpapers. Inspired by nature and art, they work with watercolour, stroke by stroke of a paint brush, in pursuit of achieving creations that are balanced in colour, proportion and composition.

Interview

©Bonaventura

©Bonaventura

What kind of paper do you use?

Belén: We did our research and we use hundred percent cotton paper, custom made for us in a 17th-century mill, a kind of paper that has been made for 500 years, containing no chlorine or acids. The hues and shades it gives back and its texture are simply wonderful.

Where does your inspiration come from?

Juan: We are inspired by nature and the use of watercolour allows us to explore all different sorts of transparencies and combinations, capturing depth in a play of light, colour and shadows. Other sources are sumi-e painting and Japanese art, and the works of Sargent and Turner.

What is your creative process?

Juan: We have developed a technique which allows us to paint horizontal, at a close distance, for murals we draw lines on each panel, to make sure the composition is right. We design all patterns and hand paint them, and adapt the colour palette to every single project, this is what makes the pieces unique.

How do you express tradition and innovation in your craft?

Belén: It took us years of experimentation to achieve a unique style and finishing in our creations, thanks to the use of state-of-the art pigments and binding agents to create items that last over time. We observe nature and translate its essence to inhabit spaces with beautiful pieces.

Belén Huidobro & Juan Aresti are master artisans: they began their career in 2002 and they started teaching in 2016

Works

©Bonaventura

©Bonaventura

©Bonaventura

©Bonaventura

©Bonaventura

Where

Experiences

Japanese ink painting class in Madrid

4 Hours

95 EUR per person