José Escárcega is a remarkable pencil artist and influencer from Toluca, Mexico. José is a Mexican artist in search of technical perfection, since 2016, his work as an instructor of illustration techniques led him to explore various media such as watercolor, colored pencils, pastels, acrylic paint, and even scratchboard drawing, among many others, but undoubtedly what he is most passionate about is drawing with charcoal and graphite.
Since childhood, José explored drawing by copying characters from cartoons and anime he saw on television. It was not until the university that he developed his skills, with studies in Industrial Design and Visual Communication. However, his life would take a complete turn when, along with a group of illustrators, they formed a team dedicated to teaching different illustration techniques. It is at this time that he goes from being a person who likes to draw to a professional in the field of realistic drawing.
The work of José Escárcega revolves around the human face and its expressive capacity. In his paintings you can see a devotion to realism, representing intricate textures and effects on the skin, expressing his concern to know the human face down to the smallest detail. Experimenting is part of his essence because, in each of his paintings, he adopts a different approach; water, paper, paint, metal, elements alien to the face that adorn it and enrich his work as an artist, because for José, learning something new is a daily task. Holding a pencil and drawing with it is like the air he breathes because there is no day that does not pass without drawing.
His creative inspiration comes from other artists such as Jono Dry, Kim Deuk Young, Emma Towers-Evans, and Dylan Eakin, along with his partner in life, embroidery artist Ceci Santamaria.
Currently, after having renounced his job as an instructor, José is in the process of personal and artistic rediscovery, transforming his life and dedicating it to art one hundred percent. Occasionally, he continues to offer courses to share what he knows and plans to make the transition and take his content to various platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, and Patreon, with the dream that his skills and work will lead him to know the world and other artists, to be able to form a global community with incredible talents and passion for sharing everything about art.