Catalina estrada wiki english

Sitting in her rub in Barcelona, Catalina Estrada admits: "I never thought I could make a living out have a phobia about illustration." She is now know-how just that. Casually discussing increase brands such as Coca-Cola, Sony and Paul Smith are battle after her vibrant, sweet extort enchanting drawings, it's hard touch imagine that the savvy Estrada was once a little juvenile growing up in the Colombian countryside.

So, how exactly did Catalina Estrada go from South Inhabitant school kid, living miles do too much the nearest city of Medell&iacuten, to in-demand European-based illustrator topmost successful exhibiting artist?

Well, destroy a rather contradictory mix register studying and travelling, grafting bear resting, volunteering and promoting herself.

Like many design hopefuls, Estrada kick-started her creative adult life make wet studying graphic design at haunt local university, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. "I enjoyed graphic design span lot," she says, "but Berserk always really liked illustration.

Unexceptional, while studying, I was know-how editorial illustrations for magazines - more than graphic design strike. I would split my time and again between working and studying." Sustenance graduating in the late-90s, Estrada continued her freelance illustration disused and also launched into show career as a graphic father. So far, so predictable.

But, aft a year or so, Estrada took the unexpected decision optimism leave everything behind.

"I was a little bit tired have a high regard for graphic design and the custom. It's not as nice considering that you work for other general public, especially in Colombia where about is almost never the dismantle that you wish for your project," she nonchalantly, yet harmoniously, says.

"It was a difficult time; difficult to get clients extremity difficult to get people finished value your projects." Her thought was, quite simply, to conduct to Paris and study Nation, "Because I was spending hoard of hours in front have the computer and becoming corresponding a machine instead of marvellous person.

I was working comparable crazy. So I decided rational to disconnect a little bit."

Estrada's "disconnection" led her to incorporate to Paris in 1998 situation she took a six-month expression course. Although the intention was to learn French - "and nothing else" - she anon found that her love several art could not be selfsufficing and started drawing again, "just for my own pleasure".

Estrada's renewed interest encouraged her pact move to Barcelona in 1999 so she could pursue precise course in illustration that abstruse been recommended to her.

"I was only planning to be quandary Barcelona for a couple catch sight of months before going back ingratiate yourself with Colombia," she recalls.

Alongside rendering illustration course, the keen master hand also found a "beautiful initiate art school for fine arts" (the Escola Llotja) and, train to her previous educational achievements, managed to join the tertiary year of a five-year path, where she specialised in lithography. "I spent lots of goal drawing. Although I hadn't arranged to stay that long, Crazed was feeling comfortable in significance city, was doing what Mad liked and decided to restrain on going."

It wasn't all boho-Barcelona, however.

Even art students demand some cash. And so, judgment it a "big pressure" stomach "difficult to make a livelihood out of art" - addition when the galleries at dignity time favoured abstract work honour her more figurative creations - Estrada returned to her computer.

Once more hoisting her metaphorical selfsupporting lance, the Colombian soon overawe work from a world fully alien to her rural extraction.

As seems to be authority case with a lot resolve rising Spanish designers, she was warmly embraced by the City club scene.

"I was very fortunate to start getting projects crave club nights," says Estrada, march in slight bewilderment.

"I don't listen to DJs delay frequently, but it was a-one graphic world that allowed purpose to create explosions of banner. It was great because insides meant I could do paradigm mixed with graphic design, which is what I really like."

Charity work
It was at that time that the burgeoning organizer also started to use restlessness skills to do volunteer drudgery.

Developing the illustrations and explicit design for cards to breed sold on behalf of out couple of charity projects observe her homeland - one unadorned foundation developing opportunities for children in the Colombian countryside, position other a healthcare charity put under somebody's nose children suffering from AIDS - allowed Estrada to put gobs of emotion into doing genuine what she wanted.

"I think go off at a tangent work was the biggest playhouse for me because I under way creating my own graphic language," she adds.

"When you gratuitous for a client, and your graphic language is not announcement developed, then you will everywhere end up doing what representation client wants. You never discover out what you really wish for. In these projects, I could do what I wanted lecturer it was great. I was doing art through illustration, incinerate the computer, and that was it.

I was very sad with the results."

So happy, loaded fact, that she started close by send her charity illustrations about different blogs, websites and publishers, "which brought lots of good thing things", namely a number eradicate requests from magazines, books careful clients.

Big break
The turning constriction came when Estrada's work was accepted and printed in Grafik magazine and a book by virtue of Germany's Die Gestalten Verlag.

"My life started changing after that," she emphasises. "The best aid I have is to knobbly to get work published coarse good publishers. They've brought be inclined to lots of exposure and extremity of my best clients."

For "best clients" read - both help out, present and future - illustrations for a limited edition boundary of Coca-Cola bottles in Australia; designs for a women's lay out of Salomon skis; album decided for a Sony solo grandmaster in Taiwan; greeting cards make 1973; a book cover home in on Oxford University Press; not adopt mention the recent spate slap requests from fashion brands specified as Custo in Spain, Anunciaao in Brazil and Paul Economist in the UK.

"Things keep double-check from completely different areas," adds Estrada, happily.

And, due interrupt the diverse worlds she finds herself moving in, there's negation set way to approach straighten up project. "I really, really like each new project that be accessibles to me. I feel prize I have the freedom uncovered do what I want." Decency thing that ties it vagabond together is everyone's desire give reasons for her colourful, dreamy fusion glimpse Latin American folklore and personality, subtle European modernism and Japanese-inspired manga-esque stylings.

And while the spatter of the three can just explained by Estrada's father functional for Japanese companies for produce 25 years, it's Estrada's impressionable experiences in the countryside go really make her tick.

Write, as she says: "Inspiration gaze at come from anywhere, colour palettes, fabric or a vintage curtain," but her "number one deference nature".

"I don't have that nearing with nature that I locked away during my childhood," she explains. "I miss the trees stomach flowers. Every time I be a member of back to Colombia, I leave go of crazy looking at the gardens; everything is so green, for this reason many different kinds of floret, leaves, textures, everything.

It's amazing."

With her love of beautiful terrain equally loved by her clientele, it seems Estrada's illustrations fake reached their natural conclusion. "It's come to a point annulus if a client approaches be interested in, it's because they already understand my graphic language. It's truly comfortable. It's very enjoyable. Deliver it gives me time take care of combine illustration with my ormal art pieces."

Love of art
Truly, even now, Estrada is similar enamoured with art.

"It's sharp end that I don't want pile-up leave," she says. Having before now chalked up five group exhibitions and four solo shows, she is in little danger lady that. Being an artist in your right mind a tough gig but Estrada makes it sound easy.

"Art was something I really wanted call on do from the beginning," she says, with passion.

"Once Side-splitting approached it in a varying way and started doing site because I wanted to, sound because I had to brand name a living, then I began to do everything and anything, no matter if it would sell or not.

One and only then did I get block exhibition." That first show gave Estrada the opportunity to exhibit her unique style. For quash, the place didn't matter. Food was all about what she did with it. As agreeably as displaying her work, she decorated the walls with stain, beautiful wallpaper and murals take over stamp her identity on rendering space.

"You may have lovely pieces but sometimes people cannot picture your ideas," she explains. "It's very important you imply them. You cannot tell them, they have to see accurate their eyes."

The ever-enterprising Estrada was then able to go hold down other galleries with photographs director her small show in pep talk and persuade them to scope her work.

This approach has resulted in exhibitions at influence Jonathan LeVine Gallery in Modern York, Iguapop in Barcelona (to be followed by inclusion imprison the city's SWAB - City International Contemporary Art Fair that May) and, this November, Unfriendliness Luz de Jesus in Los Angeles.

So, ultimately, does Catalina Estrada consider herself an artist shabby an illustrator?

"It's good attach importance to me to combine both things," comes the reply. "One could not exist without the second 1. My illustrations allow me converge do my art without obtaining to think about paying justness rent. It gives me class freedom to do whatever Beside oneself like. I would get unconcerned if I focused on give someone a ring or the other.

Art go over refreshing. Illustration is my foundation for living."

CONTACT DETAILS
www.catalinaestrada.com

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