BRIGHTNESS MAGAZINE NO.13

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Index

SPOTLIGHT | 18 Yevgenia Nayberg

THE BEST NEW PICTURE BOOKS AND NOVELS | 22 Imogen Russell Williams | www.theguardian.com

BE PERSEVERANT! | 26 Exclusive Interview with ÀFRICA FANLO

AROUND THE WORLD | 34

ART CAN CHANGE THE WORLD | 36 Exclusive Interview with MOHAMMAD AWWAD

CREATIVE SPACE | 46 BRIGHTNESS GALLERY | 48 #SUMMER

In This Issue of

Brigh |4

THE

KING

Brian Grimwood has been credited by Print Magazine as having changed the look of British Illustration. He has worked for most of the popular magazines worldwide, and has become one of Europes most innovative and influential illustrators.

In 1983 he founded The Central Illustration Agency which now represents a hundred of the world’s most prestigious illustrators.

htness 10

Brian Grimwood

Art Director & Editor In Chief

Creative Director & Graphic Designer

Web Design

Hasmik (Narjes Mohammadi)

Sadegh Amiri

STUDIO BRIGHTNESS

International Contributors

Translator

Sales & Marketing

Concha Pasamar | Ana Rodriguez Ali Ghafele Bashi

Darya Ghafele Bashi

Brightness Studio info@brightnessmag.com

cover :I llustration by

Special Thanks To

to

B rian G rimwood

Mr.Keyvan Ghafele Bashi

a s k q u e s t i o n s a b o u t y o u r s u b s c r i p t i o n , p l e a s e e m a i l u s at: sub@brightnessmag.com

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w w w. b r i g h t n e s s m a g . c o m

Š All Rights Are Reserved.

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ABOUT US

PLEASE VISIT OUR WESITE: WWW.BRIGHTNESSMAG.COM EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS . EXHIBITION NEWS . ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES

ABOUT BRIGHTNESS Brightness magazine was founded by Narjes Mohammadi (Hasmik) and Sadegh Amiri in 2016 as a digital magazine to present exclusive interviews with experienced illustrators, whose wisdom and knowledge are treasure troves for young artists. We aim to promote the current works of popular as well as up and coming artists, so that people can be inspired by the beauty and effectiveness of illustration in expressing powerful ideas. For those who want to dive deeper into the wonderful world of illustration we present articles that give valuable insights into the creative minds of the world. We hope you enjoy reading our publications as much as we enjoy publishing them.

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We want to change the world with art and love...

BRIGHTNESS FOUNDERS

SADEGH AMIRI HANZAKI

NARJES MOHAMMADI HASMIK

PHOTOGRAPHER & ART DIRECTOR

ILLUSTRATOR

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FOUNDER AND EDITOR IN CHIEF

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Natalie Pudalov

BRIAN

GRIMWOOD

EXCLUSI V E I N T ERV I EW

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Exclusive Interview

THE

KING Brian Grimwood has been credited by Print Magazine as having changed the look of British Illustration. He has worked for most of the popular magazines worldwide, and has become one of Europes most innovative and influential illustrators.

In 1983 he founded The Central Illustration Agency which now represents a hundred of the world’s most prestigious illustrators. www.briangrimwood.com

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Brian Grimwood

Exclusive Interview

What was your earliest exposure to art?

I suppose it must have been through comics and cartoons. Every week I read The Beano, and of course there was Walt Disney.

I loved going to the library and looking through the large art reference books that were not available to take out on loan. I recall one time taking along with me some time Bronco toilet paper and a pencil so I could trace over Leonardo Da Vinchi’s drawings just to experience what it felt like to draw like that. I had not encountered react tracing paper in those days.

I cannot remember ever visiting an art gallery and my parents did not keep books in the house. It was at school that I was exposed to and encouraged in art.

Whose work did you admire when you were at school?

There was a boy in the year above me called Chris Dyer. His sister went to ballet classes and Alf invited me to accompany him to a class to sketch the dancers. Watching him work completely changed the way I saw drawing. Whereas I would struggle to achieve a likeness of a pose, Dyer would somehow see his subject as a whole picture. I watched and I learnt. He was my biggest influence.

Did you go to art college, if so, did you enjoy it?

My art education took place at Bromley Technical High School over three years from the age of 13. At aged 16 I went to work for Carlton Artists Studio in Marble Arch. At the time I fancied the idea of attending art college. In those days they were populated by beatniks wearing baggy jumpers, beards and sandals. But with hindsight, I am glad I didn’t go. Over the years I have lectured at many art schools and from what I have seen I realise that I did not miss anything.

Instead I gained much valuable experience in the workplace and learnt many skills and techniques first hand from some of the best practitioners. More recently I was given an honorary Master of Design degree by Nottingham Trent University.

What was your first job?

I left school in July 1964. Owen Frampton, my tutor, got my first job at Carlton Artists in Marble Arch. This was a major art studio, the biggest in London, and handled a broad range of design jobs. It had a lettering studio, a scraper board studio, and a studio

full of fashion illustrations. As a junior/ general artist, one of my duties was to collect in the timesheets. Every evening each artist had to fill out a timesheet so that the jobs they were working on could be costed up. This gave me the opportunity to see how the illustrators worked, to observe what materials they used and their various techniques. I learnt how to paint a flat wash and one of the fashion illustrators used to let me clean off the pencil lines from hair artworks and cover them with tracing paper for presentation. I met some wonderfully talented people there and it was an invaluable experience, though I only stayed one year. From there I joined Pye Records.

Why did you decide to go freelance and why?

After Carlton Artists I moved on to Pye Records as an art director working on the Chess Blues Label, mostly designing the backs of records sleeves and press advertising for Reprise. At the time album covers were predominantly typographic, using old-fashioned photosetting with the occasional photograph and I learnt a lot about typography and the creative use of white space. Although album covers were on the threshold of something much more dynamic, it had yet to happen and after a year I moved on. I worked in a variety of design studios and advertising agencies for the next few years, changing jobs at least once a year as this was the only way to gain a pay rise and broaden one’s experience, I was fortunate to work with some indirectly talented people who were willing to satisfy my curiosity and enthusiasm by sharing their skills and expertise with me. Within a few years I was commissioning illustrators, designers and typographers myself and spending a lot of my time producing visual roughs for clients.

The turning point for me came in 1968 when I saw an exhibition by Push Pin Studios, a New York design group run by Seymour Chwast and Milton Glaser with illustrators such as John Alcorn and Barry Zade. I was familiar with illustrators being used as realistic representations or used to visualise ideas that would then be photographed.

This was the first time that I had seen what looked like fine art being used in a commercial way, art that communicated with verve and wit. There was clearly an idea behind each piece and I realized that people were actually making a living from this type of work: it was art but commercial | 11

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Brian Grimwood

art. This was exactly what I wanted to do.

proved popular with magazines and advertisers from the outset. After I had been illustrating for about ten How did CIA start? years, Design magazine commissioned me to do a The CIA started by accident. I employed Pam Oskam cover. When the art director came to the studio to pick to represent me. Within one week I had six or seven up the artwork he noticed a painted rough that I had phone calls from well-established illustrations asking produced for another job. He admired it and asked if I had started an illustration agency. At first I said no, if he could see my rough of his cover illustration. I then I thought, why not? So I said yes and CIA was showed it to him and decided immediately that he formed. That was back in 1983; we now represent 90 would print the rough as the cover. Afterwards I was of the world’s top illustrators and have offices three inundated with commissions for this ‘new’ fluid style. countries around the world.

To my delight it was much quicker for me to produce and it really took off, I have never looked back.

When you look back at your career so far, is there a time you consider particularly good or view with What inspires you? particular affection?

Travelling inspires me, especially in the Far East.

The journey so far has been exciting. I look back I go to Singapore on a regular basis, staying at the on the camaraderie between illustrators in Convent wonderful Raffles Hotel since I designed all their Garden in the early 1970s with great affection. When new merchandising when it was refurbished in the I started out on my freelance career I shared a studio early 1990s. Visiting Japan is like going to another there with Mike terry, who was also busy illustrating planet. I love the look of it, especially the food and by this time. We had met when we both worked at the packaging. I always enjoy a trip to New York Ron Bowden Associated in Soho and shared an and go there often as the CIA is affiliated with B&A enthusiasm for drawing caricatures of our colleagues. Illustration Agency. I visited China recently and was We found the room via George Underwood, who was, knocked out by their book cover designs. and still is, best friend from school. He had shared I find that travelling influences my work as well it with Terry Pastor, who with the help of George as inspiring and refreshing me. It frees up my designed the first two Bowie covers: Hunky Dory and imagination and subconsciously I take new things Ziggy Stardust. on board. Always when I go away I send postcards.

We named the premises Hat Studio and brightened I take blank postcards-size watercolour paper and them up by painting the walls sunflower yellow. paint or draw something reminiscent or where I am.

Situated in the middle of Covent Garden in Catherine Over the years friends have collected them and one Street, we were convenient for all the IPC magazines friend has been suggested having an exhibition one whose offices were located round the corner in day.

Southhampton Street. The area had yet to be developed so rents were low, making it popular with Do you have different styles for different jobs? other illustrators, designers and photographers. The problem dictates the solution, and the solution Head Office Studio, run by James Marsh and John dictates the style. I have eight or nine different ways Farman, was nearby and always felt like an Aladdin’s of working. Fortunately I am told that they all look like cave. They were very successful at that time making my work.

Plasticine models for various advertising campaigns Apart from when I was first getting started, style has and their studio was full of their creations in glass never interested me. I see style as repeating one’s cases. successful accidents. It is always the idea that has I was a friendly, convivial time and every Friday the been important to me. illustrators of the day would gather for a lunch-time drink The French House in Soho.

Do you work on several projects at once?

At any time I am working on six or seven projects.

Was there a point in your career when you thought of I usually have three or four illustration jobs on the giving up? go as well as working on my own personal work. I All I have ever wanted to do is make pictures. I would love painting and it is not unusual for me to start a do it whether I was paid or not; it is my burning passion painting late at night. I have a butterfly personality and the concept of ‘giving up’ is not part of my being. and like to flit from one thing to another. I am always I do what I do for me: as Charlie Chaplin said, “First surrounded by books that can send me off on any entertain yourself, then entertain the public.” train of thought. And, of course, I am also responsible for the CIA and many of the decision required there.

Has your illustration style changed since you started out?

What has been your greatest professional I entered the market as an illustrator having d i s a p p o i n t m e n t ? developed my style of images and flat colour which I was asked by the designer Richard Ward to propose

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Exclusive Interview

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Brian Grimwood

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Exclusive Interview

I think it is essential that illustration students are encouraged and inspired to draw, especially from life.

some ideas for the packaging of The Beatles Anthology. I was in good company; other artists asked to submit work were David Hockney, Humpherey Ocean, who had toured as the resident artist on McCartney’s Wings over America Tour, and Klaus Voorman, who illustrated the Revolver album cover. I produced 16 paintings, roughs and ideas. Unfortunately for me Klaus won the job. Apparently it was worth 100,000 pound; but more than money, I would have love to have been involved. Although I never got to work for The Beatles I did the portrait of George Harrison for his Live in Japan album and one year I produced a Christmas card for Paul McCartney.

What do you think an illustrations course should offer students today and do you think they are being well taught?

I think it is essential that illustration students are encouraged and inspired to draw, especially from life. Also they should be taught the history of illustration so that they are fully aware of the many talents and styles that have gone before. I believe that illustration students and graphics students should be integrated with each other so that each can gain an understanding of how the other works before they leave college. Graphics students need to learn how to think illustratively when problem-solving and how to commission illustration. Illustrators need to learn how they benefit from the constraints imposed by a brief.

Of course, there are good and bad tutors ‘teaching’ illustration. I use quotes as I don’t think illustration is taught. The best tutors inspire their students. Currently there are some great and inspiring tutors out there, people like Brian Love at Kingston’ Bush Hollyhead, a great illustrator teaching at Newcastle’ George Hardy teaching in Brighton; Debbie Cook at the Royal College; and many others.

Although the computer is a great tool, many courses focus too much on its usage and not enough on other skills. Anyone can achieve a slick result technically by using Photoshop, but it is what you have to say and how you communicate the idea is the most important element of any illustration.

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Brian Grimwood

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Spotlight

I am an illustrator, painter, and theatre designer. I was born in Kiev, Ukraine, and grew up in a community of artists. I have always loved illustrating and made my first ever wordless picture book when I was four years old.

I love working on every type of conceptual illustration: editorial projects, posters, album covers, and children’s books. The most creative aspect of the work for me is finding a unique visual metaphor for the story. I like mixing digital and traditional techniques and always search for the right combination of clarity and mystery.

I live in New York City, where there’s no need to look for inspiration. It follows you around. Every subway ride gives you enough material for a story. The challenge is to take all the grit, beauty, and tenderness and turn it into a drawing.

I have been illustrating picture books for many years and have finally started writing my own. I have always translated words into images, and now for the first time, I’m doing the opposite. I think I am slowly finding a voice of my own.

My first author-illustrator book, Anya’s Secret Society, came out in March.

It’s about a left-handed girl and her imaginary secret society. My next book, Typewriter, is a story of a Russian typewriter that emmigrates to America and, once there, becomes completely useless.

I have just begun working on a new picture book, Mona Lisa in New York, about Renaissance art, graffiti, and love in New York City.

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Yevgenia Nayberg

I l l u st r a t o r w w w . n a y b e r g . o r g www.facebook.com/nayberg www.instagram.com/znayberg

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The Creative Space Spotlight

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The perfect antidote to real-world worry … Mouse & Mole by Joyce Dunbar.

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Article

THE BEST NEW PICTURE BOOKS AND NOVELS Imogen Russell Williams www.theguardian.com

There’s a star-gazing theme to picture books this month. Look Up!(Puffin) by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola features science-crazed, irrepressible chatterbox Rocket, who is determined to get her whole town out watching a meteor shower – to the annoyance of her big brother, who would rather stay glued to his phone. Energetic and with a wry, sweet take on family dynamics, it will alert readers to the thrilling mysteries of the night skies.

Astro Girl (Otter-Barry) by Ken Wilson-Max stars Astrid, another little girl intent on discovering the secrets of space, who enjoys acting out the challenges of zero gravity with Papa while Mama is away. When Astrid welcomes her back, the twist in the tale reveals that Mama might be an expert on space herself. A delightful combination of imaginative play and inspiring role model from a much-loved author-illustrator.

Fifty years after the moon landing, young readers of five-plus can make their own lunar voyages with The Usborne Book of the Moon by Laura Cowan and illustrator Diana Toledano, a compendious, thoroughly readable volume that contains not only plenty of facts about the moon’s orbit and phases, but also the legends and stories told about it worldwide. Engagingly illustrated, with well judged, engaging text, this is the best and broadest kind of non-fiction.

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Back on Earth, Joyce Dunbar’s beloved duo Mouse & Mole, richly illustrated by James Mayhew, have recently reappeared, reissued by Graffeg. This cosy pair enjoy the gentlest of Kenneth Grahame-style adventures, making plans for picnics, overindulging in roast chestnuts and toasted muffins, and trying and failing to get rid of excessive clutter; the perfect antidote to real-world worry.

Meanwhile, in The Suitcase (Nosy Crow) by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros, a strange animal appears, dragging a suitcase he says contains a teacup, a table and the cabin where he used to make tea. When he falls asleep, exhausted by his journey, the other animals break open the case – only to discover a broken teacup and an old photograph. As the stranger wakes to find the others have built him a new cabin, a sense of new joy and hope arises; the story has a feel of Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, but for a preschool audience.

A SWEET TAKE ON FAMILY DYNAMICS …

LOOK UP! BY NATHAN BRYON AND DAPO ADEOLA. PHOTOGRAPH: PUFFIN

For seven-plus readers with a yen for more modern-feeling escapism, Louie Stowell’s The Dragon in the Library (Nosy Crow) stars the bookfearing Kit, dragged to the library by her friends only to discover that she is a wizard, with a vital role to play in protecting the great dragon who sleeps within. Cracking pace, comic one-liners and a gleefully evil villain, brought to life by Davide Ortu’s illustrations, add up to a debut with broad appeal.

For eight and up, more winged wyrms appear in The Secret Dragon

by Ed Clarke (Puffin), appropriately set in Wales. Scientifically minded Mari is fossil-hunting on the beach when she discovers a tiny, curledup creature; soon she’s facing the challenges of rearing a mischievous baby dragon while trying to study it and keep it out of trouble. Mari’s charged relationships with her mother and new friend Dylan, and her determination to get famous Dr Griff to verify her discovery so she can give the dragon her lost father’s name, give extra depth to this heartwarming story.

Finally, from the superb Katherine Rundellcomes The Good Thieves (Bloomsbury), a heist story set in 1920s New York. This is as compelling as an Enid Blyton circus caper – if Blyton had written with inclusive compassion and the sort of limpid, elegant prose it’s a pleasure to sink into. Indomitable Vita Marlowe, whom polio has left with a weakened leg, is determined to break into the home her grandfather lost to swindlers and steal back his treasure. But the heist will need the help of circus boys Arkady and Sam, with their acrobatic skill and gift for charming animals, not to mention Silk, the pickpocket – and Vita’s own redoubtable marksmanship. Purring mafiosi, breathtaking feats of nerve and a crackling sense of atmosphere throughout make this book a single-sitting treat, showcasing Rundell at the peak of her powers. | 23

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Article

The Suitcase by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros. Photograph: Nosy Crow

Back in the present day, Lisa Thompson’s Owen and the Soldier (Barrington Stoke) is brief, super-readable, and poignant. Owen’s dad isn’t around any more, and his mum is increasingly struggling to cope; he shares his feelings only with the crumbling stone soldier in the memorial garden, until the council announces plans to redevelop. Can Owen save the soldier? This slim, focused story packs considerable punch.

In this Australian prizewinner focusing on two Indigenous teenagers, -15year-old Beth Teller has died in a car crash, but her spirit remains visible to her grief-stricken police detective father. When Dad is called to investigate a murder, Beth meets Isobel Catching, a young witness, who can see her too.

Catching’s strange story reveals the painful, long-buried secrets at the heart of the case, and shows Beth that she can’t stay stranded in the living world for ever trying to tend her father’s broken heart. Combining taut, intricate thriller with ancient Indigenous tales and the darker side of Australian history, this is a deeply poignant and original novel.

CATCHING TELLER CROW BY AMBELIN AND EZEKIEL KWAYMULLINA

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‘I WILL NOT BE ERASED’ – OUR STORIES ABOUT GROWING UP AS PEOPLE OF COLOUR

BY GAL-DEM, WALKER, £7.99

From gal-dem, an award-winning magazine created by women and non-binary people of colour, come essays and stories in which contributors write to their teenage selves as kindly, validating mentors. From Niellah Arboine’s “‘You Speak Well for a Black Girl’: Black Is Who You Are” to Sara Jafari’s emphasis on choice and autonomy when dating as a British Muslim, the pieces are warm, personal and sometimes traumatic. The authors assert their right to their own history, feelings and experience, and their refusal to be ignored.

PERFECTLY PREVENTABLE DEATHS

BY DEIRDRE SULLIVAN, HOT KEY, £7.99 When twin sisters Madeline and Catlin move to their new stepfather’s castle in the fictional Irish hamlet of Ballyfrann, the remoteness appeals to them at first. Everyone is apparently related, their stepfather’s cousin seems to be a witch and, of course, there are the stories of the girls who have gone missing there, year after year. Madeline and Catlin think they will be safe, though; they look out for each other.

Salty hilarity and an assured evocation of siblings’ prickly closeness give way to unnerving folk-horror menace and gore in Sullivan’s latest lush, weird and lyrical book.

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Àfrica Fanlo

BE

PERSEVERANT! | 26

Exclusive Interview

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH Àfrica Fanlo I am from Barcelona and I studied Fine Arts especialising my career on painting and engraving. Although I was going to study “ Theatre of the objects and puppets” at the Institut del Teatre of Barcelona, which is a very interesting world for me, the year that I was about to matriculate, the course ended because of a lack of students. This is what made me decide for my painting studies without even thinking about it. Now through the years, I can see that everything is related in my imaginary and somehow my illustrations travel between this two worlds, creating realities and characters that could exist on a paper and also on a stage.

www.africafanlo.com

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Àfrica Fanlo

2) How do you define your illustrations? Can you tell us about your latest publications or books that you are really proud of?

What I think that characterises a lot my work is that I try to dream awake.

Let me explain myself, I think that I am always searching for a reality that doesn’t exist. Maybe a reality that I would like to see and make the others see it too. I try to recreate worlds that are not like ours. Nature and especially the animal and vegetation worlds are the link between this dream world. A good example is my book “ Funàmbulus” edited by Petit Fragmenta and translated to Chinese, German, Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese. This one is honestly the book that I like the most from all my projects.

Some say that my work is characterised by the use of color and textures, although this is something that changes quickly during the work progress.

Some time ago I used to believe that everything that I was creating had to have a style coherence and it would overwhelm me all the time. Now I have learnt to surprise myself and I have discovered that I like more things than what I used to like. It’s funny and it makes me feel more free to create.

3) What or who influences your designs?

There are many things that have an influence on me while I create. Music is one of them, especially classical music and jazz. There are also diferent artists and disciplines that have helped me to find my way. Right now I am fascinated by Bill Traylor’s work. He is an afroamerican artist which’s art is honest, direct, overwhelming and exepcional. Another one of my favourites is Olle Eksell (1918-2007), a graphist, designer and illustrator from Sweden.

His freshness, simplicity and the constant dynamism of his work are incredible.

I could name a lot of artists that make me vibrate and that have inspired me trough their work and lifes like el Bosco, Martín Ramírez, Henri Julien, Félix Rousseau, Leonora Carrington, Joan Miró, Remedios Varo, Hildegard von Binguen, etc...

4) Has your work changed since you started?

Yes, I think that it has evolved a lot! As I was explaining before, when I

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Exclusive Interview

satrted my career I was looking all the time for a concrete graphic style that would define my art and this wasn’t right at all. Through the years I felt able to get away from all this prejudices and this helped me to find my own voice. Anyway, the feeling that I have is that this profession is like a “path with no end” and you are constantly evolving. I am always trying to find myself, and when I think that I have arrived “somewhere” then I need to take it to another level. I am a bit restless.

6) Have you ever attended or appeared at any book fair. What has been your experience of them, and how has it helped to develop your work and sense of illustration as a business?

In 2017 I went to Bologna. That year the guest country was Catalunya and my projects were exhibited at the fair. It was very exiting to see my drawings and my books there, in front of all the visitors, and it was also a very nice experience to share with illustrators and friends. Regardless, I have a feeling that all these fairs are especially made for editors more than for illustrators. Finding an editor in one of this fairs it’s very complicated as much as you have a lot of visibility there. But, anyway, it was a very nice experience.

When I am working I try to avoid thinking about the result or how far can the project arrive. I only focus my attention on what I’m doing and I try to give my best during the process. If I start thinking if it will be likeable to the editors then I get blocked. That’s why I think that an illustrator must work only for himself and then the rest will arrive if it has to. I believe that there aren’t any strategies to do to get anywhere. To give your best when you are working is the only way for me.

There are many things

that have an influence on me while I create. Music is one of them, especially classical music and jazz.

There are also diferent artists and disciplines that have helped me to find my way. Right now I am fascinated by Bill Traylor’s work.

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5) You have lots of different ideas, how do you focus on any?

I don’t know if I will be able to answer this question, it is one of my biggest issues! It is very difficult for me to concentrate in only one project and don’t get tired of it. One of the strategies that I have is to draw on a notebook as a reward at the end of the day. When I am focused on a large project, the time I have to draw on the notebook feels like freedom for me, it’s like I can keep inventing and searching, which, in fact, it is what I love to do.

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Àfrica Fanlo

7) Your work is so unique and definitely speaks to your sense of colour and story, yet you seem like you are still evolving and playing with every project.

Can you tell me about your journey to finding this point in your work, was there a moment when it all clicked into place? Do you think you are still searching?

There is a lot of work under everything I do, but it often includes a “zigzagging” process. I mean that sometimes ther are moments when I think that it all “clicks” and everything it’s on its place, but then, after some days, I change my mind and it isn’t like I would like it to be. It’s a constant fight between what you want and what you find while you create. I am always searching, I am insatiable, I think that while I stay alive I will always be looking for a more depurated expression of myself, it is unavoidable.

8) You also play a lot with shapes and textures to make magical and elegant characters. What is particular about them that attracts you?

My characters, they all come from “the free time” that I have when I am drawing on my notebooks. I like to think that is not me who has created them but they, who appear on the paper. I only listen to them and they come out. They are all part from a dream world that explains a lot of issues but in a subtile way. Some only see something beautiful and elegant and some others deeply connect with them without knowing why. My characters are a mix of women, nature and unconsciously symbolic mystic strength.

9) Do you think there is a link between your illustrations and Spanish historical metaphors?

I don’t think so, but it is a very interesting question. Only one time I did a series of illustrations realted to Don Quijote’s journey. Transforming Don Quijote into a horse rider named “KITXU”. I don’t know why but this relationship between rider and animal is fascinating for me.

10) Does your works represent your personality?

Totally! I am sure that you can know myself better through my art.

11) What do you feel was the best lesson you learnt or taught? Is there anything that still sticks with you or do you feel you’ve thrown out a lot of advice of tutors as your practice has developed?

I have been a very self-taught person. Through the years I have learnt to give space and time to my work so it can evolve. With “time” I mean, I try not to rush, not to expect for immediate results and I am patient so when something goes wrong I don’t feel desperate. And with “space” I mean you need a good place to work in, like a sanctuary, it helps me find concentration, and also, very important, the mental space. It‘s crucial to keep your mind in only one place and not being distracted. If you own a routine to train this “time and space” it is clear that some worthy projects will come out.

12) Can you tell us a little about your experience as a tutor and what brought it about?

I started teaching because a school was interested on me. Having passed some years I have learned a lot from this activity. It has been 11 years since I have been a teacher, giving everything I’ve got, including techinques and attitude respect the profession. I guide my students based on my experience so if they have problems or difficulties I know how to help them. My goal is for them to find their own | 30

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Àfrica Fanlo

voice, the rest are techinques and creative gimnastics in order to be trained.

13) Being an art director and illustrator at the same time isn’t easy, what challenges do you face in this job?

When I work as an art director it is usually for animations and videos so I get very strict because I know what I want to comunicate. Patience is always a challenge for me.

14) Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?

I would love my project “La Caseta dels Arbres” to be a success.

I am working hard to acomplish it. It is the studio where I teach creativity, illustration and animation side to side with my partner and associate Àlex Tovar. We created the space half a year ago and we are delighted because a lot of people and different illustrators guests have come to take part on it. It’s a pleasure to see that a lot of students are interested on our educative offer. To help, support and cheer my students is my passion. Also, it would be amazing to exhibit my projects abroad.

15) What is the best piece of advice you’ve had, in regards to illustration or otherwise?

The best advice maybe it hasn’t been verbalised but I learned it from illustrators and friends. Being constant and perseverant will always be helpful on your way.

16) What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on a comission, which is a children’s book set on the first house created by Gaudí named “El Capricho” in Cantabria. Right now I am discovering this building and mading this a dream come true. Also, I keep creating my own art using the engraving techinique, which is a media that I practiced a lot a few years ago. I am improving everyday and redescovering new ways to express myself.

17) What work are you most proud of?

The project that I am most proud of is “Funàmbulus” edited by Petit Fragmenta Editorial and translated to a lot of different languages.

I like it because of the storyline and also because thanks to this book I could change my graphic style.

18) About illustration in Spain It is a very difficult country to live only from illustrating. I can not complain, I always have work to do, but I have the feeling that this artistic field has been increasing in popularity these last years.

Some say that Barcelona is the illustrators’ city because there are so many things to do related to this world. Anyway, this still don’t move along with a strong economical market. It’s not the same publishing a book here than in Germany or Korea, even though it is a country full of creators and it would be necessary that the institutions would incentivate and promote this cultural treasure.

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Around The World

Diana Mayo www.dianamayo.com “I have worked as an illustrator based in London for a number of years, but am now based nearby in Chelmsford, UK, where I have very recently joined the Colchester Makerspace to learn to throw pots!

This has been a new venture and not a commercial one, but a creative outlet outside my busy Children’s Books work.

I have been making small stoneware, ceramic pots which I decorate with underglazes. These ceramics are entitled the “Chelmsford Tales” and host images based on my recent years in this city.

They illustrate memories and visitations of local creative events I have enjoyed with friends and family.

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Godie Arboleda www.godiearboleda.com

This mural was a commissioned project by Selina Hostel in Medellin, Colombia. They wanted me to create a mural for their playground, so I stared looking for something that inspired me for this project, and from a famous frase from J. K. Rowling it all became clear to me. “If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals�, for me this means notting else but HUMBLENESS. This was the message that I wanted people to get from my mural.

This art piece is a man using a bear mask, the bear depicts a furious big animal, and in this intervention it is playing birds and bees proving that even though it is a much bigger, wilder, furious and powerful animal it has the capacity and humbleness to coexist with smaller and defenseless creatures compared to it.

Jim Bradshaw www.jimbradshawart.com

I am a compulsive doodler. When developing my illustration style, the looseness and energy of my pencil sketches and doodles always appealed to me more than my final art. Somewhere during the evolution I embraced the doodles as final art. Watching an empty page fill up before my eyes still fills me with childlike wonder.

In this illustration I started venting about my thyroid pills and ended up in the World Series of Doodling. Yay Jim! I love poking fun at negatives and turning them into something to laugh at or feel lighter about. I am looking forward to stretching this medium and finding new and exciting applications for it.

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Mohammad Awwad

ART CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH MOHAMMAD AWWAD W W W. M O - AW WA D.C O M

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Exclusive Interview

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Mohammad Awwad

1. Hello Mohammed, I know that you’re a professional artist, but what originally made you to become an artist? Do you have an artistic family? Who or what provided particular encouragement to you when you were young?

Art for me is an escape from a harsh reality. When I was young, around 12 years old, I used to draw all the time, imitate cartoon characters, doodle, and draw portraits.

I tried many things. I was young and I was trying to measure my abilities and skills.

My father wanted me to become an engineer like himself—a typical father guided dream. I rejected his wish and joined the Academy of arts in Egypt. No, there is no one with artistic inclinations in my family.

2. You are a digital artist. What did you enjoy about these forms of illustration? What didn’t you enjoy?

I enjoy working with the infinite details that exist within the digital domain. I love the possibility of colors and images that I come across, which I incorporate in my art. What I love most about being a digital artist is the ability to work within different mediums such as video installations.

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Exclusive Interview

I don’t enjoy other people copying my work. I also don’t appreciate people sharing my work without my permission or without crediting me.

3. Your art is full of poetry. Your style is sophisticated and rich, like “fine art” that you find in a gallery. Do you think there is a clear board between fine art illustration and painting?

Thank you for saying that about my work. Art is a process of creation and re-creation and what I do is a balance of both.

My medium is digital so does that make it less important? Does that make any piece that I digitally produce less from a piece produced on canvas with oil paint? No. Art has always been a matter of perspective. The lines of both mediums, traditional and digital, are defined; and they both filter into one place: The art world.

4. What does your art aim to say to your audience?

Art in its many different forms grabs the attention of an audience and guides it to numerous social issues. The purpose behind my art is to contribute a positive change in society.

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Mohammad Awwad

It also has a major role in altering opinions and the way people perceive issues surrounding them. Art does not allow us to take life for granted.

5. How do you start a project? When do you know it is finished?

The first step is envisioning the concept. I allow it to materialize in my mind before I start working on it. When that phase is complete I start my computer and start working. Little by little, and like a puzzle, I piece the visual fragments together.

How do I know if a piece is done? When the piece is equal to what I had in my mind. Thanks to experience you get a sense a piece is over and does not need further adjustments.

6. What do you do when you run out of ideas and get stuck?

I always take a break. I either read a book, watch a documentary, or go out for a walk. I then get back to the proverbial drawing board.

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7. How do you get inspired? who or what has been the biggest single influence on your way of thinking?

I am lucky to have a good flow of ideas that I constantly work on and develop. Sometimes inspiration comes from a good novel I am a reading, a piece of news from around the world, or the Arab world. When that happens I incorporate the inspiration it brought about into my work.

8. What design software do you use? How do you learn about new techniques and tools?

I mainly use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. I also often have to photograph some elements in order to digitize them and use them in the piece I am working on.

9. And how have you felt that your aesthetic and the execution of your painting has developed? Have you seen it change over the last couple of years?

Yes of course. A unique aesthetic, or style, is the natural progression of practicing art. Art is more than just talent. It is discipline that needs constant honing. I can say my works have become more symbolic and focused.

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Mohammad Awwad

10. Describe a time when you worked hard on a project but you received negative feedback from your manager or client. What did you do?

I am lucky that I never experienced that in any of my projects. However, if such a thing happens it will most certainly annoy me.

11. Do you have a favorite photograph or painting, which inspires you?

I am forever enamored with the surrealist movement. Dali’s “Caravan” and “Clock” are among my favorite paintings.

12. What is your next project? What are you working on at the moment?

I am working on a new series that will blend my aesthetics with a real life model. This project will be a collaboration with a local talented photographer. You can say it is a work in progress.

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Exclusive Interview

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Mohammad Awwad

Exclusive Interview

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Creative Space

For the ones who wonder: Bumbuku is a name of a character from an old Japanese fairytale that I love. It is a magical tea-kettle, which becomes a badger when you rub it and makes circus tricks.

Its shows are so good that many people come to see them and pay a lot of money to its owner. After the owner becomes rich enough, he lets Bumbuku rest in a temple as a tea-kettle, in which they put Bumbuku’s favorite cake next to the kettle each day. The story is about diversity, getting audiences, generosity and being contented.

Illustrations for Social Impact Ozge Tigli – Bumbuku Creatives I was born in Turkey and based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for 6 years. I have studied International Relations, Political Science and did my master’s in Media and Cultural Studies.

I have been working with international non-profit organizations more than 10 years and helping them in storytelling and visualization to convey their messages. I created creative concepts and illustrations for many social impact campaigns for human rights, children’s rights and for vulnerable groups all around the world.

In 2015, I built Bumbuku Creatives, a digital storytelling company for social impact in Amsterdam. I am the creative Director and as a team, we produce animation videos and do illustrations for change-makers, and give digital storytelling workshops to help organisations be able to get self-sufficient to tell their stories. Our mission is to help change-makers around the world communicate with their public in the most efficient and effective way and increase their impact.

Recently, we produced an animation of United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We also made GIFs out of each goal. They will soon be available in our website to be downloaded for free and can be used in advocacy activities by any organization working to achieve the goals on their side.

Currently we are working on two projects; an animation video that communicates the problems of people who use drugs in access to health care for Correlation, European harm reduction network.

Also a game project for Amnesty International that I illustrate 30 universal human rights for children and create a matching game out of them. They will be distributed in schools to children to let them play and learn about their and other people’s rights.

I am also Illustrator coordinator of Benelux section of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators) and we are organizing workshops and events for illustrators interested in Children’s literature in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg.

Website www.bumbukucreatives.com Instagram: @bumbukucreatives Facebook: @BumbukuCreatives Twitter: @bumbukucreative Linkedin: Ozge Tigli.

I am always delighted to meet like-minded people and creating new illustration projects for good.

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e Creativ Space THE

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Brightness Gallery

Brightness

Gallery

This section is devoted to the works of some of the best illustrators from all around the world. As with any real gallery, ours too aims to introduce and present those creative and elegant artworks which are created by both of professional and enthusiastic young artists.

However, as opposed to the real galleries, this one will not be restricted by physical barriers or geographical borders, which implies that artists could easily connect to a wider range of audience worldwide.

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Summer Warm summer sun, shine kindly here; Warm southern wind, blow softly here; Green sod above, lie light, lie light; Good night, dear heart, good night, good night.

(Mark Twain)

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Brightness Gallery

AMALIA RESTREPO

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CINDY KANG

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Brightness Gallery

SHADI VEDAEI

IRENA FREITAS | 52

MATHIS LAUCELLA GALATEA

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Brightness Gallery

JUSTINA CESNAUSKAITE

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ANDRA BADEA

HANNAH CUNNINGHAM

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Brightness Gallery

JASON CHUANG

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GUILLERMO FLORES (ORBEH)

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MATEJA JAGER

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Brightness Gallery

MATHIS LAUCELLA

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Brightness Gallery

SARAH PERKINS

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STEFANIA INFANTE

SANDRA CONEJEROS

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