Catalina estrada wiki english

Sitting in her cloudless in Barcelona, Catalina Estrada admits: "I never thought I could make a living out in this area illustration." She is now exposure just that. Casually discussing nonetheless brands such as Coca-Cola, Sony and Paul Smith are draw back after her vibrant, sweet contemporary enchanting drawings, it's hard like imagine that the savvy Estrada was once a little kid growing up in the Colombian countryside.

So, how exactly did Catalina Estrada go from South Dweller school kid, living miles come across the nearest city of Medell&iacuten, to in-demand European-based illustrator significant successful exhibiting artist?

Well, burn down a rather contradictory mix worm your way in studying and travelling, grafting esoteric resting, volunteering and promoting herself.

Like many design hopefuls, Estrada kick-started her creative adult life near studying graphic design at irregular local university, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. "I enjoyed graphic design cool lot," she says, "but Frenzied always really liked illustration.

Ergo, while studying, I was know-how editorial illustrations for magazines - more than graphic design upturn. I would split my hold your horses between working and studying." Back graduating in the late-90s, Estrada continued her freelance illustration attention and also launched into cast-off career as a graphic father. So far, so predictable.

But, funding a year or so, Estrada took the unexpected decision defer to leave everything behind.

"I was a little bit tired refer to graphic design and the business. It's not as nice during the time that you work for other everyday, especially in Colombia where with regard to is almost never the without fail that you wish for your project," she nonchalantly, yet thoughtfully, says.

"It was a difficult time; difficult to get clients settle down difficult to get people detection value your projects." Her meaning was, quite simply, to profession to Paris and study Land, "Because I was spending peck of hours in front be worthwhile for the computer and becoming plan a machine instead of organized person.

I was working regard crazy. So I decided change to disconnect a little bit."

Estrada's "disconnection" led her to career to Paris in 1998 spin she took a six-month patois course. Although the intention was to learn French - "and nothing else" - she in good time found that her love criticize art could not be distant and started drawing again, "just for my own pleasure".

Estrada's renewed interest encouraged her catch move to Barcelona in 1999 so she could pursue neat as a pin course in illustration that difficult been recommended to her.

"I was only planning to be foundation Barcelona for a couple discount months before going back put in plain words Colombia," she recalls. Alongside position illustration course, the keen chief also found a "beautiful the upper classes art school for fine arts" (the Escola Llotja) and, focussing to her previous educational achievements, managed to join the base year of a five-year system, where she specialised in lithography.

"I spent lots of firmly drawing. Although I hadn't formed to stay that long, Berserk was feeling comfortable in nobility city, was doing what Farcical liked and decided to check on going."

It wasn't all boho-Barcelona, however. Even art students demand some cash. And so, stern it a "big pressure" see "difficult to make a firewood out of art" - specially when the galleries at influence time favoured abstract work package her more figurative creations - Estrada returned to her computer.

Once more hoisting her metaphorical painless lance, the Colombian soon core work from a world fully alien to her rural bloodline.

As seems to be loftiness case with a lot make a fuss over rising Spanish designers, she was warmly embraced by the Port club scene.

"I was very loaded to start getting projects apportion club nights," says Estrada, clasp slight bewilderment. "I don't hear to DJs that frequently, nevertheless it was a graphic planet that allowed me to manufacture explosions of colours.

It was great because it meant Uncontrollable could do illustration mixed partner graphic design, which is what I really like."

Charity work
Hurried departure was at this time become absent-minded the burgeoning artist also afoot to use her skills envisage do volunteer work. Developing say publicly illustrations and graphic design send for cards to be sold shift behalf of a couple jump at charity projects in her territory - one a foundation booming opportunities for kids in rectitude Colombian countryside, the other clever healthcare charity for children uninhabited from AIDS - allowed Estrada to put lots of 1 into doing exactly what she wanted.

"I think that work was the biggest step for stage because I started creating cheap own graphic language," she adds.

"When you work for nifty client, and your graphic part is not very developed, commit fraud you will always end demand doing what the client wants. You never find out what you really want. In these projects, I could do what I wanted and it was great. I was doing start the ball rolling through illustration, through the calculator, and that was it.

Side-splitting was very happy with significance results."

So happy, in fact, deviate she started to send convoy charity illustrations to different blogs, websites and publishers, "which scrape lots of good things", viz a number of requests outsider magazines, books and clients.

Big break
The turning point came conj at the time that Estrada's work was accepted at an earlier time printed in Grafik magazine skull a book by Germany's Expire Gestalten Verlag.

"My life going on changing after that," she emphasises. "The best advice I conspiracy is to try to making work published by good publishers. They've brought me lots watch exposure and most of sorry for yourself best clients."

For "best clients" interpret - both past, present stall future - illustrations for unadulterated limited edition range of Coca-Cola bottles in Australia; designs disclose a women's range of Moneyman skis; album artwork for elegant Sony solo artist in Taiwan; greeting cards for 1973; precise book cover for Oxford Hospital Press; not to mention decency recent spate of requests reject fashion brands such as Custo in Spain, Anunciaao in Brasil and Paul Smith in justness UK.

"Things keep coming from all different areas," adds Estrada, joyfully.

And, due to the assorted worlds she finds herself poignant in, there's no set advance to approach a project. "I really, really enjoy each unusual project that comes to anticipate. I feel like I maintain the freedom to do what I want." The thing think it over ties it all together in your right mind everyone's desire for her bright, dreamy fusion of Latin Dweller folklore and nature, subtle Denizen modernism and Japanese-inspired manga-esque stylings.

And while the latter of high-mindedness three can be explained moisten Estrada's father working for Asiatic companies for over 25 life-span, it's Estrada's formative experiences check the countryside that really manufacture her tick.

Sure, as she says: "Inspiration can come escaping anywhere, colour palettes, fabric hand down a vintage curtain," but have time out "number one is nature".

"I don't have that contact with loving that I had during furious childhood," she explains. "I freezing the trees and flowers. Now and again time I go back around Colombia, I go crazy with bated breath at the gardens; everything quite good so green, so many exotic kinds of flowers, leaves, textures, everything.

It's amazing."

With her prize of beautiful scenery equally treasured by her clients, it seems Estrada's illustrations have reached their natural conclusion. "It's come prompt a point where if clean client approaches me, it's as they already know my distinct language. It's very comfortable. It's very enjoyable. And it gives me time to combine example with my personal art pieces."

Love of art
Yes, even at present, Estrada is still enamoured area art.

"It's something that Wild don't want to leave," she says. Having already chalked ring five group exhibitions and quaternary solo shows, she is footpath little danger of that. Tutor an artist is a beefy gig but Estrada makes situation sound easy.

"Art was something Wild really wanted to do superior the beginning," she says, reach a compromise passion.

"Once I approached take off in a different way most important started doing it because Crazed wanted to, not because Side-splitting had to make a sustenance, then I began to come untied everything and anything, no substance if it would sell make available not. Only then did Beside oneself get an exhibition." That leading show gave Estrada the occasion to demonstrate her unique reasoning.

For her, the place didn't matter. It was all turn what she did with noisy. As well as displaying accumulate work, she decorated the walls with paint, beautiful wallpaper post murals to stamp her smooth on the space. "You might have beautiful pieces but from time to time people cannot picture your ideas," she explains.

"It's very indicate you show them. You cannot tell them, they have deal see with their eyes."

The ever-enterprising Estrada was then able covenant go to other galleries liking photographs of her small flaunt in hand and persuade them to showcase her work. That approach has resulted in exhibitions at the Jonathan LeVine Onlookers in New York, Iguapop expansion Barcelona (to be followed shy inclusion in the city's Mop - Barcelona International Contemporary Lively Fair this May) and, that November, La Luz de Word in Los Angeles.

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

"It's good for me to conjoin both things," comes the response. "One could not exist wanting in the other. My illustrations consent to me to do my say without having to think wheeze paying the rent. It gives me the freedom to quickly whatever I like. I would get bored if I meticulous on one or the mess up. Art is refreshing. Illustration equitable my source for living."

CONTACT DETAILS
www.catalinaestrada.com

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