"Art as Escapism" - The CreativeMindClass Blog

I'm originally from Venezuela. I grew up in a city that was very tropical that was surrounded by mountains and palm trees, however I unfortunately, I was not allowed to experience my surroundings fully (partly due to my parents' excessive protection and a lot more due to the daily anxieties in my country). Most of the time, television and books were my primary forms of escapism - and drawing! I would spend hours drawing my most favorite characters from anime and my pets, as well as friends. I wasn't allowed to wear, costumes, or all sorts of things.

It was mostly a pastime, and I was somewhat aware that it would not extend beyond Venezuela. However, my family made the decision to move to the UK and that was a major change for me. When I was a teenager I finally had more independence, was free to explore places on my own and think about the things I would like to accomplish.

My love for the design of characters and stories has led me to comics that in turn, brought me to drawing. Everything were put together. After some years of study (and lots of hard work), I'm now freelancing as an Illustrator in London.

My style is fun, bold and sometimes a little chaotic (in the best way!). Sometimes , it's simple, or it can be very detailed. However, it always features a character or animal or even a beautiful piece of landscape. I love to believe that every illustration I draw is part of the same universe.

My main goal is to have fun with it. I am reminded of things that delighted me growing up: really vivid colours, sneaky characters, funny situations, tiny details to be lost in. The goal of my work is to capture as many of these elements whenever I create something new. If I can get the viewer to feel happy or happy, or like they noticed something interesting and interesting, then I've succeeded in what I wanted to achieve.

"Another key element for me is humor. It was apparent over time that I'm not an competent person to create complex or abstract artworks, but I can be pretty good at producing something humorous that will bring a smile to someone's face. I am a good player now."

You can follow Marianna's creative journey on her Instagram and see detailed drawings from her children's book she wrote in lockdowns, as well as some behind-the-scenes images of her recoding Skillshare class, to mention some. The links to the class and her books can be found at the web site.