"Art as Escapism" - The CreativeMindClass Blog
I'm from Venezuela. I grew up in a city where the climate was tropical and filled with hills and palm trees. However, I unfortunately, I was not allowed to fully explore the world within me (partly because of my parents' excessive protection and, more importantly, due to the everyday insecurities within my country). Most of the time, television and reading were my main means of escape. So was drawing! I'd draw all day long my favourite cartoon characters, my family and pets that I wasn't allowed to have or wear, costumes, and everything actually.
The main reason was for a leisure activity in the beginning, and I thought I wouldn't ever have employed full-time in Venezuela. But then my family decided to relocate to UK and it was an enormous change for me. In my teen years, I got some freedom as I was able to travel by myself as well as think about what I wanted to do.
My interest in the creation of stories and characters brought me to comics that in turn led me to sketching. All of it came together. After several years of studying (and a lot of work) I'm now a freelancer as an Illustrator working in London.
My style is playful adventurous, wild and sometimes a little wild (in an appropriate way!). Sometimes , my illustrations are simple; sometimes it's incredibly detailed; but every illustration has a person or animal or some nice piece of landscape. All of my drawings make up the same universe.
My main goal is having fun when I am doing it. It is easy to recall the things which made me smile when I was as a child: vibrant images and characters, sneaky, hilarious scenarios, small details that can be lost into. My goal is to bring out the best aspects of these, whenever I create something new. If I can make the viewer feel content, happy, or feel like they've discovered something fascinating that has been achieved, I've succeeded in what I set out to do.
"Another crucial aspect that I value is the spirit of humor. It was apparent over time that I'm not an adequate person to make very complex or abstract artworks But I'm quite adept in creating lighthearted art that can bring a smile to someone's face. I play with my strengths right now."
Follow Marianna's journey through art via Instagram Explore the intricate artwork from her children's book she worked on in lockdowns. You can also see some behind-the-scenes shots of recoding her Skillshare class to mention just a handful. Links to the class as well as Marianna's books can be found through her website.
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