Looking at the art of Catalina Estrada is a bit like putting your eye to a good kaleidoscope to reveal a psychedelic whirl of color and shape, only to pull away almost overwhelmed with the vibrant design that encircles your eye.
Born in Colombia, Estrada now calls Barcelona, Spain, home. Her ethereal dreamscapes peopled by manga-inspired girls and boys, bucolic animals, flowers born of the rainforest and a fecund imagination have drawn her clients from a number of worlds including advertising, editorial and fashion. Her collaborations with hot British fashion designer Paul Smith (for a collection in Japan), Brazilian fashion brand Anunciação and with her jeweler brother Nicolas, have brought her attention, awards and a far-reaching clientele. Her illustrations have been wrapped around a soda bottle for a Coca-Cola Easter campaign in Australia and it’s anyone’s guess where they’ll land next.
Influenced by Latin American art, Art Nouveau, the Arts and Crafts movement and folk art seen on her travels, Estrada also cites pop surrealism and religious iconography as sources of inspiration. A limited-edition monograph of her work, Sweet Company, was released last fall in São Paulo, Brazil to coincide with an art exhibition. Whether adorning silk fabric, giant billboards or enameled jewelry, Estrada’s illustrations sing of happiness or, as my eleven-year-old daughter would describe it, “joyness.” Luminous color and pleasing shapes and proportions tell fairytales of a happy universe where children and animals cavort. Much like in her childhood, it turns out.
“Animals you would find in London Parks”,this illustration is part of a series for Paul Smith Autumn/Winter2007, Pink Collection released in Japan.
CA: When did you start doing illustration?
Estrada: When I was studying graphic design at university, I used to work as a freelance illustrator for different magazines, but it was more like a hobby than real work. I never thought this was something [from which] you could make a living.
CA: What was your childhood like?
Estrada: It was a very nice childhood. I lived in a house in the countryside of Medellin, Colombia’s second city. It was a colorful place with a beautiful garden. I remember spending most of my time at my grandparents’ place, nearby my house
; they were the nicest grandparents ever. My grandmother used to tell us a different story every day while my brother and I were eating breakfast; she had a great imagination and made up the stories. We would spend lots of time climbing up the trees and making up games in the gardens. There were not many kids around—it was basically my brother and me, my grandparents, my aunt and my parents. Life was simple and nice. Nature was rich, fun and generous and the best playground ever.
CA: Are you influenced by manga?
Estrada: Yes, indeed. My father worked for Japanese companies for 25 years. He and my mother used to travel a lot to Japan when I was a kid and they would bring back great stuff for us from their trips. I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese graphic culture, their toys, their packaging, their fabrics, everything! They are absolute geniuses!
CA: Your illustrations are very organic, usually incorporating elements of nature or specific animals. Can you speak about that?
Estrada: I was born and raised in the countryside where I had lots of contact with nature, animals and plants, during all of my childhood. I guess when you look back at things you sort of idealize them. In 1999, I moved to Barcelona and now that I live in the city I realize how much I miss all that contact with nature. I guess only when I started missing nature so much did it start being the main character of my illustrations.
CA: Please describe your work environment.
Estrada: Now that I live in Barcelona, I have a nice room/studio that I share with my lovely husband. We both work there and he helps me a lot. I love the place where we live now even though I miss Colombia a lot. Still, I keep going there to visit my parents and when I go I bring my laptop and keep working on my projects in the middle of beautiful nature.
CA: From where do you draw your color sense?
Estrada: My mother has a sense of combining colors like no one else I know. Her house is painted with different vivid colors—every wall in the house has a specific color that matches perfectly with the beams and the other walls. Every room has its own atmosphere through the colors that she uses. She also embroiders doilies and crochets, and uses the most beautiful colors for this as well. Every time I see her creations I want to use those colors in my illustrations. I was very lucky to be raised in such a colorful and beautiful house. She has an amazing and very particular and personal sense of beauty.
CA: Some of your designs look Asian- or Indian-inspired; from where do you draw your iconography?
Estrada: I’ve also been very lucky to travel a lot. I traveled to India for almost two months a few years ago (I’ve been there twice), most of Southeast Asia for four months (also twice) and I love the way they represent their religious iconography, their graphic traditions, their folk art; it’s like a treasure to my eyes. The way they manage colors, shapes, the obsession for details—in a good sense—is really inspiring for me.