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09.03.07

Alberto Cerriteno

Illustrator

www.albertocerrite ...

Duration: I've been in this charming city since 2005. Before that, I lived in my amazing hometown, Mexico City.
Staff: As an illustrator, I'm self-employed—just me and my inspiration, and my lovely wife and our little pirate-monster-spiderman- luchador, who recently turned four.
Education: By choice I got a bachelor's degree in graphic design at the Universidad del Valle de Mexico, Campus Lomas Verdes, but by fate my love for illustration started with my childhood drawings, a hobby supported by my mom and dad when I was very young. They showed me the whole, great world of drawing; my dad surprised me sometimes with these special papers for architecture jobs, fine pencils and soft rubber erasers, and my mom always used to bring my watercolor set to our weekend picnics in the countryside. I feel that I started my illustration education back then.
Cultural Influences: Everything started with my cultural environment. Mexico is a very colorful, warm, expressive, distressed and alive place—having all of this around me, since I was born, has influenced me. When I was a little boy, I remember how much I enjoyed reading the comic magazines of Cantinflas Show, a printed version of a children's cultural TV show. When I was older, I loved to collect the El Santos comic strip series, a parody of the Mexican wrestler "El Santo," illustrated and created by Jis & Trino. Lately I've been strongly inspired by urban vinyl toys, alternative cartoons and the "pop surrealism" movement. That's how my cultural influences began and how I now try to execute my illustrations with delicate hints of this and much more traditional Mexican artistic influences, like the combination of rich textures and decorative patterns.
Environment: My wife reading or chatting with me, my son playing around and me drawing in my laptop, my sketchbook or painting in an improvised space. One day I'll have a studio, but it will definitely have to have a special spot for my family, with whom I sometimes interact while I'm working—this is something that makes me more productive!
Philosophy: Pursue passion in what you do, believe in yourself and eventually, you'll find happiness.