Alexia
“Omule : Hi Alexia ! Let’s say you’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?”
“Alexia : Blue, definetely blue. ”
“Omule : Five things you can’t live without.”
“Alexia : Oh, easy peasy! I can’t live without my cats. My books are pretty important, too. Next is my favorite watercolor pan, then comes my imagination and my bee necklace.”
“Omule : What superpower would you like to have and why?”
“Alexia : I would love to be able to read all the books in the world. I’m a nerd .”
“Omule : What is your dream project?”
“Alexia : I dream about having a place on a mountain where I could paint picture books all day!”
“Omule : If you were a movie director and you had to choose 3 actors/actresses for a movie about your work , what would your pick be?”
“Alexia : Audrey Tatou, Juliette Binoche, Yvonne Strahovski ”
“Omule : Who are the most influential illustrators world wide for you ? Who would you like to collaborate with ?”
“Alexia : I really like Fatemeh Haghnejad’s style – her characters are so charming! I also like Beatrix Potter, but I guess there’s no way we could collaborate in the future, so I’ll keep that in my mind for another life. Samantha Cotterill, Levi Pinfold are also on my list.”
“Omule : Do you follow Romanian illustrators ? ”
“Alexia : I follow Oana Befort on Instagram. She is an inspiration for me. Anca Smarandache, Irina Dobrescu, Mircea Pop, Saddo or Livia Coloji are a few of my favorites.”
“Omule : PC or Mac? Pencil and paper or tablet? Photoshop or Illustrator?”
“Alexia : Oh, Mac. Pencil! Sometimes I have to work on my tablet and I kinda hate the feeling. I usually mix the traditional technique with the digital one, just for the sake of my sanity. Photoshop, of course.”
“Omule : 3 albums to listen for the rest of your life .”
“Alexia : Cut the World – Anthony and the Johnsons, Glorious You – Benjamin Clementine, Maria Tănase II.”
“Omule : What do you like the most about our generation? How do you see the next one?”
“Alexia : My generation is pretty young right now, young and confused. My personal circumstances made me detach a bit from people of my age so I can’t speak about it that much. For those generations who come, I wish them to be a bit more imaginative, curious and courageous. ”
“Omule : What is the biggest enemy for your process and for your daily work?”
“Alexia : The lack of sleep. I always get moody and unimaginative when I don’t get enough sleep. It’s eating my brain alive. ”
“Omule : Nowdays the feeling is that the consumer invests no time in his research. Everything seems to be on fast forward. How do you feel about that ?”
“Alexia : I hope for the best. I think we all need to see a change in the way people embrace creative work. It’s all about education and we should these educate people. My work is mainly for the younger generations or with them. I try to make the most of it and take every opportunity to speak directly with these children. The whole purpose of my work is to make people dream more, create more. If a kid goes home and draws a green horse on its notepad or if one of my students goes for a walk and actually looks at the nature, then my work was all worth it. Every rainbow coloured snowman and every painted leaf or flower will mean something for that person. It’s enough.”
“Omule : Goods and bads in your industry. ”
“Alexia : It’s a young industry. The comeback is visible in my field, but there is a lot of room for things to get better. The good part is that children books are getting a bit more popular here. Luckily, publishers are starting to work with Romanian artists - that’s a good thing. The bad part is that people don’t actually read. So educating them and their children will be a tough one for the book industry. Again, we can only hope for the best :)”
