"Art as Escapism" - The CreativeMindClass Blog
I'm originally from Venezuela. I grew up in a city that was very tropical surrounded by hills and palm trees, but unfortunately, I was not allowed to explore my environment fully (partly due to the overprotection of my parents and a lot more due to my own insecurities and fears within my home country). Almost always indoors, TV and reading became my primary forms of escapism - and drawing! I was constantly drawing my most favorite characters from anime as well as my family, friends, pets I was not allowed to wear, costumes, or everything else.
The main reason was for a leisure activity that I had a little bit conscious that it wouldn't go beyond that in Venezuela. However, my family made the decision to relocate to the UK, and this changed everything for me. In my teen years I finally had greater freedom, and was able to travel by myself and to think about what I really would like to accomplish.
My love for characters and storytelling led me to comics, which then brought me to drawing. The pieces all became one. After a couple of years of studies (and a lot of hard work) I'm currently freelance as an Illustrator from London.
I consider my work to be adventurous, enjoyable and a bit chaotic (in an excellent manner!). Sometimes , it's simple but it could also be very detailed. However, it always features a character or animal or even a beautiful piece of scenery. I believe all my illustrations are one in the same.
The key for me is to enjoy it. It is easy to think of aspects that made me smile growing up: really vivid colours as well as sly characters, humorous situations, tiny details that I could be lost in. The goal of my work is to capture the best of these things every time I make something brand new. If I'm able to make my person who is viewing it feel happy, excited or feel like they have noticed something interesting, then I've accomplished what I wanted to achieve.
"Another essential element that I am looking for is humor. Over time, I've realized that I'm probably not the most competent person to create complex or abstract artworks, but I can be quite adept at producing something humorous that will make someone laugh. I work to my strengths now."
Marianna's art journey on her Instagram and see detailed drawings from the children's books she created during lockdowns as well as backstage photos of her redoing her Skillshare class to name a couple. The links to the class and Marianna's books you can find through the web site.