I
am so thrilled to be branching out a little in my new How,
What, Where and When series,
and have got an absolute star answering my questions in this post.
If you haven’t caught up with the others yet, you can find
them all HERE!
Today's interviewee is the lovely Valentina, aka Occhi Ovunque, the magical Italian illustrator. She works freelance illustrating and writing from her holiday house on the Amalfi Coast. She tells me (via email) that in Italian, 'Occhi Ovunque' means 'eyes everywhere', and is the name of her curious Pomeranian that becomes a sweet fox in her drawings and stories.
Occhi Ovunque is also the name of Valentina's blog, a space where she mixes illustrations with recipes and tales of gastronomic adventures.
Welcome, Valentina! Thanks so much for taking part in this new series of mine. I can't wait to learn more about you!
How did
you make this your distinct 'thing'? Was there a journey in
discovering the perfect way to do your kind of art?
I think it all happened accidentally. One day I resume drawing and I also began to draw digitally, it was a need. So I thought of publishing my experiments on line and I had good feedbacks. so I continued refining creativity and technique, my journey in search of "my perfection" is still in progress. I am experimenting with new techniques and looking for a style that speaks of me today.
What
is
your favourite illustration you've ever done? And what
is your dream?
At
each stage of my activity I had a favorite illustration. The one of
this new is "Sei qui, ora”
(‘You’re
Here, Now)
where the little mouse Gingerine invites you to taste the present to
not allow the anxiety of the future to sneak in the mind. You are
here and now, so why do you think of the future full of fear?
Where
do
you find is the best place to work on your art? And where can people
find you and your work online/in book form?
I
love drawing and writing in close contact with nature, on a meadow or
under the lemon trees of my beloved Amalfi Coast, the sea view is a
great assistance!
You
can find
my works online, on my Instagram,
my blog or in
my editorial works, like my last
book,
"Ricette Della Buonanotte" (‘Goodnight
Recipes’)
a
collection of illustrated
recipes
and dialogues. The book is available on Amazon!
When do you have new work coming out?
I am writing a new illustrated book, but this time it will be a story for children. Then I'm working on a project of Italian tourism promotion, so not only recipe drawings but also much more. I want to communicate many other things so it’s time to open up to new challenges.
Thank you so much for answering my questions, Valentina. I'm sure my readers will love you and your work as much as I do!
Folks, you can find Occhi Ovunque's work on her beautiful website here. Tune in next week for the next instalment in my How, What, Where and When series!
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