The French illustrator shares her love for Instagram, life as a freelancer and the beauty of women’s bodies.
When did you first start illustrating?
I have always been drawing. When I was about five or six years old, I would only illustrate perfume bottles. When I was in middle school, I used to draw horses and then I slowly started drawing portraits. I did one year of art school, but I did not enjoy making art that I was forced to make. In 2018, I started drawing on my graphic tablet a lot, it helped me when I was going through hard times, and I figured out I wanted to make it my full-time job by the end of the year. I officially became an illustrator in January 2019.
Why did you decide to share your illustrations on Instagram?
At first, I made my Instagram account for friends and family. When I figured out I wanted to make it my job, I started posting everyday and eventually, in December 2018, I got 160 followers! Four months later I hit 1600, it never stopped growing after that. My Instagram account is like my diary, I share my thoughts, values, fears. It helps me grow stronger! The art community is so open minded and nice, it really feels like a huge family and I highly recommend to artists to post on social media, to make friends and colleagues.
What types of things do you enjoy illustrating the most? And why?
My Instagram page is full of women. I find women’s bodies so beautiful and it enables me to talk about feminism, period poverty and many subjects. I also have an obsession with plants, I currently have around 30 in my apartment and they inspire me so much while I make art. I am trying to change my habits, I would love to draw more objects and men in the future.
What has been your most popular post on Instagram? Why do you think it was so popular?
My illustration “my clothes do not determine my consent” got reposted by a 2.3 million account and as I am writing, it has 100,000+ likes! I think that making feminist statements is really important and viral at the moment. It has a huge impact on our society, and people love to share strong messages on their Instagram. It is a peaceful way to stand for our beliefs. We bond over our values and of course, talking about feminism, rape culture and women’s rights creates a debate!
How has sharing your illustrations on social media impacted your freelance work?
I was not a freelancer beforehand so I don’t really have a perspective on that but posting artwork online with locations and city hashtags gave me a few opportunities. For brands, Instagram is an awesome portfolio with so many talented artists. As illustrators, social media gives us a way to show ourartwork worldwide. Without social media in general, artists struggle to grow. It is all about word of mouth, which is faster online!
What challenges do you face as an illustrator?
Mainly loneliness since I work from home and the feeling of having a ‘childish’ job because drawing is ‘easy’ and nobody wants to pay for art. Plagiarism and theft are also two huge challenges, it makes me really anxious, people just take and use whatever they see on the internet!
Where do you find inspiration for your commissions?
My inspiration is everywhere I look! Colours, patterns, strangers, outfits. Like many artists, I also love browsing on Pinterest. I really enjoy looking at other forms of art, sculptures, literature and movies. Our world is an endless source of inspiration, we just have to open our eyes.
Who would be your dream client to illustrate for?
That’s a really hard question, my dream client is someone that wants an art piece that showcases my values and that coincides with my art style and what I share through Instagram. Of course, I would love to work with more brands, at the moment I really want to work with period related brands.
