First of all Cristina please tell us a bit about you and what you do.
I’m an illustrator. Drawing is and has been my life, I’ve always drawn almost every day. I’ve worked as an illustrator for a great number of years, from 1983 to be exact. I lived for several years in Milan, but in 1992 I moved to the province Brianza, a very green area, sometimes I miss the city, but I also appreciate the opportunity to walk in nature and experience the tranquillity of this place.
Do you work full-time as an illustrator now?
This may sound strange but I actually don’t want to be creative every day, because drawing is a very very lonely job, and also sometimes it’s not always practical as I work from home and my time is divided between drawing and following the house and the family, and in this struggle the family often wins. Since 2010 I decided that I no longer wanted to do commissioned work, as I want to be able to express myself without too many constraints.
How did you discover microstock?
I started participating in cartoonist contests, although I didn’t always win I often passed the selection to be able to exhibit, but this was not enough, a former client of mine told me about microstock and I felt it was perfect for me. I started with fotolia but now it’s been absorbed by a larger microstock site and that close relationship with the people who ran it no longer exists, however I recently discovered Revolucy and now I’ve found this experience again, this is what convinced me to work with them.
A lot of your work seems politically motivated, would you describe it as such?
I would say yes, I cannot define it with a precise political current, because everything is so complex, at least here in Italy. However, the best way to describe my work is by calling it Social Commentary. I actually don’t think my work will do much to make a contribution to make the world better, but if I’m going to spend my time making art, I want my art to raise a voice against things I find unjust and inhuman, even if it’s a small voice in the scale of things.
Do you see your work in use?
I see many of my images around, on the covers of books, in blogs, but I don’t think many know that I am the author, because there is a bad habit of not putting the names of the authors with the images. It’s better when my work is used on Social Commentary or Cartoonist sites, where generally there is a better chemistry between the publishers and artists.
Cristina thanks for agreeing to be interviewed, it’s been great to find out about you and your work.
It’s been a pleasure. I’d like to give my thanks also for the opportunity to be interviewed, because being able to give some words to give shape to those behind the images is always a precious gift.
Great images!
Thank you ️