We have met Adrian and Roxana face to face at Portfolio Reviews 2017 and we love his work, so being a part of our Spotlight was no surprise.
Subsign: Before we get things rolling, let’s get acquainted. Tell us a few things about yourself.
Adrian: Hey! Hello. I’m an illustrator from Romania. I’m a big cat lover, and that’s why I draw lots & lots of cats. My work is not just about cats, so you know. Sometimes I’m making drawings from my customers’ photos, and sometimes I do ink drawings. This is me 🙂
Subsign: What was your childhood like? Do you think your experiences from childhood have influenced your present creative endeavors?
Adrian: When I was a little child I was doing lots of stupid stuff, I was curious, I was naughty. I used to stick the fork in the electrical outlet and I was trying to mimic my dad who is an electrician, taking apart electronic devices from the house which ended up destroyed. I was very energetic.
My parents realized that I might be talented when they noticed that I was reproducing all the drawings I was seeing in magazines, newspapers, even tablecloths.
My life experiences have influenced my creative effort with good and bad, they have always been the main subject of research for me. I had everything: depression, breakups, fights, but I’ve also loved, won and evolved into a better version of myself. They are part of me, they made me the person I am today.
Subsign: How would you describe your work style?
Adrian: I developed two drawing styles: the first one is ink on paper where I draw in black ink and the works are darker, conceptual, they get you thinking. And my second style is digital, vectorial, funny, cartoonish, with many cats, which is more straightforward.
Subsign: Can you share with us how your creative process works?
Adrian: I get inspired by a lot of things but I never copy. I usually see something on the streets, on the internet, in movies that catch my attention and I have an idea. At that moment I pull the phone out of my pocket and type in my idea. If after a week it still sounds good, then it remains.
From that idea to the final drawing many things can happen. It is possible to come up with a better idea, starting from the original one or a totally new one. It’s possible to quit or add a lot, so the original idea may not look the way I imagined it first. That’s what happened when I was drawing for my bookmarks exhibit inSEMN.
Subsign: How does your workstation look like?
Subsign: What is your favorite work you have done so far?
Adrian: I like all the works and projects that I do, but only for the moment. After a while, I want something better than the previous ones, that’s why I can’t say I like one specific piece of work a lot, but I am very proud of everything I’ve done so far. They’re all part of my evolution.
However, to answer your question, I would choose the works I’ve done for my bookmarks exhibition in 2015 called inSEMN. It was the first and only time I exhibited my private moments in a public space, in less than 60 small drawings in an unconventional format.
Subsign: Who do you admire as a visionary?
Adrian: I like Noma Bar, Mattias Adolfsson, Scott McCloud and Hugleikur Dagsson. There are many more artists I like, but I can’t remember them all now.
Subsign: What advice could you give to someone starting out in the creative field of work?
Adrian: Never give up no matter what. Four years ago I was diagnosed with a rare disease that affected one of my eyes. Since then I have been drawing with only one functional eye.
Subsign: If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
Adrian: To build a time machine.
Subsign: Can you recommend for our readers a book, a song and a movie?
Adrian: Jules Verne – 20.000 Leagues Under the Sea, Reamonn – Supergirl, Back to the Future
Subsign: If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for?
Adrian: I would do a party-exhibition. People come to socialize, laugh, have a drink, and my works would be displayed on the walls. I would call a pretty underground band from my country to play.
Subsign: What did you wanted to be as a grown up?
Adrian: I’ve been drawing since I was 7-8 years old, but it took me a long time to get here. I was stubborn. I had never thought of what to do in life until college. From that moment I immediately knew I wanted to create illustrations, comics and funny stuff, and that’s what I’m doing now 🙂
Thank you Adrian for being a part of it!
If you know a creative that should be in the spotlight feel free to contact us at jojo@subsign.co .
For more of Adrian’s work you can follow his on the link: Adrian – instagram, Adrian – website, Meow & Meuw on Facebook, Desene după fotografia ta on Facebook
