Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

For these 2 weeks, I have a special treat for you. As you know Halloween is coming soon and I have discovered two illustrators whose styles fit perfectly with this special occasion. Madame Monique is the illustrator I want to introduce to you this week.

Her works are very whimsical, soft, and yet mysterious at the same time. Ladies and gentlemen, today is my honour to bring you to the fantasy world of Madame Monique.  

 Vanitas

M: Hello Madame Monique, thank you so much for being part of my Halloween special feature on Swide. So, what made you want to be an illustrator? Do you think you would still work in the arts industry if you did not choose illustrator as your career?

MO: As far as I remember, I never really chose to become an illustrator. I love to paint since I was a little child and had the chance to study graphic design right after school without knowing much about the design business and its possibilities. During my studies I have discovered that Illustration is what I like best. I just never managed to put as much love into advertising or marketing strategies. I’m not sure if I would do any job in the arts industry that doesn’t involve painting, at least not for long. Besides working as an artist and illustrator, my long-term goal is to work with people, so I started to study art therapy just a few months ago. Art is a wonderful thing and I often experience the positive effects of pictures and the process of painting. So my wish is to use this medium to bring a little more colour and feeling into the world.

M: I rarely know people that are into art therapy and I am looking forward to see if your illustration style will change once you are finished with the course. Now I am curious, where do you usually get your inspirations? Do you take reference from fairy tales?

MO: I can be inspired by almost everything, as long as it can trigger a certain emotion inside of me and makes me want to be express that emotion as a picture. Often I’m inspired by nature, music, even food or happenings in my surroundings. Books can be inspiring too! I’ve painted a few fairytale pictures and these stories are so old and archetypical that they touch a lot of artists. When I need inspiration for a commission work, I try to stay as open minded as possible and collect different pictures or material that might in some way relate to the topic. A wide range of input is quite helpful to set one’s creativity into motion.

 Schneckenhaus

M: I think it is important to keep yourself open minded as this will help you to create more stunning works. So Monique, how will you describe your illustration style? Is there a specific illustration element you think is unique to you?

MO: It’s quite difficult to describe one’s own style, but I think many people would call it “sweet” or a style for children’s books, although my topics are not always that easy or cute. Maybe my style has a sort of “symbolistic” touch. I adore the art of the Pre-Raphaelites and Art Nouveau, this certainly has some influence on my pictures. One of the main elements of my work is the variation of size. I often paint little women between gigantic objects or insects. I love to imagine a small magical world between our everyday objects.

 Rose Hips

M: To me, I think your works are very whimsical and mysterious at the same time because of the small figures against the gigantic objects.  If you could only choose 1 piece of work to represent you as an illustrator, which one would you choose? Why?

MO: I would chose “Quo Vadis?”. This piece was painted for a little online competition but after it was finished I realized how much feelings I had put into it and it reminded me of myself. The reason why I paint in general is to let the emotions and thoughts that cannot be expressed by words flow into the form of art. My own relationship to art is represented in this piece.

Quo Vadis 

M: “Quo Vadis” is a very interesting piece and it is funny how there is a haunting feeling to it. Last but not least, If you were asked to illustrate a special Halloween illustration based on the Dolce & Gabbana F/W 2012 womenswear collection, what kind of imagery would you want to achieve?

MO: I’ve always had a soft spot for Dandies and the 19th century. After seeing this beautiful F/W collection and thinking how to associate it with the Halloween topic, I come up with this idea. I would paint the dimly lit saloon of a rich Belle Époque mansion with elegant gentlemen and ladies wearing the fine fabrics and delicate lacework dresses. They would be gathering for a séance or to be entertained by a magician (I would probably paint him as a very big beetle, maybe a scarab with a waistcoat and glasses) and his medium in a flowing star-patterned robe. I would want to achieve an atmosphere of mystery, excitement and splendor with a little freaky touch.

 

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Credits -  Madame Monique

 

 

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