VoxTalks With Alicia Souza : To Anthropomorphize Characters, Dreams And Life In Adorable Illustrations

The Celebration Of The New Age Of Artists Ft Alicia Souza

By now, you the reader (assuming you are following our page for quite a while now) must’ve known our special affinity towards new age artists. Yes, we are super smitten by them, and their innovative and inspiring work. You see, they represent a modern age, where thoughts are not just exclusive to the artist. The thoughts here take a shape of a more cumulative acceptability. The artworks which come as a result are not only highly relatable but also truly adorable. Simply put, modern artists like Alicia Crescencia Souza (I’m so using that name in some story I write), have the rare gift to speak for every one of us through their works. Through imaginative conversations, between various characters, she weaves up such an involving experience of the artwork, that people I know actually wait for her to post up a new artwork every week. Alicia Souza, who runs the page of the same name, therefore becomes an important study of how creativity really has no form or restriction. And stands as a testament of user involving artwork, which makes interviewing her all the more special. The excerpts of our conversations with her go as below.

Your work lives up on the paradigm of observation, a simple yet beautiful life, and is extremely relatable to every one of your fans. So when did painting the reality onto illustrations actually begin and why? What drives Alicia Souza to make the world her canvas?

I’ve always tried to capture the everyday. Especially the funny things that happen. When I was young, I used to keep a diary and I guess this is just another form of communication. Life is too eccentric to NOT take notice!

Is there a pattern to the things that pique your interest and turn to an adorable illustration? We observe many times that illustrators and artists have a comfort zone in which they really flourish. Would you say you have one such zone for your works? And if you had to explore beyond this zone, where do you see yourself experimenting?

I definitely love imaginative conversations. That’s probably my favourite thing to draw into a scene. I think experimenting into larger stories is something that I’d love to do but need to muster enough patience. A graphic novel is something I’d absolutely love to draw but again, patience and time are never on my side. 

A large percentage of your illustrations focus around food and being an animal-lover. Can you elaborate a bit on those and tell us where the inspirations for these aspects began? 

The fridge and my dog, Charlie. That’s really it. I love food and Charlie is my muse. 

On any typical day, what is one thing about your routine that you wouldn’t miss for the world? How does a typical day for Alicia Souza look? And more importantly, how do you keep yourself motivated day in and day out. What’s the consistency mantra here? 

I have a few bits in my day that don’t change regardless of what the rest of my day looks like. For example, I wake up at 5.30 regardless of what time I go to bed because of Charlie’s walk. I have to have my morning coffee, making dinner and love a hot shower before bed.  I think I have ants in my pants all the time so I’m always doing something. And I think the key to being motivated is to enjoy every part of the process, even the painful ones. Also knowing when to stop and not to overwork. I keep work timings (when I only work on client work) and after that, it’s only personal drawings. Also knowing to enjoy other parts of your life! 

 

Was there, is there, or will there ever be a webcomic or a graphic movie coming from your side? How do you feel about the present Indian art market, where animation movies are yet to become popular? Where would say we are lacking in terms of bringing out content in animations?

Animations are a seriously long process. It’s tedious but kinda of worth it once it’s done. There are great animators in India but I’m not too well versed in the animation department so I can’t really talk about that stream. 

Webcomic, yes! Hopefully, I’ll make ‘Alie & Charlie’ comics more frequently:)

Your favourite art supply and one art supply you just cannot do without? And of course, let’s talk inspirations? Who does Alicia look up to nationally or/and internationally? Are there any pages, or people offline that your ideas from or are a huge admirer of?

I love just a pencil and eraser and adore my brush pen. That’s it. I need those three things. Any pencil, an Apsara eraser and an old dying Pentel brush pen. 

Inspirations, there a bit too many. I love so many things and people! Also, I don’t think I have one person but rather I try to take inspiration from random pictures I am drawn to, people I meet, a book I read, songs I hear, cakes I bake. I think it’s nicer that way! The only page I read every Sunday, almost habitually now for a few years, is PostSecret. 

Mr Henry-Oats, the guinea pig and Mr Charles Brown also make their appearances in most of your illustrations. Could you tell us more about them? What’s their story in your mind? 

Because I work from home most of the week, they are my constant companions. They also have really strong personalities so it’s easy to anthropomorphize them. Charlie has been with me a few months into moving to India so pretty much my entire illustrative career. He is a new little addition to our family but a bratty one too! I don’t have a story around my comics but rather just day to day thoughts, anecdotes and ideas that I think are chuckle-inducing.

Lastly, Charlie was an Indie Stray Pup you have adopted, from the street. That was indeed a commendable move. Would you like to say something to inspire more and more people to adopt stray pups? And for aspiring artist out there, what are a few things that you’d advise them towards making their career and getting success?

I cannot say that more wholeheartedly! There are sooo many insanely beautiful dogs up for adoption that it baffles me when dogs are bought from (awful awful) breeders! 

And to aspiring artists, enjoy the ride, be persistent and diligent. 

So, that was Alicia Souza, talking to us about all things wonderful. Blessed be these artists who make our life so much happier day in and day out. Follow these artists for a while and you are seeing the whole world in a whole different light. And more importantly, finding joy in the simplest of things. And therefore artists like Alicia Souza are incredible to the world we live in. Follow her works here on Facebook and Instagram and be happy.!

In case you are wondering where we’ve got the expertise to understand the importance of artists like Alicia Souza, well as I said earlier, we’ve been covering a whole lot of them over the past one year. Each artist below has their own unique style of making illustrations come to life. So do check them out.

Neha Doodles by Neha Sharma, The Tap by Ramya Sriram, DoodleODrama by Mounica Tata.