By Marco Melgrati
I started to work as a freelance illustrator in 2016, mostly for magazines, websites, and advertising. Since I can work from anywhere in the world, I travel a lot. Therefore, I’ve been living for a while in Mexico, Lithuania, Thailand, and Bali.
Although I studied painting, and for a while I used traditional media, now most of my work is digital: it is faster and easier for making changes or tweaks. Some of my illustrations are made on commission, but others are personal. Obviously, when I draw for myself, I try things I find more interesting. But even when I work on commission, I usually have a lot of creative freedom.
Here is a sample of my work.
The Zoo
This is a personal work. Unfortunately, people in zoo cages happened for real at the beginning of the twentieth century, and some zoos ‘exhibited’ Africans as ethnic curiosities in America and Europe. This illustration was used for the cover of El Malpensante, a Colombian literary magazine.
The Hunter
This is another personal work. It’s made in mixed media, both digital and traditional. Aliens are really useful when you want to show something from another point of view. I am very interested in the space race era between Russia and USA. I love everything about the Apollo Mission, and the Russian space programs.
If you read many internet forums, you will find out that many people believe the lunar landing was a hoax. Honestly, the more I read, the more I think these theories are fantasies, but they certainly have the merit of bringing back interest about the era of space exploration.
Behind the charming princes
Commissioned by Mexican magazine Tec-Review. This was for an article about the scandals that arose in 2017 about sexual harassment.
Thai-ger
This is a digital illustration I made in Thailand, when I was making a collaboration with the printing department of Chiang Mai Fine Art University. In Thailand, there are places where you can lie down next to tigers, pet them, and lie down on top of them. I wonder what is the secret for such relaxed tigers.
Houston, we have a problem
This is a handmade etching I recently made while in Thailand. I love this process! It takes a lot of time, but it is really a magical and charming technique.
Social media narcissism
This is another etching, a reinterpretation of the famous Caravaggio painting called “Narciso.” In the Greek myth, Narcissus drowns after falling into the water mirror where he was admiring his own reflection. I just used the metaphor of the myth and adapted it to the narcissism we see so much of on social media.
About politics and lies
This mixed media piece was a commission for Modern Filosofi, a Swedish magazine. The article was really interesting, and I had a lot of fun drawing this.
Mandatory Tipping (The Checkpoint)
Mixed media. I made this work for a Thai art gallery. It’s about how some Thai policemen increase their income at the expense of tourists. I’m sure there must be many good and honest policemen in Chiang Mai, but apparently, I didn’t meet many .
Floating Bridges
Digital illustration. This is another work I made while I was hosted in Chiang Mai by a local art gallery. The art residency was outside the city, with nature all around. One night, a colleague and I found a huge boa just outside the main gate. Nighttime there was just amazing, so before I went to sleep, I often spent some time watching the moon.
For CT Magazine, digital illustration. This was for an article about how people pretend to have a perfect, beautiful life on social media, even though their real one is not that great.
Do you have an art project on Instagram that you want to see featured on our website? Do you want our readers to see what you are making and why? Write a 500-word article and send it to storyteller@culturacolectiva.com for the chance to be published on our website!
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More art, design, and illustration in the following links:
17 Illustrations From The Strangest Japanese Monster Compilation
How Hyperrealistic Art Evolved Into One Of History’s Most Impressive Movements
Illustrations Of Prehistoric Animals So Cute We Wish They’d Survived
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