Roma Gavrila

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Children & Family

Editorial

Nature

Woman smoking cigarette with striped shirt and smoky background

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Blonde woman in blue dress holding white lilies with butterflies nearby

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Person in blue robe with white ethereal flowers and closed eyes

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Man cycling inside hamster wheel between cliffs with family and signposts

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In Cluj-Napoca, Roma Gavrilǎ transforms dream notes into multi-layered visual worlds.

Digital brushes, natural texture: visual worlds with narrative depth and meaning.

Perhaps this is partly to do with where she’s based. The Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca has a rich history, with multicultural influences. There’s the baroque majesty of the Austro-Hungarian empire juxtaposed with communist apartment blocks, while round its edges the built environment gives way to fields and forests. It’s this messy mix of complex connections that Roma loves, and into it she blends visions from the dream diaries she’s been keeping for the last 15 years. Clients love the imagination, emotion and information that flow through her imagery. Roma’s qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in fashion design, and masters’ degrees in textile design and graphics.

Approach

Traditionally trained, Roma uses digital brushes that replicate natural media on paper. Each illustration begins with free association sketching on her iPad, narrowing down the variations and creating clean pencil work to which she’ll apply watercolour, acrylic, gouache, pastel or pencil brushes.

Key software

Adobe Photoshop and Procreate.

Style

Roma’s artworks have a natural, organic style, with hand-rendered strokes, textures and patterns creating worlds that feel rich and tangible. Using light and shadow, and separating foreground and background detail, the viewer feels like they’re looking in on stories with real meaning.

Languages

Romanian, English, French.

Impressions

Interview

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Interview

What led you to become an illustrator? Drawing and painting was what I loved getting lost in since I first held a pencil in my hand. Once I found out I could make a career out of it, I knew that's what I wanted, in one form or another.Did you study illustration in college? I actually started going to an art-profiled school since first grade, all the way to high school. Then I went to the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) for my degree, as well my masters. I also spent a year abroad on Erasmus at the Academy of Art in Lodz, Poland, where I focused more on graphics and mixing techniques.Where did you grow up? I grew up in Romania, in a small town, named Deva, in a quaint house with a garden. That's probably why plants appear so much in my work. I was growing up in the 90's and 00's, a time when my country was going through a lot of changes, and the world around me and the aesthetics were changing as well. My taste also expanded. For example, I used to really dislike old apartment buildings, but then I started to appreciate their character and the way people try to leave their mark on them.Do you have a childhood memory relating to art that you hold dear? When I was very little we didn't have internet, so when I was watching period dramas on tv (especially those set in the 18th century) I used to quickly sketch out the dresses as they appeared on screen. Then I would try and recreate them for my dolls, including the corsets, wigs and embroidery. I also remember spending a lot of time in the garden looking for insects to draw, or sketching out the neighbourhood cats that were lounging there. This quiet time spent in their company was very peaceful.Can you remember when you first saw art used in a commercial context?Growing up, my mum tried to get me the most beautifully illustrated and whimsical books she could find in book-stores. I also had a few of my mum's and grandma's old books. This really shaped my taste; there were a lot traditional techniques there and I could see each illustrator's personal and unique style. Where do you live now and what drew you there? After graduating university and masters, I remained in Cluj-Napoca, where I studied. It's a city that combines old and new, with a lively art scene, but also pretty quiet.Describe your studio for us I live and work in the same place, which had been a dream of mine since I was little. What I do is very much part of my life, so I like being able to draw late into the night if I'm feeling inspired, or taking a break from work for small house chores. I have lots of plants and cosy lights, little trinkets I found in flea markets.Do you have a studio pet?Not unless you count plants as pets; I have the equivalent of a small greenhouse. And though I don't have any actual pets right now, I have cats staying over whenever any of my friends are away on trips.Who or What is your biggest inspiration? I get inspired by my life, small scenes I stumble upon in my walks, old houses, the way plants interact with the urban environment. I have also been keeping a dream diary for many years, and some of those elements and the atmosphere has crept up in my work.If you could collaborate with another artist or creative of any genre, living or dead, who would it be?I don't necessarily have someone specific in mind, but I can say I got a lot of inspiration from the collaborations I had so far. For editorial illustrations especially I often have conversations with the piece's author, to find the best way to show the right ideas and emotions of the article. I find that bouncing ideas back and forth with someone who is passionate about what they do is very inspiring. What’s your favourite way to spend a day off?It depends; a long walk in nature with friends always clears my mind and refreshes me. Also going to flea markets and doing a little scavenger hunt, going to exhibition openings and randomly meeting friends and acquaintances. On other days I just feel the need to recharge at home, cook something nice and watch movies with a face mask on.What causes are you passionate about?The closest to my heart are causes related to women's rights, stopping violence against women and access to equal opportunities. Also causes related to social injustice.Do you adopt any environmental practices to be more sustainable?My habits that could be called sustainable come from the way I was raised, though we didn't call it that way. I avoid food waste, also do most of the cooking myself. When going out, I mostly take the bus or walk, and I love hunting for vintage clothes.Do you collect anything? I cannot stop buying delicate glassware and porcelain as thin as possible. It's not a collection per se, thought it ended up taking a whole lot of space for something that isn't a collection. Also, I just love silver jewellery, sometimes gold, especially vintage pieces. And just any weird random objects I find in flea markets.What's your favourite podcast?This depends a lot on my mood. My comfort podcast is 'My Favorite Murder', mostly due to the relation and banter between Karen and Georgia; same goes for 'Welcome to Hell', where it relaxes me to listen to Daniel and Dane joke around. I've also had days binging on 'Betwixt the Sheets', 'Criminal', 'Hollywoodland', 'Lore', and others.What is your favourite book?I like books with morally grey characters, and books focused on women experiencing some sort of emotional crisis (a lot of them are written by women). Especially during the dark months of winter I have this guilty pleasure of re-listening to the audio version of a few books while I work. 'The Shining' and 'The Haunting of Hill House' have a really cosy horror vibe; I also re-listened a few times to 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation'.What is your favourite quote?Whenever things get tough, I remind myself that “the best way out is always through.” (Robert Frost). There is also this quote by Brancusi that I'm reminded of when it's difficult to start on a new project: "Things are not difficult to make; what is difficult is putting ourselves in the state of mind to make them." What is the last show you binged?Not the last one, but I would love to be able to watch 'Fleabag' and 'Succession' for the first time all over again.What was the last concert you went to?The one that really stuck with me was a Hania Rani concert during a jazz festival in Cluj. It was night-time, there was a very small crowd, a few lights, and we were sitting on the grass in a park. There was this very intimate atmosphere.Is there any random thing you consider yourself an expert on?I can pretty accurately guess the period of a painting or historical movie just by looking at the clothes. I have a thing for historical costume.If a client paid you enough money to take a year off and create whatever you want – an open brief - no constraints - what would you deliver?First of I'd move to a bigger studio with a huge work table and lots of empty walls and I'd go back to experimenting with traditional techniques. I would also integrate fine art in my work and try out larger surfaces and pieces. Maybe even some spatial, 3D pieces, printing and silkscreen techniques. Right now I am pretty constrained by my space, and mostly work digitally, though I try and give my illustrations the look and feel of traditional materials on paper.Is there a type of job you haven't done yet, but would love to do?I used to dream that one day I would get to design a scarf for Hermès.How has your work or practice evolved over time?I've noticed that what makes a big difference in working a project and the end result is the confidence I have. Going through my old work I see that there were a lot of good ideas there, but I can see the hesitation. If I were to re-do the same idea now I would go about it with much more confidence. If you were not an illustrator, what would you be? It would probably still be something art or design related. During my university years I studied fashion and I've always been drawn to theatre/film costumes and embroidery. So maybe something in that field. Or a painter, this was my first dream actually; but that is an even more difficult field to “make it” in.What is the most challenging part of being an illustrator?The fluctuation of projects; sometimes several amazing projects come all at once, then there are periods of hiatus. I take advantage of those breaks to work on my personal projects and try out things I don't have time for when I'm busy with client projects.What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? The importance of having an online presence and online portfolio. Do you have any tips/advice for other illustrators?When I was starting out, I wish someone would have told me about the importance of networking; both to find like-minded clients, but also to find colleagues you connect with, that you can build a support group with. I love being able to work from home, but it's also very important to have friends from your field who understand you and you can go for advice or opinions to.What do you listen to when you work? It depends a lot on how much I need to focus. In the early stages of a project, when I need to come up with ideas and concepts I need silence, or just nature sounds playing in the background. Then once the project takes off I also listen to a lot of jazz, especially this playlist...

Favourites

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