“Life would give me the chance to become an artist when I made that choice.” 

 Juliana Perdomo is a Colombian Illustrator. She is an internationally influenced Artist with a stamp of approval from Penguin Book Publishers. 

In her own words

I live in Bogotá, Colombia, with my amazing 5-year-old son Luca.  I have lived here for most of my life. For those who don’t know much about our country, Colombia is very colourful and multidimensional. My childhood was full of nature, fruits, music, picture books, animals, dancing, sunshine, friends and a vast close and loving family.

I always wanted to be an artist, and ever since I remember I have been drawing. But when I went to college, I didn’t have the opportunity to study arts, so I studied psychology. What I was not expecting, was that life would give me the chance to become an artist when I made that choice. Soon I found the depth and the excellent tool that art can be in therapy. That made me even more passionate about it.

After college, I went to study abroad. I spent a year in Florence, Italy, still doing courses in psychology, but also in arts (it is a perfect place to be an artist!). I then studied a year of Art Therapy in Milan and completed my formation in Barcelona, Spain. Those beautiful years in Europe were very significant for me. They opened my mind, made me grow as a person, but also as an artist.

After my son was born, I came back to Colombia. Since then, I've worked as a freelance writer and illustrator. As an artist, everything inspires me. The good, the bad and the ugly (haha...nothing is useless in art). I find that everything has a beautiful side to it, and I love to create stories around it. Nature, memories, things my son says, current events, even a song can become a drawing. The key is to make time every day for sketching.

A day in the life of Juliana

A day in my life is busy. As I am sure many moms (especially single moms) can relate. I wake up early, do a little yoga and meditation, cook breakfast and wait for my munchkin to wake. Then its all about him, getting everything ready for school

During my free hours, I have to take care of daily errands and work. I love my work! I am fortunate to have that; it gives me pure happiness. All I need is a good 60’s music playlist, some jasmine tea, and drawing, drawing, drawing. I spend the afternoons and evenings with my son; I love spending time with him!

We go for walks, to the park, we talk, play, read books, blow bubbles, draw, it is beautiful quality time that we spend together. I also try to make time for my friends, my family, and my love. They are my priority. Bogotá has a lot of cool places to offer; I have parks, little cafés, cinema theatres, and great restaurants nearby, so I often go out too. My favourite is a Vietnamese restaurant, and I am obsessed with it.

Favourite illustrations

I love to illustrate people (especially children), animals, folkish flowery patterns or colourful settings. I always try to make my illustrations happy and joyful with a Latin touch. I am very passionate about my life, so I try to reflect some of that passion in my work.  Lately, I have been drawing more female characters to promote gender equality.

Most recent work?

I have been working on a lot of commissions lately, most of them for children’s audiences. I have been doing logos, stickers, invitations, portraits, postcards, among other fun projects. I also published two picture books recently that my cousin Mariana Perdomo wrote and I illustrated with Penguin Random House Colombia. And there are other three more books (in Spanish for now) coming out soon for young kids to enjoy. So I am deeply grateful for all the projects I have been able to be a part of and hope many more to come my way.

Joys of Children Illustration

Kids are fun! I love everything about them, and I think I have a kid like spirit. They are authentic, free, joyful, energetic and full of curiosity. Every time I talk to a child, I get inspired to draw and write. My son Luca has given me fantastic ideas for stories that we write together and then draw. For example, he once talked about the “unrainbow”, which is the moment when the rainbow’s colours start fading. He also told me he knew “a ghost wolf that could only go out at night because he needed the moon to charge his colour.” So yes, kids are awesome!

Julianna's Portfolio

In my portfolio, you can expect many more colourful illustrations to come. I am hoping to create more stories with different twists to them so that the illustrations can be more varied as well. I am trying to build a more significant portfolio to showcase in the Bologna Children’s book fair that is coming up in two weeks, and I’m so excited to go! Yay!
In my work, I use mainly digital tools though I must confess I used to be a sketchbook kind of gal, couldn’t live without one! But now technology has enchanted me. I got an Ipad Pro with an apple pencil, and I’m in love with it. It is so fun and easy to use. So, for now, I work mainly digitally.

To contact Juliana for her work, please visit her on:

Instagram: @julianapillustration

www.julianaperdomo.com

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