Children’s book illustrator
Lirios Bou
There is always a touch of sensitivity in her drawings that derives from her attitude to life. Lirios Bou who comes from Spain, chose to be a children’s book illustrator because that was the funniest thing of all her… options. Well, it’s the most enjoyable as well. We certainly enjoyed talking to you Lirios!
You are a children’s illustrator! Do you still feel like a child when you do an illustration in a story?
Absolutely! That’s the thing I like the most of my job. Of course there is a “serious” side, but most of the time I feel like playing. Sometimes I even laugh while drawing my characters 😀
Do you remember when you first realised you want to be an artist?
The truth is that I wanted to be many different things (teacher, journalist, writter…) but in the end, drawing was the funniest option. I guess I realized I wanted to be an illustrator when I saw I could earn money with my pictures.
Can you recall when you made your first piece of Art?
My first piece of Art was probably one of this crafts made with pasta and lentils for Mother’s Day… haha! I do remember the first time I won an art contest in school with a Christmas drawing. My prize was a box with lots of pencils and markers and I was the happiest girl in the world!
Did any of your art teachers give you a tip that you still remember?
One of my teachers from University told us once something like “art is for enjoying, if you want to be rich choose another job!” Maybe it isn’t the most beautiful advice but… it’s totally true! 😛
When you make Art, what do you think?
First of all I think in having fun and make the children who watch my pictures have fun too. Then, I try to get into the story I ‘m illustrating to find out what kind of characters or places matches with the writer’s or editor’s idea.
Is Art and an artwork… happy or sad?
I think it can be both, that’s the magic of art! The same picture can make the person who is staring at it feel happy, sad, angry, nostalgic… I really hope my art makes everybody feel happy!
Which piece of your artwork would you like to share with us? Tell us a few things about it.
I share a very special illustration. This is the first cover I did for a Catalan children’s magazine called Namaka. It’s special for me because I was already working as an illustrator for a couple of years but I was still trying to find my voice and a solid style. I really enjoyed this commission and I loved the result, so I decided to keep working with this funny style, bright colours and happy scenes. Besides, this was the first issue of the magazine and I connected so well with the publishers that I’m still collaborating with them. They already have 24 issues, so I feel we grew up together.
Do you have any “primitive” artwork of yours from your childhood that you like to share it with us?
Yes! This is a drawing I did when I was 6 years old. My uncle participated in a parade with a real tiger. I was so excited that I had to draw it!
