The first thing I able to do this year at Emerald City Comic Con 2016 was meet the wonderfully sweet and talented Camilla d’Errico. She allowed me to steal a few minutes of her time for a short interview about her fabulous life as an artist. Camilla also did a live painting on the ECCC Live Twitch Stage; it was so wonderful to be able to see her in action!
Short Bio from her Website:
Camilla d’Errico is an urban contemporary painter, illustrator, character creator and comic artist residing in Vancouver BC, Canada. With roots in comics, Camilla’s beautiful work is seen on toys, clothes, accessories and more. Camilla is published by Random House/Watson Guptill books, Boom! Studios, Image Comics, IDW, Dark Horse Comics and more, with self-publishing roots for her literature-inspired series, Tanpopo.
Camilla has distinguished herself as one of the breakthrough artists in Pop Surrealism’s New Figurative movement through her ability to seamlessly weave manga and western styles with surrealist elements, wrapping it together with an extensive emotional palette. Camilla’s unique style bridges cultural and geographical boundaries, working with creative partners Hasbro, Disney, Mattel, Coastal and more, while remaining totally relevant to today’s varied audience. Ever the prolific artist, Camilla lives the double life of comic artist/creator and New Brow painter, while expanding her horizons to include fashion, music, merchandise and designer toys. Camilla’s work is loved by everyone from Emma Roberts, Felicia Day, Ronda Rousey, Avril Lavigne to Britney Spears.
My Interview:
How long have you been doing artwork for?
I have been painting for 11 years and I have been doing comics since 1999. This is my 14th Emerald City Comic Con. I was here since the beginning, since it was a tiny room with about 5 people in it.
What has been your favorite Comic Con so far?
I am extremely fond of Singapore Comic Con because they treated me like royalty. I’m just an artist, just a down to earth girl, and they were unbelievably sweet and kind to me. But I absolutely love Emerald City Comic Con because I have been here since then conception. And San Diego Comic Con, my first one was 1998 it’s been part of my professional, how would I put that, it started me on my path to professional art.
What kind of people are drawn to your artwork the most?
I think fans are mostly women, because female imagery, A lot of pastel, bright and vibrant colors. People who are drawn to my art might be like me, you know, just a little funky, a little cute, a little quirky, and what I try to do with my art is create an emotional connection. So, sometimes when people walk by and they see my art they have a visceral reaction to it, and I think people who wear their heart on their sleeve respond best to my art.
What’s your favorite platform?
Because I do it all, it’s hard to say what I like best. When I am doing my paintings I’m really into it, then after a while I get tired of it and I’m like ‘ugh, I hate painting I’m done with it’. Then I start sketching, then I love sketching for a while, then I’m done with sketching. It’s a cycle, in the moment I love whatever I’m doing until I don’t like it.
What are you most excited for in the next year?
This is one of my biggest release years because I have my how to paint book “Pop Painting”, my “Rainbow Children” book (a collection of all my melting rainbow girls since 2012), and in the summer time I have my “Pop Coloring” coming out (an adult coloring book). I had my sunglasses released this year; here’s so much happening, and it’s kind of overwhelming. Every time I think ‘it couldn’t get any better’, it just keeps getting better. So, I’m excited for what has already been released, and then to see the adult coloring book come out in the summer time is going to be so cool.
Have you seen any cosplayers that have dressed up as any of your works?
Yeah, I have had many people over the years cosplay. A lot of them started as my Helmet Girls, which was incredibly ambitious, because those helmets are gargantuan. I paint them and I don’t know the girls in my paintings wear them, so when I see cosplayers creating these helmets I’m just like ‘What?!’, they are gravity defining and amazing. I’ve also seen people cosplay as my paintings. I saw one girl cosplay as my Zebra Milk painting; she had this huge zebra shark and butterflies everywhere. Just recently I did a cosplay contest with Dark Horse Comics and there were 70 entries, it was incredible to see how people created my art. I was blown away. I think it’s one of the biggest compliments to have someone put that much time and effort to bring one of my paintings to life.
Do you have any other hobbies other than paintings and doing artwork?
If squishing my French bull dog is a hobby than, yes! His name is Loki, like the Norse God. He really lives up to it, he’s a mischievous little nugget. I should have named him Buddha. I love dogs. It’s not a hobby but one of my passions is donating to rescue charities and organizations so, I spend a lot of time helping out the French Bull Dog Network just so that I can help another dog find a home. My other hobby is baking. I can’t wait until I retire so that’s all I do is bake all day. I’m going to bake pies like crazy!
After Emerald City Comic Con Camilla is headed to Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angels for a solo show ‘Dances with Dreams‘ April 23rd – May 21st!
You can find our more about Camilla d’Errico and shop for her artwork, accessories, and more at:
