Carolina Zambrano

Animals and nature play a huge role in her work aesthetically and thematically, and she loves drawing everything from monkeys to sea life. The scales on a fish, a cat’s fur, the gnarled skin of an octopus – these are textures she dexterously brings to life on the page. How past generations have depicted the natural world is also a key influence, bringing further nuance to her work. Carolina’s imagination feeds on old botanical illustrations, the planets, alchemy, classical and renaissance ornamentation, with the music of Satie, Ravel, Chopin or Dead can dance playing in the background as she draws. Originally from Colombia but now based in Argentina, Carolina studied graphic design and illustration, and is a specialist in Jungian art therapy.

Approach

Carolina begins with a conscious investigation of the subject, then an exploration of techniques in both the active imagination and the directed imagination from which visual ideas emerge unconsciously. Her own knowledge, story and skills are integral to each image as it forms via hand sketches, then final drawings and digital colouration.

Style

A highly individual style that painstakingly depicts natural forms and textures, merging them with arcane symbology to celebrate the strange and surreal with a soft, traditional feel.

Languages

Spanish and English

Awards

2022 – Latin Expressions – Latin American Illustration Award - Winner 2021 – Antonio García Cubas Awards – Youth Book - Winner 2021 – CANIEM Editorial Art – Books for young people – Winner 2019 – Association of Illustrators of Argentina Awards – Children’s Illustration – Winner