Draw Your Female Icon! International Women’s Day 2022

Join us this March as four artists draw their favorite creatives for International Women’s Day—and share your own!

We all have at least one strong female icon in our lives. From mothers and grandmothers to politicians and artists, women have the power to change our lives, if not the world. That’s why, every year, International Women’s Day celebrates the struggles and triumphs of all women throughout history and around the globe.

To celebrate this Women’s Day, Domestika has asked four artists to draw their greatest female icons: the women who have made them feel like their dreams were possible. Who did they choose, and why? Find out in the video…

Leonora Carrington (1917-2011)

Sarah Walsh (@sarahwalsh) is a multimedia artist based in the US. She uses everything from gouache paint to Photoshop to create her bright and colorful artworks, which have appeared in publications such as The Washington Post and The Guardian.

For International Women’s Day, Sarah Walsh decided to draw her icon, the British-born Mexican surrealist painter, Leonora Carrington.

Born in Britain but relocating to Mexico later in life, Carrington was a surrealist painter and founding member of the Mexican Women’s Liberation Movement during the 1970s. Her strict upbringing was at odds with her liberal ideals, and it wasn’t until she moved to Mexico City that she found a vibrant artistic community she felt at home in.

Inspired by magical realism and alchemy, Carrington’s dreamlike artworks are filled with striking imagery, symbols, and rich colors. Her paintings present themes of female sexuality as she herself experienced it, rather than becoming influenced by how male surrealists portrayed female sexuality.

Her work often explores the role that women have in the creative process. With her artistic focus on the feminine in a world that was dominated by the male gaze, it’s perhaps no surprise that Carrington helped to bring about the Women’s Liberation Movement, and in 1973 she designed Mujeres conciencia, a poster depicting a “new Eve”.

Yayoi Kusama (Born: 1929)

British illustrator Bett Norris (@bettnorris) has chosen arguably one of the most important artists alive today as her female icon: Yayoi Kusama. Using Procreate as her artistic medium of choice, Norris draws Kusama in her signature bright colors and minimalistic style that have won her clients such as The New York Times, Calvin Klein, and Airbnb.

At ninety-two years old, Kusama continues to challenge the status quo with her hallucinatory, obsessive, mesmerizing, and infinitely dotted artworks. You may have come across her work through social media, with Instagrammers taking photos of her mirror room exhibitions almost as obsessively as the infinite repetitions of dots Kusama is famous for.

Kusama was born into a wealthy family in rural Japan. Her parents managed plant nurseries, and it was through these that Kusama’s seed of artistic inspiration grew. As a child, she would sit amongst the plants with her sketchbook—but one day, the plants started crowding in on her and speaking to her. This was the beginning of a series of hallucinations that would plague Kusama’s life, with art her way of coping.

But despite the psychological trauma she had to endure, Kusama’s story is one of triumph and perseverance in the face of various setbacks that dotted her life. She has explored almost every artistic discipline you can imagine: sculpture, installation, painting, performance art, video art, fashion, poetry, and fiction, and helped lead the wave of feminist and Pop art.

Alexandra Exter (1882-1949)

Tania Yakunova (@yakunova_t) is an award-winning illustrator from Kyiv, Ukraine. Her big, bold illustrations are partly inspired by the avant-garde movement. Fittingly for this Women’s Day, Tania has chosen a multidisciplinary artist who also lived in Kyiv as her icon: Alexandra Exter.

Born in the Russian Empire but relocating to Kyiv when she was a child, Exter was a successful multidisciplinary and experimental artist, creating everything from paintings to theater sets. She is now considered to be one of the most prominent figures in the Art Deco movement.

Her work assimilated multiple disciplines, such as cubism, constructivism, and futurism, and is often characterized by geometric shapes and vibrant contrasts. Her Kyiv studio was a hub for other leading artists of the time, such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

María Elena Walsh (1930-2011)

Pepita Sandwich (@pepitasandwich) is an Argentine cartoonist and graphic novelist, whose powerful visual stories cover themes of nostalgia, diversity, and feminism. You can check out her Domestika course Creative Visual Diary: Learn to Draw Your Life here.

Not only does she work with some of the world’s biggest brands, but her artworks have also been featured in The New Yorker and The Washington Post. If you’re looking for a woman who’s making her way in the world, look no further.

Pepita, on the other hand, is looking up to the much-loved Argentinian poet, novelist, singer, and songwriter, María Elena Walsh, for International Women’s Day.

Walsh was adored by the nation for her songs for children; songs that appealed to a child’s intelligence, playfulness, and wit, and were equally adored by adults. For many people, Walsh’s music holds a special place in their heart.

But during the military dictatorship in Argentina from 1973-1983, Walsh’s songs were seen as a threat: encouraging children to think for themselves and questioning the status quo had no place in an authoritarian regime. As such, both Walsh and her songs became icons of resistance against the dictatorship.

Years later, in the mid-nineties, Walsh was asked how she would like to be remembered. She answered: “as someone who wanted to bring joy to other people, even if she sometimes failed.”

Share your icon!

Which woman helped you to become a better version of yourself? Maybe they've inspired your work, taught you something valuable, or been a great role model to you.

Whoever it is, tell us about your icon in the comments, or join us in this creative challenge and draw them! To share your drawing with us, create a new project in your Domestika profile and share the link in the comments below.

Did you enjoy this International Women's Day video? You can find out more about each artist's illustration technique by checking out their upcoming courses. In the meantime, unleash your creativity by exploring all of Domestika's online illustration courses.

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- Powerful Female Characters: Illustrating Confidence and Diversity, a course by Eunice Adeyi