Urban Landscapes: Imagine, Trace, Reveal - A conversation with second place winner Claudia Silva

From experimentation to award-winning: how Claudia Silva transformed the chaos and calm of the city into a work that captivated the jury.

When Claudia Silva heard about the Urban Landscapes contest: Imagine, Trace, Reveal from Domestika, she didn't hesitate to jump in and participate... although she didn't expect her project to end up among the winners. In the middle of two creative courses -one of urban sketching and another of freehand drawing with acrylic and watercolor- he found the perfect opportunity to experiment, play and let the process guide the result.

His work captures two opposing sides of the city: the constant bustle of traffic and the serenity of green areas. Using a completely analog technique, and relying on materials such as markers, wax pencils and drawing pencils, Claudia achieved a balanced composition that conveys contrast and harmony at the same time.

"For me, the most important thing is to find my own voice and my own language," she explains. "I do challenging projects that I am passionate about, both in subject matter and technique, to capture my own visual codes in the work."

Read the full interview with Claudia and find out how she developed her project, which artists inspire her and what her advice is for those looking for their own style.

What inspired you to create the winning project? What story or emotion did you want to convey?

The inspiration came from an event that happened simultaneously.
I was studying two courses at the same time: Urban Sketching: "draw your city in motion by Inma Serrano" and "Freehand drawing with acrylic and watercolor by Mokshini" when I found out that Domestika had launched the contest "Urban Landscapes: Imagine, Trace, Reveal" (honestly I had no idea about this kind of contests). I literally jumped into the void without expecting anything at all, that is, I developed the project because I love to experiment and play with the process.

The story or emotion I wanted to convey was the opposite sides that can exist in a city: the noisy chaos that generates all kinds of cars and the calm that green areas provide.

What is your process for developing original ideas from scratch?

It can come from a simple word or an image that triggers another. Eventually it escalates to finding more elements to develop the final idea.

Do you start with a sketch, a moodboard or something else?

I start with sketches: graphite pencil, eraser, pencil sharpener, sketchbook and/or printer sheets accompanied by photographic references; after that I start to develop the so-called "templates" that I will be working on the light table to finally arrive at the desired image.

How would you define your style and how has it evolved over time?

My style is quite versatile and I love that it has endured over time in this way. It gives more freedom of expression in the use of both analog and digital materials and the combination of both gives a very enriching visual language.

What tools or techniques did you use to give life to your project? (Traditional, digital, mixed media, etc.)

For the project I used the analog technique: a notebook, graphite pencil, eraser, pencil sharpener, markers, crayons/colored pencils, and drawing pencils.

What challenges did you face in creating your work for the contest and how did you overcome them?

Initially the work was going to be in watercolor, but it was generating other colors for me because of the gradients and transparencies of the technique, that's why I opted for markers. The other challenge was the reduced palette, since there had to be a balance in the composition to provide contrasts between the elements.

How do you manage to keep your projects authentic and personal in a world full of visual trends?

In order for my projects to remain authentic and personal is mainly to find "my own voice and my own language", that is, I make challenging projects that I like and that I am passionate about both in the subject matter and in the technique: analog, digital and/or both with the aim of translating my own visual codes to the work.

Do you have any routines or habits that help you stay creative and productive?

To stay creative and productive I try as much as possible to be in contact with nature, do physical exercise, meditation, listen to relaxing music, participate in workshops or online creative courses (study new techniques or creative areas), collect illustrated books (they help a lot to support references and inspiration) and read adventure books (I recently finished reading the book Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, very entertaining).

Which artists have most influenced your work and why?

There are many artists that have influenced me in my work for example:
- Victor Vasarely (Father of Optical Art).
- Alain Gree
- Fist
- Maru Godas
- Jorsh Peña
- Agnès Decourchelle
- Lindsay Stripling
- Dahlov Ipcar
- Beatrice Alemagna
- Maisie Paradise Shearring
- Alice and Martin Provensen
- Mokshini

These artists and others have influenced me in my work because they have given me the necessary tools, both in courses and photographic references, demonstrating that we can all make incredible, wonderful works of art and that nothing is impossible. You just have to have the will to believe in yourself and transmute that knowledge into my own visual language on the blank canvas.

What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out and wants to develop their own style?

The advice I would give to someone who is just starting out is to learn the theories of art very well: color, composition, human figure, among others, and then "break them down" and apply them in your own voice.
Also, I once heard an artist say that if you are just starting out, "Copy the work you like the most from an artist or trace the photograph".

It may sound a little strange to "copy and trace", however this would help a lot in understanding and acquiring knowledge about the technique used by the artist and / or also in gaining confidence in letting your hand go either analog or digital tablet.

Now, the act of "copying and tracing" must come to an end in order for you to develop your own voice and that is obtained with practice, the knowledge learned from both analog and digital techniques that would help you find your visual codes in order to develop your own style.

What does it mean to you to have won this contest and how does it influence your goals as an artist?

It means a lot to me because what I have been learning over time has not been in vain and that any kind of art should be enjoyed, played and learned from it without expecting anything in return (I mention this because I did not think that the project was going to be among the winners). Also the fact that I won influences a lot in my goals to continue creating new graphic languages, experimenting with new techniques. The prize deserves a big "push" to keep on creating.

Do you want to show your talent? Participate in our next contests and share your vision with Domestika's creative community.