Pride Month – An Interview with Third Place Winner Monika Evstatieva

Capturing the quiet, radical beauty of love through color, tenderness, and authenticity.

For Bulgarian artist Monika Evstatieva, her third-place entry in the Design with Pride contest was more than a visual statement—it was a heartfelt tribute to the everyday courage of living authentically. Her piece, Pride Month, portrays two people simply existing together in love, without performance or pretense, bathed in the optimism of a bright yellow background.

“I wanted to capture the tenderness of love as something beautifully ordinary yet profoundly powerful,” Monika shares. The work was deeply inspired by her best friend, whose openness and vulnerability reshaped her understanding of love and freedom. “This artwork became a quiet tribute to him, and to everyone who has ever fought for the simple right to love and be loved.”

Blending traditional materials like watercolor pencils with the flexibility of digital tools in Procreate, Monika’s process is intuitive and playful, guided by mood boards, sketches, and even poetic phrases. Her goal is never perfection, but presence—a visual language that speaks honestly to the soul.

Read the full interview with Monika Evstatieva here to discover how she keeps her work authentic, overcomes creative self-doubt, and finds inspiration in the unfiltered creativity of children.

1. Can you tell us what inspired you to create the winning project? What story or emotion did you want to convey?

My inspiration came from a deep desire to celebrate love as something beautifully ordinary yet profoundly powerful. Pride Month isn’t just about bold statements - it’s also about quiet truths, about being seen without pretense. I wanted to capture the tenderness of two people simply existing together in love, free from performance, free to follow their happiness. To me, that quiet authenticity is a radical act in itself. The yellow background reflects optimism and the joy of living truthfully, a reminder that love, in its gentlest form, is a source of strength and resistance and everyone has the right to be happy and free to be. While creating this piece, I often thought of one of the people dearest to me - my best male friend, who is gay. His openness, his vulnerability, and the way he chooses to live authentically have touched me deeply. He showed me a new way of seeing love and freedom - through eyes that have longed for acceptance and found it within. This artwork became a quiet tribute to him, and to everyone who has ever fought for the simple right to love and be loved.

2. What is your process for developing original ideas from scratch?

My process begins with the intention to play and have fun, it may sound childish, but this is what works for me, it liberates me and ignites my mojo flow. I am more of a spontaneous and intuitive person and I allow what needs to come through me to come without really thinking what I am doing.

3. Do you start with a sketch, an inspiration board, or something else?

I have the problem that my mind lights up like a Christmas tree with all sort of ideas almost simultaneously. Associations, colors, forms, textures, words, music lyrics my brain becomes a crazy vibrant amusement park. It can be quite overwhelming, so what I do in order to ground myself is - I pour myself a cup of tea (+ something sweet) and I put everything in an inspiration board, combined with quick, loose sketches. The board helps me create a mood - colors, shapes, visual metaphors - while sketching keeps my ideas flowing without judgment. Sometimes I even write short poetic lines or phrases that set the tone for the piece before I touch the canvas.

4. How would you define your style, and how has it evolved?

My style is rough, intuitive, playful and spontaneous. It blends softness and boldness - simple forms with layers of meaning. Over time, I’ve moved away from trying to “impress” with complexity, and instead, I focus on creating honest visuals that speak to the soul. My style is now less about perfection and more about presence and feeling.

5. What tools or techniques did you use to bring your project to life?

I used colorful pencils and watercolor ones, cold processed paper 250 g and Procreate. I am a huge fan of digital tools because as a very messy person they allow me to play freely with color and texture while keeping a clean, minimalist aesthetic, as well give me the flexibility to experiment, layer, and adjust until the image fully resonates with the story I want to tell.

6. What challenges did you face when creating your artwork for the competition, and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge was silencing the inner critic - the voice that says, “Who is gonna like your art". I overcame it by reminding myself why I create in the first place: to connect, to express, to celebrate life. Once I returned to that intention, the process became joyful instead of pressured.

7. How do you ensure your projects remain authentic and personal in a world full of visual trends?

I stay grounded in my own experiences and values. Before creating, I ask: Does this feel true to me? Does it move me? If the answer is no, I pause. I also allow myself to disconnect from social media at times, so I’m not unconsciously influenced by trends. For me, authenticity comes from listening inward more than outward.

8. Do you follow any routines or rituals that help you stay creative and productive?

Yeah, a lot actually, and I love to constantly invent new ways to feel creative as well to help others ignite the genius within them - this is what I am really passionate about because I truly believe we are all innate creative and capable of so much, every person has something truly unique to share with the world. At the same time, I allow myself to have periods without the need to create or produce anything. I think this is equally important to cherish.

9. Which artists have influenced your work the most and why?

To be honest - kids - because they are able to enter this wonderful state of creating without judging themselves, to experiment, to play. They remind me that art is not about perfection, it’s about presence. Children create from pure curiosity, without fear of mistakes or rules. That sense of freedom is something I try to embody in my own work – approaching the canvas with an open heart, letting intuition guide the colors, and allowing joy to lead the way. For me, this innocence is the essence of creativity: a return to that inner child who knows that every brushstroke is an adventure, and every imperfection is a spark of magic.

10. What advice would you give to someone just starting out and wanting to develop their own style?

Start by creating without the pressure of being original. Explore widely, experiment as much as possible, try different things from different sources, and then slowly let go of what doesn’t feel like you. Pay attention to what makes your heart leap when you create - that’s your compass. Style isn’t something you “invent”; it’s something that emerges as you express yourself with honesty over time.

11. What does winning this competition mean to you, and how does it influence your goals as an artist?

Winning this competition feels like a gentle affirmation that art rooted in honesty and tenderness can truly resonate with others. It’s not about recognition as much as it is about the reminder that what we create from the heart matters. This inspires me to keep going—sharing stories that honor humanity, diversity, and connection. It also encourages me to dream a little bigger, to find ways for my art to reach beyond my own practice and hopefully bring light, comfort, or joy to someone else’s world.

Feeling inspired? Share your vision in our upcoming Domestika contests—you could be our next winner.