Domestika Creatives: Petra Eriksson

We spoke with digital artist Petra Eriksson and explored the colored universe of her illustrations

Petra Eriksson was born in Stockholm, Sweden, but her career has taken her to Malta, Dublin, and, finally, Barcelona. Despite originally studying fine art, her wish to use art as a practical vehicle to "solve problems" led her to the world of graphic design and editorial illustration, where she has experienced a meteoric rise thanks to her personal style.

This distinctive aesthetic has seen her work appear in publications like Vice, Buzzfeed, and The New Yorker, and on the cover of Mackenzie Lee's book Bygone Badass Broads, a collection of celebrated women's stories and biographies.

Petra Eriksson welcomed us into her Barcelona studio to talk about her career, her rise, and her approach to art. Watch our interview in the video below:

The search for perfect colors

There is a constant dialogue between vibrant colors in Eriksson's work, it is one of the visual elements she has explored most. Her work finds life in flat colors, while never losing depth, something she achieves by playing with shades. Her choice of colors is instinctive. It comes from a childhood "full of colors" that inspired her to pay special attention to this aspect of her illustrations.

The digital world offered the perfect space to explore her fixation with colors and shapes. She sees herself as a digital artist: while she still experiments in the traditional disciplines she was initially trained in, the digital landscape has been the perfect medium for her to express the colors and shapes in her head.

The hunt for her own style

Living in so many countries has shown Petra Eriksson that you have to leave your comfort zone to learn and grow in the art world, to develop your own personal, and therefore unique, style.

This has also translated to her search for inspiration, an endeavor she pursues in her everyday. The world outside of her studio is where she finds the shapes, colors, contrasts, and patterns that make their way into her art.

Eriksson has also had to confront her doubts, uncertainties, and insecurities. However, she has now arrived at a clear maxim to overcome those creative potholes: the key to finding your own style, beyond training and experience, is to do what feels natural. That's the only way an artist can come to know themselves and create work they can be proud of.

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