Welcome back to our International Artist Series.
Today, we're catching up with three amazing artists from the Eastern European country of Moldova. I asked each artist how their region and culture influenced their work, and they delivered great responses.
Anta Petrenco
Let's begin with the colorful work of Anta Petrenco. A graphic designer and art director based in Chișinău, Moldova, she creates intriguing portrait illustrations with vibrant details and features.
Give her some love! See more in her portfolio.
7 Days Illustration Challenge
Moldova is a more advanced and free country than most of the former CIS. But if we talk about the positive aspects — it will be of trivial things, such as: a pleasant climate, beautiful nature, and natural products.

7 Days Illustration Challenge
We come to not the most positive aspects—Moldova is still a poor and small country, and in such countries art and culture are far from places, so everything develops slowly.

7 Days Illustration Challenge
A designer in Moldova has nowhere to roam because there are very few local producers, and those who do not create often can't afford to spend time and money on design they do not understand, so local designers are forced to look for orders in other, more developed countries.

7 Days Illustration Challenge
The art community is rather small here, but in recent years, there has been a positive trend. Soon the construction of the first art center in Moldova ARTCOR, will be completed, it will be used to train creative professions and simply support people involved in this field.

7 Days Illustration Challenge
Also, over the past few years, we have regularly held art and design events, which are attended by speakers from different countries.
At such events, local designers and artists have the opportunity to communicate with each other and exchange experiences. So yes, we are at the beginning of the journey, but we aren't standing at the same place.

Eugen Papen
Next we'll take a look at the creative work of Eugen Papen, a type and illustration designer based in Chișinău, Moldova. Fearless with his brush strokes, Eugen makes stunning typographic illustrations with powerful letter combos.
See more in his portfolio and follow him on Instagram.
Lettering & Calligraphy
Moldova is a small country that, like a small boat, is following its route between the titans. It is known for its beautiful nature, tasty food, and friendly people.

Posters
One of my life mottos is "Beauty in simple things." What I like about the artists here is that we have a lot of cool art materials.

Lettering & Calligraphy
My inspiration has many sources, but with Moldova, I have a special relationship. Here I get inspired by the nature, people, local folklore and craftsmanship.

Lettering & Calligraphy
The Moldavian art community is small but it's a growing organism with big potential. Here, people are born talented and hardworking people.

36 Days of Type
For the art community, foreign artists play a big role. They come here to hold conferences and workshops in design, calligraphy, and illustration.

Oxana Capatina
Our final feature takes in the beautiful work of Oxana Capatina, an illustrator and graphic designer based in Chișinău, Moldova. A multidisciplinary artist, she makes everything from fun character designs to amazing digital illustrations.
See more in her portfolio and follow her on Dribbble.
Online Education
A recent quote I heard was saying, "Life's too short to waste a second."
I prefer to waste a second to create magic, that's why my favorite part of the day is to sit and watch the colors of the sunrise from the balcony in my country home.

Galaxy
With my imagination widely open and a cup of linden tea handpicked by my father, I greet my inspiration. That's where my art is born.

Raccoon Character
Moldova is my homeland. It is small, so we have no seas or mountains, but in exchange, we have beautiful people, who are creative and talented.

Abstract Illustration
People around me are my biggest source of inspiration, their activities and their emotions are what sparks my creativity and they bring me new ideas to develop.

Robot
Moldova doesn't have a well-defined artistic culture, we do not have a real art market but we do have outstanding artists.
Some are still unknown and some are well known outside of this land. However, the artistic community in Moldova has started to grow slowly, which can only bring me joy.

Many thanks to the artists who took the time to answer my questions and share a bit about themselves and how their country and/or culture has affected their work. You can check out more of their work in the links below:
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