Welcome back to our International Artist Series.
Today we're catching up with six incredible artists from Peru, home of Machu Picchu and the people of western South America. I asked each artist how their country and culture inspired their work, and they delivered great responses.
Nathalia Escalona
Nathalia is a brilliant illustrator and graphic designer who lives in Lima, Peru. Her stunning portrait style is vibrant and unique. It features splashes of rosy cheeks and caricature faces to make you smile.
See more in her portfolio and follow her on Instagram.
Asiática
Living in Peru has given me the opportunity to discover new options and possibilities to develop and better myself as an artist and communicator. I now have places to find all my materials, plus a rich culture that fills me with motivation and desire for entrepreneurship.
Asiática Cabello Rojo
The places that are from my imagination are landscapes of a fictional paradise where there are no borders, no problems, and only colors. My inspiration comes from the memory and longing for my land, Venezuela. What I discovered in Peru is that creating more every day makes me feel closer to home.
Tercer Ojo
Pareja Asiática
The art community is wide and creative, full of colors and new proposals. I see a lot of entrepreneurship among artists both young and old. They're all wanting to be heard and recognized, whether it's through street art or museum exhibitions. There is always something to see in this growing city.
John Zavala
John is an extraordinary graphic and character designer from Lima, Peru. Featuring a mixture of 3D portraits and incredible photo manipulations, his work is inspiring and creative.
See more in his portfolio.
Sachiel - Fan Art
The thing I love the most about living in Peru is the fact that there is something new to see everyday. That means there is always a new place to go and look for references.
IPAD. Inspirate, Hazlo
Well, I think the way that culture influences an artist is intangible. It's something that is always in your head. You don’t really realize it but you'll see in your neighborhood the idea for a new character or background. So there is always something from the area captured within your work, even if you don’t know it.
La Ultima Tarde - Poster
Lost Astronaut
Almost everyone knows everyone, if it's not personally it's for their art. When you go to design festivals here and start talking to someone, you soon realize that he or she is someone you already follow in your networks.
The community is growing faster than ever before, and it's nice to be a part of that, as an artist and also as a teacher.
Brigitte Lu
Next is Brigitte Lu, a talented designer and illustrator living in Lima, Peru. Inspired by both her love of Japanese culture and her surroundings in Peru, her work is delightfully sweet.
See more in her portfolio and follow her on Instagram.
Proyecto Pilares
I love my country very much, it is a mix of cultures, colors and flavors.
I feel comfortable living on the beach in the south of Lima. I enjoy winter more now and walk calmly in the rain when I leave my job. The history, food, animals and nature are also things that I love about my country.
Portadillas y Lecturas
The Japanese culture, especially things like anime and manga, were a part of my early childhood all the way up until today. But I was also influenced by the variety of artistic expressions Peru has to offer. My culture has a great variety of color and the people of my country use them in their ceramics, traditional costumes and garments.
Chibis Commissions
Proyecto Educativo Pilares
In recent years, there have been more events to meet and talk about art and illustration issues. The artists I know are very open to sharing knowledge and thanks to them I keep learning more. Many people here in Peru still do not value art like in other places, so we still need to strengthen our artistic community.
Julio Martín Ruiz Andrade
Julio Martín is an amazing digital artist with a specialty in CGI and visual effects. Originally from Lima, Peru, he creates fantastical 3D characters and ad designs. Check them out.
See more in his portfolio.
The Blind Warrior
I love the urban culture of my city. I'm from the capital, Lima. It's called "the gray city" for a reason. We have a lot of urban elements and habits that I really love and miss when I'm out of Peru, like drinking an "Emoliente" (a Peruvian breakfast drink) in any corner of a street, or going to the street markets.
Wanna Play?
Graffiti literally changed my life. There was a lot of graffiti on the walls of my neighborhood. I think that was the first contact I had with the "art of the streets". I loved the way writers composed and colored their letters so I started replicating them and then creating my own compositions and letters.
Also, I've always liked drawing, so when I finished high school I decided to study graphic design and then got involved in the 3D world.
We Bare Bears Fan Art
36 Days Of Type 2017 - Cartoon Series
I consider myself as an introvert person. I see there's been an evolution of art communities but I'm not in that world at the moment.
Oscar Huayamares
Oscar is an incredible illustrator and designer from Lima, Peru. Specializing in many highly detailed styles, his digital illustrations are bold and nostalgic.
See more in his portfolio and follow him on Instagram.
Infinito en Piedra
In my country Peru, I love the diversity of cultures which coexists in the same place. The people from Peru are usually friendly, cozy and creative. There's delicious food all around the country and different kind of regions you can visit at any time.
Vintage Insects
The culture here is the most powerful element that inspires and influences many artists from Peru. One example of that is the increase of the national animation industry, where different kinds of artists work together, creating new concept art and animated characters.
The Infraggable Krunk
Rocko's Modern Life
I belong to an illustrators collective called “Boomker” where they are constantly searching for new talent to join us and participate in our thematic illustration challenges developed every four months. Currently, we have 50 illustrators registered.
Kike Congrains
Our last artist is Kike Congrains from Lima, Peru. A fantastic paper artist with intriguing work, his style is fun and dynamic.
See more in his portfolio and follow him on Instagram.
Vinyl Collage
Living in Peru is great. The people are really warm and friendly, but what I like the most is the food. You wouldn’t believe how amazing the food is over here; we eat a lot of fish and chicken (not together of course).
Newspaper Collage Commission
South America and Peru, especially, are very religious. I grew up with religious symbols and images constantly in my face and I think that influenced a lot of my work. I'm more an iconoclast than a symbol worshiper I must say.
Artwork for Bands
Star Wars
The arts are thriving. Like many places in South America, we have a great collage community in Peru. People work with paper in many ways, and it’s an exciting time for paper artists like myself!
Many thanks to the artists who took 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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