a chinwag with maría luque

Inside issue 112, you'll find this extra-special poster by Argentinian artist María Luque. We had a chat with her about her creative style, how she started making art and how her self-portrait came to be. Enjoy!

Tell us a little about your art and creative style. I’m not really good with labels. Artist, illustrator, cartoonist - I'm not sure which one to choose, but I just know that I like to draw. The materials I generally use are colour pencils, markers, watercolour and gouache. Whilst I use a lot of different materials, I never change the medium I use: paper. I experiment and grow fond of different techniques. I don’t have a favourite colour, but there are some colours I use a lot, especially blue and yellow. I realised this because they’re the ones I run out of first.

When and how did you first begin making art of any kind? I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. I don't think I really ever stopped doing it. I think there is a connection between how I used to draw when I was little and the way I do now, at least in the attitude. I used to love drawing with my friends and it’s something I still do nowadays. I like returning to the attitude of drawing without expecting anything, drawing whatever comes to you in that moment. I remember I used to like throwing drawings from the balcony when I was a kid. They were self-portraits and on the back I wrote: “This is me, I have curly hair, I’m in third grade. Do you want to be my friend? I live on the first floor.” I imagined that the bell would ring immediately and the house would be full of new friends that wanted to draw with me. Once I realised that the wind blew my drawings away, I started tying them with string and the drawings stayed there hanging from the balcony.

How did your artwork (now featured as a frankie poster!) come to be? It's a painting I made a few years ago. It's a self-portrait in an imaginary studio with my imaginary cat. The only real thing was that lovely red dress. I lost it while moving house and I miss it a lot.

Where do you find inspiration and creative motivation? The things that inspire me the most are the things that happen to me because I’m the person I know best. I’m also on the lookout for whatever happens to my friends or situations I spot on the street.

What’s next on your ‘to-draw’ list? Today, I want to draw a Foujita exhibition I visited a few years ago.

Where can we see more of your work? On Instagram. You can find me at @maria.j.luque