Alessandra Genualdo makes illustrations in which she reveals a lot about herself. Her work has been featured in past issues of Flow, and here she tells us a little more about herself.
I’m from a village in southern Italy, but have been living in London, UK, for the past seven years. I’ve been working as a freelance illustrator, artist and lecturer since graduating from Camberwell College of Arts with a Master’s degree in illustration in 2012. I work from a studio in East London, which I share with two other artists. I walk there every morning with my dog Kira, sometimes stopping at my favorite café along the way. First thing I usually do when I arrive at the studio is catch up on emails and go through my ‘to-do’ list. Then I start painting, which I do for most of the day, having a little coffee break every now and then. I mainly work with gouache and colored pencils. Sometimes I finish painting around 6pm, sometimes around 10pm. I always want to finish what I have started, otherwise it’s all I think about when I get home.
Typical Alessandra
My favorite illustrations are those that are quite personal to me, because of the story behind them or because I have put something of myself in the characters, which I often do. Most of my works are dominated by the female figure, as a reflection of myself as a woman and the perception I have of myself. I see my work as a constant exploration of myself and the little things that surround me.
In her spare time
When I have a day off, I like to watch an old movie, go to a museum, read a book or sit in a nice café. I also take a bit more time walking Kira in the park, trying to take in all the details and the little things I don’t notice during our routine walks. I really enjoy painting and drawing as well, so I find it quite hard to take a day off from it.
You recently illustrated a feature in the Dutch edition of Flow about reading. Do you like to read, and if so, what?
I have always loved reading, although during busy periods I sometimes forget how important and inspiring it is to cut yourself a bit of time off every day to dedicate to a good book. My favorite titles are the classics from Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen and Tove Jansson’s books for adults, like Fair Play or The Summer Book. I also really enjoy rereading Sylvia Plath’s journals every now and then. Lately I’ve been reading a few of Iréne Nemirovsky’s novels, and I am going through her whole bibliography.
