Lily Padula is a gifted young artist from New York. An illustrator through and through, she does inspiring work that deals with modern reality, but with a twist of its own.  Her art is her way of exploring the world, and yet, what she uncovers is the facade of human reality. Her favourite theme is that of man against nature, two forces, one intending to survive, the other to destroy.

Except, the roles keep changing!

There is a dark humour in her illustrations that is unnervingly straight.

You can’t hide from the truth in her art.

 

Her work has been awarded by American Illustration, The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, and Creative Quarterly. She was named one of Tumblr’s “Illustrators to Watch” and regularly creates gifs for various ad campaigns as a Tumblr Creatr.

 

 

 

My family all comes from New York City, but I was raised in a small beach town about 2 hours away from NYC. As a kid I was always drawn to creative outlets. I played a few different instruments, sewed clothes, and baked. I actually started drawing a bit later than most artists, probably around when I was 16. I fell in love with it and decided to pursue it in college. I was always drawn to the energy of New York City so I knew I wanted to move there for college. I chose to study illustration at The School of Visual Arts in NYC. I had to work hard to get my skills up to the other students’, but I was lucky to have wonderful teachers that helped me find my voice and to do what I do today. 

 

 

 

My grandfather had a copy of Henri Rousseau’s painting “the sleeping gypsy” hanging in his house. I remember staring at it for hours as a kid and to this day Rousseau is one of my favorite artists.

 

 

For awhile I wanted to be a lawyer, actually! I have always had a desire to communicate, so working as an illustrator was a way to combine my passion for art and communication.

 

 

I use art as a way to analyze and explore the wider world. A lot of my work takes on themes of forces of nature, the paranormal, and aberrations in human behavior. I would say my work is less about my direct experience and more about trying to make sense of a world that is at times both beautiful and terrifying, to look underneath the surface of human society and try to make sense of it.

 

 

 

I’m fond of a small book I made last year called “the museum of earthly transcendence”. It is a fictional tour of a museum set 400 years in the future.

 

 

 

I draw and color everything in Photoshop using a cintiq tablet. I add in different handmade textures that I’ve scanned into my computer to bring in the hand drawn feeling to the digital art.

 

I’m often inspired by real events and situations that I read about. I read a lot of books and am constantly trying to expand my world view. I tend to be inspired by stories that are a bit strange or scary, but I end up illustrating all kinds of things in my work.

 

Lately my work has been focused on themes of man vs nature. I think the visual potential of two massively powerful forces coming up against one another is fascinating. In a time when our planet is being ravaged by corporatism and reacting with disastrous consequence to human civilisation, I think how we react will be the defining moments of our time. I do work fast considering the density of my work. It can be anywhere from a few hours to a few days to complete a piece

 

 

 

 

I am working on a few magazine assignments, but my passions projects right now are a children’s book that I am getting ready to pitch and a different series of large scale drawings about “involuntary parks”, a term for areas once settled by humans that are abandoned and then reclaimed by nature.

 

 

Artists play an incredibly important role in changing culture. Certainly unrest in the world will solicit great works in response, but I hesitate to consider this a good thing. Specifically after the horrendous results of the American election I heard some people say “well at least the art from this time will be great!” I think this is a dangerous mindset, as though the great toll of human life and well-being is offset by great art. While yes, we may get great art from this time, the greater purpose of artists should be to challenge and change the very circumstances that allow for oppression, not merely react to them.

 

 

 

Your voice is powerful, don’t hesitate to use it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To enjoy more of Lily’s work, head over to her website or follow her on Twitter.