Italian illustrator and painter, Alessandra Genualdo, is known for her striking portraits of women. Currently residing in East London with her dog Kira, Genualdo graduated from the Camberwell College of Arts in 2012 with an MA in Illustration. But like most creatives, her introduction to drawing came much earlier than that.
“Drawing has been a constant aspect of my life, as a self-taught practice that I have been able to explore without any academic restrictions,” she relayed in an interview with Jackson’s Art. “I studied graphic design in Italy, but during the course of my BA I have never had the chance of exploring illustration or drawing properly. When I moved to London I realised I didn’t want to work on a computer, I wanted to reconnect with making with my hands, express myself through illustration, so I applied for an illustration MA at the Camberwell College of Arts.”
According to Genualdo, the switch from computer to hand-drawing, was a fundamental step in the development of her practice. It also allowed her a chance at experimenting with different mediums. Now working mainly with gouache and colored pencils, her work is usually limited to a particular, recognizable color palette.
“I like to paint with similar hues and balance them with a contrasting tone to harmonise the picture,” she says. “I try and think in terms of how colors can be a further vehicle to express the feelings of the characters in the picture, and also the importance the spaces that are not colored possess.”
Take a look at some of her work in the gallery below and follow her Instagram for more.
