Eleni Debo’s Illustrations are Metaphors of Modern Life

By
Jovana N
-

Eleni Debo is an illustrator from Belgium who uses muted colors to illustrate modern life as we know it. Her illustrations are more metaphoric than blunt, but their meaning is not exactly hidden. She uses many well-known symbols and common objects to illustrate the universal truth that largely leads our lives in the modern time.

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Part two of the #boekenzoeker project I did for @iedereenleest 📚 Next to the campaign illustrations and the website headers I also did a bunch of small spot illustrations to brighten up different parts of the website. Had lots of fun with these, and I don’t think I’ve made this many sketches for any other project. You can swipe 👉 to see a selection of them. One part of the spot series was to draw 6 illustrations that could accompany book lists the organisation had created to arrange books in different topics to help find readers the books they were looking for. Topics for example included: travelling, scary books, books about bullying, books for teenagers, adventure books, etc. The idea was to create 6 illustrations that could match with several different topics. So the challenge was to create illustrations that could fit different subjects without being to general either. Hope you like the results! #books #bookillustration #websiteillustration #illustratedseries #reading #travelbook #sketch #process

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By focusing on the outdoor environments, she tells us that we’re in fact trapped indoors and missing out on so many beautiful things nature has created for us. Her art will make you think about your everyday life and provoke you to ask yourself if you’re really living the best version of it.

“When I’m not in my atelier, you can find me swapping my shoes for a pair of sturdy boots, either contemplating this year’s garden experiments, or hiking in the mountains while stuffing my pockets with all kinds of wild edibles,” the artist writes on her website. Her illustration work has been a part of books, prints, editorials, and numerous international campaigns.

Follow her on Instagram if you want to see more and scroll down for some of her best illustrations we picked out for you.

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Talking about periods should not be taboo at work! 🩸🩸🩸An interesting article by @fabijana_popovic from Danish Union Magazine I got to make a series of illustrations for that talks about how the subject can be and should be approached at work to create a positive work environment for both men and women. For the opening illustration I wanted to visualise the feeling of being overwhelmed and being pulled down when being on your period, but trying to tough it out to maintain ‘professionalism’. Being on your period should be a topic that people can talk about. You should be able to talk about how periods interfere with your work ( I’m half as productive as I could be!) the same way you can say that having the flu has messed up your workflow. Heck, I made the illustrations for the article when on my period! Talk about real-life inspiration! Periods suck, but at least I have the luxury that it can suck from the comfort of working from my own home. Many women don’t have that luxury. Let’s make this something we can talk about!👏 You can swipe 👉 to see the sketch, my base layer (which I enjoy to paint on paper if I have the time), and the final piece. #folioartists @folioart . #editorial #editorialillustration #magazineillustration #letstalkaboutperiods #officeculture #menstruation

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I know it’s still a bit early to be thinking about Christmas, but this year I wanted to make sure that I could send my prints in time for the holidays. That’s why this year I opted for the pre-order system in my shop. If you sign in for a pre-order of a print like this one before the 31st of November, my printer @demakersbureau and I will make sure to get all your orders processed and shipped before the 7th. And if the postal services don’t let us down, your print should arrive just in time to put it under the 🎄 Both the ink and the paper used to create this reproduction are museum-grade quality, so you are gifting something that is made to last! 🎁 If any of you would love to get your hands on one of my prints, but can’t use the credit card of Paypal payment options in my shop, you can send me a direct message! ————————————————— This print ‘Storytelling’ is a 40×50 cm giclée open edition reproduction on 350gsm #hahnemühle museum etching paper, which has an amazing texture and look to it. You can find this print and many others available in my shop. Link to the shop in my bio! #artprint #storytelling #booklover #camping #forest #artreproduction #limitededitions #giclee #shop

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In about two weeks from now it will be 10 years since the passing of one of Belgium’s most memorable cyclists, Frank Vandenbroucke. To honor and commemorate the infamous cyclist, 34 visual artists and 34 literary artists were asked to create a work inspired by his life. I was happy to be asked as one of the artists, and was inspired by VDB’s fenomenal victory in Paris-Nice, which was on a particularly cold and snowy day, to create this work. My work, and those of the other artists, together with stories and pictures from his life, have been bundled by author @stijnvanderhaeghe into the book VDB Forever, that will be published by @uitgeverijlannoo and launched on October 11th, together with an exhibition in cycling museum@koersmuseum in Roeselare that will run until the end of the year. Be sure not to miss it! A limited edition print of 50 of my homage to Vandenbroucke will be for sale at the museum. Can’t make it to the exhibition, but still want a print? Drop me a message and I will keep one aside for you! #illustration #cyclingillustration #frankvandenbroucke #belgiancycling #mapei #cyclingjerseys #mountains #parisnice #bookillustration #limitededition #artprint @folioart

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Had the absolute pleasure to make several illustrations for this beautiful article ‘Requiem for Raimondas’ written by Frank Heinen for the 22nd edition of —without a doubt the most attractive— cycling magazine @bahamontes_magazine 🚴‍♂️ The article writes about the compelling story of British composer Laurence Crane and the notorious cyclist Ramondas Rumsas, third finalist in #tourdefrance and later known for his abuse of Epo. In 2017 Raimondas became a suspect for the sudden death of his son Linas. This article was hands down the most fascinating, melancholical and well written piece I’ve got to illustrate so far. #editorialillustration #cycling #cyclingmagazine #giroditalia #doping #letournoir #composer #cello #requiem #landscapedrawing

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