Camilla d'Errico

(Part 2)
The Interview: a little while back I sent Camilla some interview questions and in her true all-out style, I must admit that she did all the work here!

Q: name and location.
Camilla d’Errico, Vancouver BC, Canada

Q: Describe your journey into art.
I have loved drawing since I was a kid.  My very first memory is of a snow leopard I drew when I was 5. I felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction like nothing else. All my life I have loved drawing, doodling and watching tv, especially cartoons. Growing up my tastes evolved from mere Saturday morning cartoons to anime and manga, which led me to reading the book versions as well. Then I was hooked. How I got into comics is kind of silly. I was in art class drawing and a classmate came up to me and really liked what he saw, so he asked me if I would draw his comic book. I had never thought of it before so I went out and bought my first comic that same day and was in awe of the art and story so I decided to try it out. Then I went to Comic Con International in 1998, walked in and knew I was at home. I studied fine arts, animation and finally took a three year degree in illustration and graphic design. The whole time though I had been working for a small press company called Committed Comics. I didn’t even want to be paid, I loved the experience. Then as with life, one thing leads to another … and while I was in the degree program I had the chance to do commercial illustration work too, which helped me get “seen” and hone important art skills. My very first painting was here in Vancouver – I was part of some group shows in a few place, then at The Ayden. How I got into the ultra hip pop surrealism, LA contemporary art scene? An LA art collector was in Vancouver and saw my designs on a snowboard in a shop. He went in and asked the shop about me because he wanted a commission. He loved my work so much that he decided he was going to convince the LA galleries to give me a chance. He did, they did, and he is now my art rep and reps another 3 extremely talented artists that he has scouted.



Q: What has been your favorite show to date?
I could never choose. Although for some shows I was under big stress, or going through a bad time (all my shows reflect more or less the state of mind I was in at the time), a really fun one was my Birds and Bees solo show at El Kartel in 2007. And I have to say that the Copro Nason solo show this summer, Waterfall of Dreams, is where I pulled out all the stops and stepped it up. I was very proud of those pieces.



Q: Can you tell me about what you are working on now?
I’m working on a graphic novel interpretation of a Hollywood movie (that will probably come out in 2010--11). It is a big project because I’m the lead artist and also the Art Director. I work very closely with the creator of the movie so we are co-creating the book. I am also going to be working with Grant Morrison and Vertigo sometime in the near future. Big publishing companies like Vertigo can keep you on hold or on the shelf for ages, so I really hope that something solid gets put on my plate. In the meantime I’ll be doing another manga, another concept that I worked closely with a team on, this time its for a videogame. I’ve been working with Big Sandwich Studios for a couple of years on a videogame for the Nintendo DS platform. It is great fun, and we were so enthusiastic about the story and characters that we invented all kinds of ancillary things like plushies, toys, and then the comic book idea. Now its actually in the making, so that will hit the market shortly after the videogame is released.  And I can’t forget about my two passion projects, Tanpopo and Helmetgirls. I’m going to be making Tanpopo into a series, but not regular. My sister will be writing it and I’ll be drawing it, and its all based on classic literature and poetry, which we both love. Our take on it is that it should be fun and inspirational, so we are not giving ourselves any deadlines. Though a French publisher has recently shown interest and might want to publish the first book. And Helmetgirls – this will be my crowning achievement. I’m developing a graphic novel series of it, and the writer will be Joshua Dysart. I won’t give too many details because the world is still forming in my mind, but I have concepted out the main characters. The entire story and concept is based on my Helmetgirls characters that I have been drawing and painting for years now. It is an exciting evolution and I want to put all my heart into it.

As I said, comics is my passion. But I’m also into merchandise, clothing, vinyl toys. I’m working on two custom painted vinyl toys now. As far as painting goes – I’m working on a piece for Art Basel Miami. My piece is going to be in the Genart Vanguard Fair within the Art Basel Fair itself. 

Q: What about your work with SLG's Nightmares and Fairytales?
My work there is done. I illustrated the last 5 issues, which are now out as a trade paper back. Working with Serena was so great, she is a sweetie. I’d love to work with her again because we really clicked with getting the story and the images to flow so well together. 

Q: Do you have any artists that you really want to collaborate with?
Ashley Wood, James Jean, Terada Katsuya, Range Murata, Celia Calle … so many! But I will be in Ashley Wood’s upcoming Swallow, issue 5! Not quite the same as a collab but it’s a good start.

Q: How did you get hooked up with the BRAVE Art crew? And how's that going?
Ken Lum from the Ayden organizes Brave Art, and since the Ayden is the equivalent of my painting stomping ground (ie. my home) it came naturally. Ken is one of my biggest supporters and best friends.  Braveart is always tons of fun. Next year I might be showing some work with the crew out east – Toronto or Montreal. It will depend on my painting schedule, because there have been some big happenings!

Q: Other than creating amazing art, are there any other forces that you can contribute to your success?
Passion, doggedness, persistence, and just something inside of me that takes me to another place when I am creating art. It is an expression of who I am, it’s the same as breathing for me. I can separate me from art. As to external elements, I’ve always believed in my art and never thought of the money, and I think this helped a lot. I never, ever turned down a job, and worked for free a lot in the beginning. It helped me get better, it helped me gain exposure, and it just gave me a good reason to draw! I believe it is a natural progression that if you just keep doing what you’re doing, because you love it, all things will reveal themselves and you naturally follow your path. Along this path I also met many people who helped me, and gave me even more chances and opportunities. I am literally surrounded by friends within what is now a business. I believe in having relationships built on trust, respect and also – fun! And for over a year now, my older sister has been “running” the business, taking what I’m doing and turning it into more than I could have ever dreamed. Together we are unbeatable – we like to say that I am the right brain and she the left brain √¢Àú¬∫ and it just keeps expanding and getting better.

Q: Current and up coming shows?
Check my website. I’ve got some vinyl toy shows, a few old pieces and prints going up in various galleries, but as far as original paintings go I have a BIG piece of news:
I have been offered a permanent position within Opera Gallery. Opera is one of the most prestigious international galleries in the world. They show some of the best artists from the world, and from various periods. I am honoured to be part of Opera, and I will be in good company from the Pop Surrealism scene – Ron English, Lori Early, and Sas Christian are represented by Opera. Going into Opera means stepping out of the circuit I’ve been in up until now. But it is a big step in my career as a painter and I hope to have pieces shown in Hong Kong, Singapore, and elsewhere through their network.  I’ll be nearly exclusive to them, though I might still do a piece here and there for a group show if I am inspired and especially, if I have time.


So for 2008 I close off with Art Basel Miami, then in 2009 I will have 5 pieces in Gallery 1988 San Fransisco in March, and a final, goodbye show of sorts at Thinkspace Gallery LA in September. Thinkspace was my “home gallery” in the circuit and they believed in me and helped me get to where I am now.  After that show, I’ll have a big show at Opera in November. 

HUGE THANK YOU to Camilla for such an awesome descriptive interview!

(Part 1)
BIO

Camilla d’Errico is an Italo-Canadian artist, comics/manga creator, and designer based out of Vancouver. Coming from an Italian family, she doesn’t shy away from her fiery nature, nor does she hide her incurable romanticism.  She loves poetry and literature, chocolate and romantic movies, yet she can become equally enthralled in a great action or adventure story.  Camilla has distinguished herself through her ability to seamlessly weave together the Asian manga and North American comic styles of illustration with a unique European design flair, wrapping it all up with and an extensive emotional palette.



Camilla has amassed a wide artistic background, having studied fine arts, computer animation, illustration and graphic design. On top of these more traditional forms of study, Camilla took a year off to do in depth research into Japanese manga. She has been influenced by the artwork of Ashley Wood, Toulouse Lautrec, Kent Williams, Tsutomu Nihei, CLAMP, Terada Katsuya, Yoshitobe Abe and a variety of other artists.

Camilla’s comics career began in 2001 when the small press company, Committed Comics, contracted her to work on their flagship book, Threads.  Following Threads, Camilla took on the role of lead penciler for the four-part mini-series: Zevon-7, which she worked on for two years and is published by Angel Gate Press. 

In 2004 Camilla began developing her first creator-owned series with QEW Publishing. The project, called Camilla d’Errico’s BURN, is published by Arcana Studio and was officially launched at the 2008 Emerald City Comic Con with special variant cover.  BURN is a 6 issue mini-series in the true manga style: black-and white.  BURN immediately received great acclaim and will be published as a graphic novel in 2009 with Simon Pulse. Arcana is currently negotiating for the series to be made into an animation, motion picture, and video game.

Camilla’s breakthrough in comics came in 2007 with the two part mini-series published by Random House, Avril Lavigne’s Make5Wishes. Camilla co-created the story with acclaimed writer Joshua Dysart (Hellboy, Swamp Thing). The books were hugely successful and were immediately re-printed after selling out in a matter of weeks.  The book is published all over the world in several languages, and has been spun-off into webisodes.

Also in 2007, Camilla began working with writer Serena Valentino on her long running mini-series, Nightmares & Fairytales, published by Slave Labour Graphics. Camilla worked on issues 19-23, which are the final five issues of the series, entitled “Song of the Siren”, also available as a trade paperback novel with special variant cover. At the New York City Comic Con in April 2008, Grant Morrison announced during his panel that he would be working with Camilla on an upcoming project.

Camilla has also entered the videogame arena, working first as lead concept artist with veteran videogame development company, Big Sandwich Studios, on the creation of a new game to be called for Nintendo DS.  She is set to begin work on the manga of the game, Billy Boom Boom, which will add another dimension to the IP that she has co-developed with Big Sandwich. She has also worked on concepts with game company Action Pants Inc. for a Nintendo Wii game.

Camilla is currently working with independent film-makers, Warfront Productions, on the creation a manga style graphic novel series based on the epic feature film they are producing.  Camilla is the co-creator, lead artist and the Art Director for the series. Her role requires her to transition between the graphic novel team and also coordinate with the group of artists working on the artistic development of the film, where she will be responsible for creating a seamless transition to graphic novel format, while maintaining the look and feel of the movie within the parameters of a manga style book.

In addition to working with established comic and publishing companies, Camilla has self-published two art books, The Fallen™ and Tanpopo™.  Tanpopo’s illustrations have been used by Vancouver designer Daniel Gonzalez of Damage Clothing, shown on the runways of Vancouver Fashion Week and sold at the hip designer boutique, El Kartel.  Camilla continues to release very limited edition clothing with Damage and El Kartel any time they get together and get the creative juices flowing.



The Tanpopo™ illustrations are also  featured on a line of handbags manufactured by OSO Design House. Camilla has worked with OSO since 2006, first as one of the original artists in the first series of the company’s flagship product, Bax Bears.  She has worked closely with the company since then, doing concept and design work for toys, handbags, accessories and other artist merchandise. Her design and illustration work was the focal point of the entire “Camilla” product launch at the Taipei Toy Festival in 2008.    

Other collaborations in fashion include the Toronto-based manufacturer of ‘cute-things’, Punchbrand, who launched their first series of artist hats with Camilla’s distinctive Helmetgirls® design. 2008 Fall/Winter hoodies with Helmetgirls® designs will also be available. More recently Camilla submitted a design to the European tshirt contest platform LaFraise and her design was an instant hit, winning the competition. Select images will soon be licensed onto a variety of clothing including hoodies, tshirts, sweatshirts, tank tops and more with TAG Galleries.
 

Camilla has done freelance illustration work for Ride Snowboards, Hasbro Toys, Wizkids, and Ginch Gonch, amongst others.  She designed a pin-up for the comic series Blue Shift. Watch for her art on the covers of the upcoming 4-issue mini series. Camilla’s artwork has also been licensed by Dark Horse on a Journal and Stationery Set. More products are currently being developed with select partners and will soon be released on the market.  Upcoming new merchandise includes Modofly’s artist series Moleskins, and postcards with Last Gasp.

The designer art toy field is another, inevitable piece of the art/comic world that Camilla could not miss out on.  2009 will see the release of toys with Mindstyle as well as figures of some of her distinctive characters with veteran Hong Kong figure company, Threezero. She contributed a piece to a YOKA Panda vinyl show in July in San Diego, and will customize a Devil Dog for Osaka Popstar’s show opening Halloween night in New York.  

Her signature designs are Helmetgirls®, illustrations of distinctive girls wearing  gargantuan headgear.  Camilla has expanded upon the concept of headgear to include animals of all kinds, intertwining and juxtaposing her stylized, fantasy girls with life-like animals. The final effect is surreal and emotionally charged.


Camilla is, to say the least, a prolific artist.  She can never settle for doing just one thing.  Throughout her studies, and while she was steadily making a name for herself in the comics industry, and doing freelance illustration and commercial work, Camilla also painted. Since 2006 she has been showing at Vancouver’s Ayden Gallery, and participating in the renowned travelling fine art show, Braveart.  

Since being discovered by an art collector in 2007, Camilla has established herself in alongside notables Audrey Kawasaki and Amy Sol in what is now called ‘urban contemporary art’.  Her paintings have been exhibited in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Las Vegas, and New York.  2008 started with a sold-out two-person show at Thinkspace Gallery, and was topped off by her sold out solo show, “Waterfall of Dreams” at Copro Nason in July. The two shows in New York; one at Ad Hoc Art in Brooklyn, the other at the prestigious Opera Gallery both sold out. To cap 2008 Camilla will have two paintings at Art Basel Miami through the Genart Vanguard Fair and Thinkspace Gallery.  2009 is booked, with shows in familiar territories like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco and new cities like Toronto, Montreal and Berlin. Also, Camilla will be part of the LATDA Museum’s 2009 Kokeshi Show.
 
Several galleries have made prints of Camilla’s works, including Gallery 1988, Thinkspace Gallery, Gallery Nucleus, and Project Gallery.  Camilla will also be part of Gallery Nucleus’ 4th edition of the artbook, “Grafuck”, in Thinkspace Gallery’s artbook, “Untitled Love Project”, in “Garden of Eye Candy” by Bigbros Workshop, and in IDW Publishing’s “Swallow 5”. Stretch canvas reproductions of 6 of Camilla’s most popular paintings are available at TAG Galleries.


Camilla has the ability to paint in an original style that transcends any category, label, or definition.  Her work is colourful, fresh, and young while at the same time it is meaningful, deep and touching. She has a dedicated collector and fan base who adores everything she does and who support all of her creative endeavours. Keep eyes and ears open for POKABE™, which will soon distribute all kinds of merchandise, including Tanpopo and Helmetgirls merchandise, along with limited edition tshirts and hoodies featuring Camilla’s fun, edgy and absolutely distinctive designs.

Find more information about Camilla on her website, www.camilladerrico.com, Myspace, on Behance and Deviantart. Fans can or join her page on Facebook. Anyone interested in buying prints, sketchbooks and other merchandise, can visit the Offical Camilla d’Errico Store.