GicleeIllustrationMemberSolo artist

Jessica Ardizzone

posted by POP Members October 3, 2023

Jessica Ardizzone is an illustrator and advertising creative, originally from Italy and now based in Hackney, London. Her family is from Sicily, an island in the South, but she was born in the North, near Milan, so whilst growing up Jessica missed the sea every day. Nine years ago, she decided to set up a life in Hackney, and this feeling of longing for the sea kept growing.

“I’ve become a bit obsessed with drawing scenes inspired by the Sicilian coast. Sometimes it’s more accurate, sometimes it’s more abstract. Everything about those scenes is suspended, mysterious but always quite peaceful. It’s key to create a composition that makes you feel what you feel when you look at a sunset, or at the sea on a sunny day.”

When Jessica travels to the Mediterranean sea, she takes lots of pictures which she then starts lose sketches from. These sketches are then either turned into digital drawings (with procreate, then photoshop), or remain on paper with the addition of acrylic markers. The designs are then once again translated into Giclée and digital prints.

Jessica has been working in advertising as a Creative and Art Director for the past 11 years, so has been drawing as part of her job for about the same time. However, it was only during lockdown 3 years ago, that she started picking up illustrations intentionally. “As I love telling a story, creating the work in series felt instinctively right,” says the illustrator.

She also has a big passion for the movies and loves the language of film. This aspect means Jessica approaches her illustration work more as “film frames” or “scenes”. She has intentionally created a series in 16×9 format, and not wanting to show everything about a scene, she instead offers the viewer a glimpse or a portion of a scene, leaving the rest up to imagination and own memories and experiences. Jessica then a creates a further atmosphere within her illustrations by carefully crafting the lighting.

Looking to the future, Jessica hopes to become a full-time artist, collaborate with fashion brands, and curate her own exhibition. She tells us; “Getting the chance to experiment with different styles is what I love about drawing for clients. Recently I illustrated a wine label and I had the time of my life.” In the past year, she has worked on a series of 4 postcards for a beauty subscription box, and also enjoyed coming up with visual metaphors to deliver a specific message. Jessica continues; “Client briefs might get a bad rep for “true artists” but I think they are an amazing opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and give your illustration a completely different purpose.”

www.jessicaardizzone.com
@jess.ardizzone

POP Members

You may also like