Spanish illustrator Raquel Aparicio’s delicately bold artwork combines quiet drama with stylized conceptualism while keeping the smallest gesture in perfect balance. Her illustrations use an elegant yet relaxed line to advantage, pushing the work further with unique compositions and unexpected scale. Inspired by Japanese wood block prints, folk art and vintage movie posters, these influences can be seen in her work which often features a range of cool neutral greys and greens with pops of rich color. Described as “wholly sweet” yet with an “almost sinister-like quality”, her artwork was well reviewed in Rebecca Swanner’s recent article for the stylish Los Angeles art and design blog Neu Black.

“Some of the pieces (the cat drawings) came from a book published in Spain, the story by the great French writer Emile Zola was beautiful and really inspiring.” – Raquel Aparicio

Raquel and her twin sister Sae were born in the romantic and gothic medieval city of Avila, Spain. After spending a few years in Edinburgh, Scotland she studied illustration in Spain and then Sarasota, Florida where she attended The Illustration Academy on the campus of the Ringling School of Art & Design. In 2006 she started illustrating for magazines, books and advertising and has worked internationally with a distinguished list of clients including The New York Times, Elle, Nokia, Wendy’s, Runner’s World, Rolling Stone Spain, Prevention, Nylon and Orange. She has taught collage illustration workshops at the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid and her work has been honored by Society of Illustrators New York and featured in Illusive 3 by Gestalten Verlag.

RAQUEL LOVES – Japanese woodcuts, cats, dusty books and vintage movie posters, Taro bubble tea, the color grey, travel, the smell of freshly baked bread, the music of Wau y los Arrrghs, comics, creepy animation movies, crysanthemums, artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi, film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, fresh fruit, book Bartleby the Scrivener, Porto (Portugal), bike riding and Raul Allen.

She has recently begun working on a personal series of self-published mini comics and animations, including the award winning El Nido (a Portugalete award) and La Pesca (a Spaniard Youth Institute prize). “I try to draw the comics without too much writing, just narrating with the images,” says Raquel, “but the words are written in Spanish.” For these mini comics she uses a wide variety of media and enjoys the opportunity to explore different styles outside of the realm of her unique illustration style.

AWARDS – Raquel’s work has been awarded by a number of juried competitions in the US including Communication Arts, American Illustration, Society of Illustrators (NY), and Illustration West, and many international competitions including Injuve, CineJoven, Opel Corsa Animate, Portugalete Comic, Expocomic, Argaya, Artejoven and best picture book from the Art School of Valladolid.

LINKS
her site – http://www.raquelissima.com/
her blog – http://raquelaparicio.blogspot.com/
her portfolio – http://www.magnetreps.com/portfolio/artist/24/type/a/
her studio – http://www.magnetreps.com/studio/artist/24/
her store – http://ruki.bigcartel.com/

Our illustrators’ recent magazine covers tackle subjects as diverse as finance, health and travel. Check out some of our latest favorites…

RED NOSE STUDIO, Spreading the Risk for Plansponsor
With recent economic and market volatility, plan sponsors are looking for ways to transfer risk, or pass the hot potato, for their pension plans.

EMILIANO PONZI, Arms Control for The Economist
In an era of rampant federal contracting, worries arise that increased privatization will lead to a shadow government and imperil national security.

RAQUEL APARICIO, Dangerous Liaisons for The Scientist
With people often being prescribed several medications at once, science is developing new ways to bulletproof those at risk of drug-drug interactions.

EMILIANO PONZI, Biology 2.0 for The Economist
Ten years after the Human-Genome Project, the science of biology continues to be transformed and with recent technological advancements, science seems poised on the verge of something wonderful.

HENNIE HAWORTH, Power of Design for Perspective
This eclectic mix of traditional and natural elements with modern, geometric shapes is reminiscent of  fabrics and wallpapers, making it the perfect cover for the Summer issue of Perspective, the magazine of the International Interior Design Association.

With recent illustrations for overseas clients, you may come across a Magnet Reps illustrator’s work wherever your travels take you this summer.

Emiliano Ponzi, The Great Race of Vanity for La Repubblica (Italy)
The vanity involved in receiving the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Marguerite Sauvage, Motherhood for Enfant Magazine (France)
Relaxation techniques are necessary for a Zen pregnancy.

Raquel Aparicio, Swing for Viajar Magazine (Spain)
American Civil War sites, such as cemeteries and battlefields, have become popular tourist destinations.

Emiliano Ponzi, Noir for La Repubblica (Italy)
The popularity of the Noir thriller in Italian literature; the genre is referred to as Giallo (yellow in Italian) after the famed series of yellow bound detective novels in Italy in the ’20s.

Alexander Blue, Chacun Son Himalaya for Moi Je Lis Magazine (France)
This children’s story by Pascal Prévot tells the tale of a cow that climbs to the top of a mountain and gets so dizzy that the villagers have to saw the mountain down.

Raquel Aparicio, Pears & Apples for El Mundo (Spain)
Each woman’s body distributes fat differently; pear-shaped women carry extra weight in their thighs and buttocks while apple-shaped women tend to carry it in their abdominal area.

Raquel Aparicio illustrated a poster based on John Greenleaf Whittier’s Maud Miller. The poem tells the story of a beautiful peasant girl and a wealthy young man who meet but then go on to marry other people, spending the rest of their lives wondering what could have been. The poem reminds us that For of all sad words, of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, “It might have been!”.

Raquel Aparicio and Marguerite Sauvage are exhibiting work in Curious and Curiouser: Inspired by ‘Alice In Wonderland’ at Nucleus Gallery in Alhambra, CA. With Tim Burton’s highly anticipated film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland hitting theaters later this month, Nucleus Gallery invited artists, some of which worked on the feature film, to create their own vision of the iconic story and celebrate it’s lasting legacy. The show runs from Saturday, February 27th until Monday, March 29th, 2010.

Opening reception: Saturday, February 27th, 2010 7-11pm
Nucleus Gallery 210 E. Main St., Alhambra CA

Raquel Aparicio contributed a piece to Thinkspace Gallery’s A Cry For Help in Los Angeles, CA. This benefit show features the work of over 100 artists with 20 percent of all proceeds going to Born Free USA, a non-profit organization that seeks to end the suffering of wild animals in captivity and encourage compassionate conservation globally. The show runs until Friday, February 5th, 2010.

Thinkspace Gallery 4210 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles CA

Magnet Reps is thrilled to announce that Catell Ronca, Emiliano Ponzi, Gordon Wiebe, Hennie Haworth, Nate Williams, Raquel Aparicio and Red Nose Studio all had work chosen to appear in the Society of Illustrators 52nd annual. This year the Society received over 4,600 submissions, with 418 pieces being chosen by the jury of professional illustrators and art directors. The winning pieces will be published in the annual and some will be exhibited at the at theMuseum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in New York early next year. Congratulations go out to everyone!

Catell Ronca, Orion Books UK

Emiliano Ponzi, Plume

Emiliano Ponzi, Z!NES

Emiliano Ponzi, Feltrinelli

Emiliano Ponzi, Z!NES

Emiliano Ponzi, Currents

Emiliano Ponzi, The Washington Post

Emiliano Ponzi, Electa

Gordon Wiebe, personal

Hennie Haworth, Habitat

Nate Williams
Ecojot, Art Director: Carolyn Gavin

Raquel Aparicio, Viajar

Red Nose Studio, Schwartz & Wade

Magnet Reps is happy to announce that Ana Bagayan, Andrew Hem, Bella Pilar, Emiliano Ponzi, Marguerite Sauvage, Nate Williams and Raquel Aparicio have artwork in Illusive 3 (Gestalten Verlag). The book features over 200 illustrators scouted from around the globe and includes everything from fashion illustration to figurative painting, material application and deconstruction and collage.