Julie Filipenko, an artist from Tel Aviv, Israel, has a unique way of mingling her youthful subjects with the woodland creatures of the world. Through a balance of loose hand-drawn styles, textures and use of color, her illustrations welcome you to a circus tea party, piquing the imagination with lingering creative sparks. Having earned a BFA at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, the nostalgic ambiance of her work, flanking dream and reality, speaks for itself.
Employing a combination of materials ranging from acrylic and graphite to markers and colored pencils, Filipenko describes her style, “Bizarre and sweet at the same time.”
Her distinctive fantasy-driven themes, botanical elements and playful eccentricities achieve a certain innocence that reminds you of the meaning of friendship. These rosy-cheeked little ones, occasionally sweetened with tattoos and a deeply ingrained love for the natural world, encompass the flight of childhood reverie. Capturing the quintessence of lion whisperers and veggie friends, Julie’s drawings leave us wishing that we too had a pet mandrake to cuddle.
Julie Filipenko’s work will be on display at Arch Enemy Arts ENCYCLOPEDIA BOTANICA Group Exhibition, scheduled to run May 2nd- 31st.
