Ego Rodriguez is a queer artist and illustrator based in London. He's built up a rabid fan base on Instagram , where he shares his work and currently has over 67,000+ followers. We sat down with Ego and discussed his creative process, his inspirations for drawing, and why he does what he does!
Ego Rodriguez: My main influences come from my life, growing up. I'd been saving in, my personal picks. The characters that impressed me. Music, books, history. The images that wow me. The moments that stay inside for a reason or another. I brew all these particles and spurt them out in images.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: I have an interest for the poster style. The advertisement sense of telling only with an image. You can tell artists like Gruau, Mucha, Klimt, Erté had been a big influence in my style.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: I don't follow a protocol. Sometimes an idea pops up and I sketch it up to see if it works. Others, I bumped into some interesting images that inspired me.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: I love lighting and contrast. I am always fetching around for ideas. Reading books, watching movies. The light reflecting against the main character's cheek. The shadow projected when they walk into a room. I pick all these things up.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: Not everything that works in your head works down in the paper. Sometimes a simple study becomes a great piece. I often surprise myself, finishing something that I didn't even think would work.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: I don't like people around me while I am drawing. It's my own space and I get absorbed into my own world. So the idea of models doesn't attract me much.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: Some pieces come from photos. Integral ideas or the pose, the lighting. Some, I made them up from scratch.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: I don't like sitting on any piece for too long. If I am working on something I want it done or gone. If I can't work in an idea right away, I take a note for the future.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: Since an early age, drawing is my mindscape. The planes where I can illustrate what I could not live or experience. The matter that doesn't exist. I have little interest on recreate or tell about my own events. Or copy real life. I even avoid flesh or natural colours in my portraits.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
ER: I am not sure I want to impose into anyone what to make out of what I do. People bring more than they take. I draw familiar situations, familiar faces. I leave blanks and unfinished lines. The audience fill this gaps. They pour their own emotions and memories to it. They like it because they relate to it. Because they complete the puzzle in their head.
Photo: Instagram ( egorod )
