This time I’m not going to tell you about any recent projects, but rather about all the times I’ve entered the Iberoamérica Ilustra competition and haven’t been selected – four times in total (yay!). Interestingly, the first time I took part, in 2019, was the only time I’ve been selected so far. You can see the illustrations here. But today I’m here to show you the ones that didn’t make the cut, because it’s not all about super-exciting published work, so let’s also talk about the times we get turned down. Don’t worry, I’m not going to start acting like some sort of guru – that’s what LinkedIn is for.
The Exterminating Pool
I created this series simply with the aim of employing an aesthetic device. The clothes – specifically the swimwear – of the people in the pool are invisible. I won’t get bogged down discussing the concept behind this device; I prefer to leave it open to each viewer’s own interpretation. What is present, however, is the seed of a story, a strange situation that may spark the imagination of the observer. The title, of course, is a reference to Buñuel’s legendary film El ángel exterminador.
Party
The following year, as in the two previous ones, I created the illustrations using collage. It was 2021 and the measures to contain the pandemic had already been relaxed considerably: once again, we could go out, watch live music, dance and touch one another in public spaces. These illustrations sought to capture some of those moments.
SOS
Another year has gone by, and this time I remember being caught out. Badly. I think there were only two days left before the deadline for submissions. I decided to take the plunge and knock something together in a hurry, following the style I’d used in the project I’d just finished. It’s the first time there’s been a story with a beginning and an end that ties the different illustrations together, and also the first time I’ve used a style more suited to a young audience.
That summer
This year I managed to set aside a bit more time and, once again, I changed my style. These are four scenes which, in my mind, form part of a children’s picture book in which a group of friends travel through landscapes that have been devastated, probably by an environmental
catastrophe. I really enjoyed creating these illustrations and I’d love for them to be the start of that picture book I have in my head – who knows? In the meantime, you can view them on this website under the title Across the Burned Valley.
*Edit: It´s no longer on the projects page, you can reed about it in a most recest blog post.
And these are the four times I haven’t been selected for Iberoamérica Ilustra. Could I draw any conclusions, or pick up any clues as to which direction to take next time? Well, to be honest, I don’t think so. There are so many professionals entering, the standard is very high and the juries are always very subjective. It’s true that if you look at most of the works selected over the years, you can see that the competition favours hand-finished work over obviously digital pieces, and the naïve and experimental over the virtuosic… But even so, the diversity of styles is clear, so I don’t think there’s much point in overthinking ‘what might go down well’. However, it’s a good opportunity to try out different things. In fact, as you’ve just seen, on each occasion I’ve submitted quite different entries. Will I enter again? The illustrator Puño says that if you enter a competition, you have a moral obligation to keep entering until you win it. I don’t know if I’ll have that much staying power, but for the time being I think I’ll keep trying.