An animated crow gazes purposefully at an indolent cow. Two chubby women in bright saris with matching ribbons sit by the shore chatting. Bare-bodied boys play an intense game of cricket. Devotees throng the Marundeeswarar temple — Spanish illustrator Marcus Guardiola’s fat booklet is full of these sketches that are his impressions of the city. His love for colours is obvious in his works that use vivid hues — red and blue, orange and green are his favourite combinations.
What also amuse him are the massive wall paintings of politicians. “I have seen graffiti and paintings on walls in other countries but I haven’t seen anything like this anywhere else,” laughs Marcus, who has been in Chennai for almost two months now for a collaborated project with Tara Books. “I am doing the illustrations for their new book titled The God of Money . There are about 15 illustrations and the book is based on Karl Marx’s manuscripts that talk about money,” he says.
The 38-year-old, who studied architecture in Madrid, spent five years designing buildings, before he realised it’s the drawing process that he enjoyed the most. And it was goodbye to a career as an architect and hello illustration. “Yes, the money isn’t great in this profession. But it’s enough for me. Most importantly, this is something I love to do,” he adds. Since a majority of his works are based on political ideas, he started as an illustrator for a Spanish newspaper called El Pais , where his sketches accompanied opinion pieces. Three years down the line, he quit and now tries out various new illustration-based activities.
A professional illustrator for four years now, Marcus still spends time practising every day. Drawing on paper helps him sharpen his skill. But when he gets down to work, the tablet is his accomplice. The final sketch is drawn on it. For the self-taught artist, the challenge lies in conceptualising an idea and giving it an art form. He says that he’s noticed quite a few youngsters wanting to give it a shot, assuming that it’s just drawing after all. But once they get down to it, they realise the challenge involved. “It’s important to have patience. If you want to be an illustrator, you need to have something to tell the world. For that, you really need to read a lot and… be prepared to make little money,” he laughs.
