Valeria Moldovan: Romania ★ Illustrator

Abstract

Valeria MoldovanRomania ★ Illustrator Melissa Garavini Born in Brasov, in the South-east of Romania on Christmas Eve in 1956, Valeria Moldovan now lives and works in the capital city, Bucharest. She has an artistic and graphic background as she attended The Arts College in Brasov, then the Plastic Arts Faculty at the Decoration and Plastic Arts Institute in Cluj Napoca. After graduating, she found work in the field of graphics. From 1979 to 1983, she worked as a graphic designer for the advertising agency Recom in Bucharest. After this, she transferred to the Print Factory “Matasea Populara” in the same city, where she continued to work as a graphic designer. Less than a year later, she began to work for Editura Didactica si Pedagogica, again as a graphic designer and illustrator, and stayed with this company for six years. In 1994, she began to collaborate with Regala Publishing and continued there for several years. Moldovan’s varied career as a graphic designer helped her to build the contacts necessary for her work as an illustrator. She has illustrated children’s books for various local publishers including Creanga Publishing, Albatros, Garamond, Regala, Popet, and All Publishing Group. She also worked as an art director with a Bucharest advertising agency, Ignis, until 2005. Moldovan has designed and illustrated numerous children’s books, textbooks and magazines. Her drawing style is distinctive as her illustrations are reminiscent of Eastern fairy-tales, rich in detailed arabesque ornamentation, where for example, the dresses are rich in detail, often embroidered. When illustrating objects, Moldovan does not rely on literal presentation, but rather produces objects that seem to come from an imaginative dimension where everything is allowed. They are drawn with a light hand, and do not abide by realistic colors or features. Moreover, Moldovan’s drawings (both characters and objects) are usually bi-dimensional and stylized, and they do not rely on standard conventions for perspective. Instead, they are characterized by their use of warm colors such as orange, red, and especially purple. Selected Publications Cele mai frumoase 10 poveşti [Most Beautiful Ten Stories]. Texts by many authors. Bucharest: Nemira Publishing House, 2007. Print. Google Scholar Poveşti orientale [Oriental Stories]. Text Valentin Nicolau. Bucharest: Corint Publishing House, 2009. Print. Google Scholar Poveşti şi schiţe [Stories and sketches by I.L. Caragiale]. Text I. L. Caragiale. Bucharest: Corint Junior Publishing House, 2009. Print. Google Scholar Poveşti Fratii Grimm [Stories by the Grimm Brothers]. Retold by Lia Decei, Iulia si Victoria-Dana Feldrihan, Traian Fintescu, and Mioara Sechel. Bucharest: Corint Publishing House, 2010. Print. Google Scholar Basme [Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen]. Text Hans Christian Andersen. Bucharest: Corint Publishing House, 2010. Print. [End Page 44] Google Scholar Copyright © 2012 Bookbird, Inc