Mădălina Țânțăreanu and her least expected story
Mădălina Țânțăreanu is pushing type to its limit. She strongly believes that less is more and is confident that “black and white make the most colorful drawings”.
“For me, the story of becoming an illustrator began like any other story: when you least expect it. Thus, when I was a student at the Faculty of Journalism, during a layout course, I realized I did not want to write in magazines, but to illustrate them. It was a spontaneous desire to draw words, rather than express them correctly, truthfully and journalistic. Then, when I put the pen on my bench and looked for the pencil in my bag, I decided to apply to the Graphic Design Department of the University of Arts. I was admitted and started to draw all the words I couldn’t find and verbalize when I saw myself as a journalist.
After graduation, I went to Valencia for a master in graphic design and illustration, and this experience helped me take my passion to another level and made me what I am today – personally and professionally. There, my interest in details grew, I used to spent hours and days on end drawing, learning, experimenting new things. I think Spanish words also helped, as I would illustrate them in order to learn, with no prior journalistic attempts.
Currently, I am working under my personal brand, Mădălina Țânțăreanu. I love working with typography, transforming words in images and taking them to the border between graphic design and illustration . “Illustrated typography ” is the concept that I am developing and the basis of most of my works. Starting from floral, fantasy, geometric shapes, I create worlds, stories, experiences around the letters. Pushing type to it s limit . When I am not using letters as form, I lose myself in complex and highly detailed illustrations for postcards, t-shirts and other media.
I work in ink and pencil, mostly in black and white. I prefer this technique as black and white make the message of my illustrations more powerful, clear and concise – Less is more. Sometimes I add color, but I am careful not to center the essence of the story around chromatic elements, and just leave it in the visual power of shapes. I think black and white make the most colorful drawings. Moreover, I prefer hand drawing, as I think it makes a project more authentic and personal. I always like to say that a drawing done by hand is like an e-mail turned into handwritten letter and mailed to the recipient. So I prefer to write letters instead of sending emails”.
All images © Mădălina Țânțăreanu