I am …
An illustrator, graphic designer, stylist and photographer all in one. I studied fashion design in Jakarta, and continued studying styling, graphic design and photography in Milan.

What inspired you to start creating art?
I feel like art is a way of communicating to people. Growing up, I’ve travelled to a lot of places and I’m always fascinated and curious to discover new cultures  around the world. There are so many great artists out there and I love how they like to use their cultural backgrounds into their works so I wanted to do that too.

How would you describe your style?
Dreamy bohemian, a bit of fairy-tale inspired as well. Whimsical and ethnic. Those keywords definitely describe my style.

Favorite tools to create your work?
Like normal artists, I draw with pencils and pens on paper, but then I like to mix it with my graphic design and photography work to create a whole different effect. The tools I like to use are Photoshop, InDesign and of course, my digital camera.

What is your working environment / studio like?
I don’t necessarily need to work in a studio. I can pretty much work anywhere I want, depending on my mood. I do tend to avoid loud or crowded places, so I normally go where it’s relaxing so I could listen and enjoy my own music.

What is your cultural background?
I was born in the Netherlands and raised in Indonesia by my mother who is an indonesian and father who is dutch. So yes, I come from two completely different cultural backgrounds.

In terms of identity / ethnicity / culture how would you describe yourself?
I am half dutch, half indonesian. But I also have a little german blood. I am what people call, “the mixed kid” because I tend to speak 3 languages at once. The first language I learned was dutch, then indonesian and english last. A little Italian as well, but that has nothing to do with where i’m from. I can understand it because I used to live and study there. I’m very asian in my diet though. In terms of how I dress or what my style is, I like to wear prints a lot, especially tribal/ethnic prints.

What aspects of your culture are most important to you?
Love, Respect and always think of helping others before yourself.

Has your cultural background influenced your life/ and or work – hobbies? And if it did could you give some examples?
Absolutely. I grew up in Indonesia and I get to study a lot about their rich culture and history. So I like to use that as an inspiration and put it into my works. One of them is the illustration of “The Wayang”, which is a traditional indonesian puppet. I like to sketch them a lot, mixing it with my style. Also, we have a traditional print/ textile called, Batik. I love creating prints/patterns and I get most of my inspiration from there.

What inspires you?
I love nature and I am an animal lover as well. And I have always been obsessed with the movie, Alice in Wonderland. I feel like a lot of my works are inspired from that movie.

Currently working on?
Designing prints for Addy van den Krommenacker’s (dutch fashion designer) new spring collection that is coming out in a few months as well as my new  website/portfolio.

Best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I’ve ever received is to always call my dreams a plan and that anything is possible.

What are you listening (music) to at the moment?
I usually listen to Indie, Techno & Classical music. My most played song at the moment is “Young” by The Paper Kites.

Message to the world.
The world is but a canvas to our imaginations, so don’t be afraid to show your creativity.

Where can people find you? (Venues / Web / Social media)
You can find me on:
Instagram: nadilacarmen/nadilacarmenb
Website: nadilacarmenb.com
DeviantArt: carmenista