A Kick Up The Arts #30: Holly Pereira

A brush with greatness…

’ve been drawing since I can remember – when I was in St. Patricks National School, I loved designing playgrounds.

When you’re rubbish at sport, things like drawing cats and illustrating self-published magazines becomes very important.

I was lucky in that I attended Annette Vella’s portfolio course when I was in my last years of secondary school. It was here that the idea of becoming an artist became a possibility. Annette rigorously drummed in the importance of practice, and the skill that is borne out of practice.

I studied Fine Art in NCAD, then practiced as a painter. The prospect of continuing to be broke for the rest of my life encouraged me to move into illustration and design. In 2013, I returned to education, where I studied animation in Ballyfermot. This led me to setting up a business, Hyper Pictures, and working as a freelance illustrator and animator.

Currently I work on a wide range of projects, from commercial illustration for advertising, animated music videos, posters, branding and editorial illustration. Last year, I picked up traditional sign writing, which is having a bit of a renaissance in Dublin. I love the tactility of sign writing, especially after hours spent gawking at a screen.

I am in the process of setting up a new part of the business making handpainted signs for shops, cafes, and homes. The website, hollypereira.com, brings it all together.

My Work

Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Choice 2016
I did this piece in response to the current conversation surrounding the Repeal the 8th campaign. I love the way with street art, you can engage with a large audience, while also making something that changes the way we see our streets. This piece was outside the Bernard Shaw bar in Portobello, and my two accomplices are Emma Cafferky and John McNaeidhe.

A Good Sign 2017
This is an example of a sign I made for a friend’s shop, Books Upstairs on D’Olier St. I’m obsessed with typography, especially from the 1950s. I found the wood in Mac’s Salvage Yard. I think it might have been a floorboard at one stage. I’m quite new to the whole repurposing movement going on, but I love it! I enjoy the fact that you can create a piece of work that is simultaneously beautiful and informative.

Knockanstockan Festival map 2016
Knockanstockan Festival is an independent festival in Co. Wicklow. As a musician, I love playing there. It’s so refreshing to be part of festival that doesn’t rely heavily on sponsorship and overblown advertising.
The guys at KS asked me to create this illustrated map last year. It was challenging to make something that has so many elements, but by sticking to a concise visual language and a limited palette, I really enjoyed that challenge. I also got to play with handlettering, which is always a bonus.

My Inspirations

I have to say I get a lot of inspiration from my contemporaries. Since I work in a lot of different visual arts fields, I’m constantly impressed by the other illustrators, sign writers, street artists and animators I meet…

Joan Cornella
Joan Cornella is an illustrator from Barcelona. His panels are weird and violent, yet beautiful rendered in absorbing palettes. Oddly, they seem to make a lot of sense. I love his work because… I just do.

Ori Toor
Ori Toor is an animator who makes looped animations, or GIFs, that are hypnotic and incredible.
Check out this music video; it’s relentless viewing.

Michaela Pavlatova
Lastly, I’m going for another animator, Michaela Pavlatova, who is Czech. Her animations are funny and engaging and beautifully animated. The way she distills the essential elements of the visuals is inspiring. If you haven’t seen Tram, get a cup of tea and watch it now.

You can follow Holly’s work right here, and on Instagram and Twitter, whilst you can also read a recent, longer interview with Ms Pereira in Totally Dublin right here. You can also go explore some more Kick Up The Arts here. The groovy cover shot of Holly is by the groovy Afghaniscan.