Fatinha Ramos

Illustrator

©Siska Vandecasteele

A visual activist

Fatinha is an award-winning illustrator and artist
She uses mixed media, combining acrylics, colour pencils and digital tools
Her subjects are mostly inspired by sensitive social issues

Fatinha Ramos believes that if you never take a leap of faith, you will never know, and this sums up her approach to life. More than once, she changed her life for love. For the love of a man, she moved to Antwerp from her native Portugal. For her love of drawing, she left a good job as an art director and became a full-time freelance illustrator. For the love of her new profession, she began to divide her time between Belgium and New York. It seems to have been well worth it. Today Fatinha is an award-winning, internationally renowned artist, busy with editorial illustrations for newspapers and magazines such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. She is engaged in projects on dozens of children’s books, cultural and governmental illustrations, advertisement, murals and much more. Her creative touch is unmistakable, at once emotional and committed.

Interview

©ROBBIE DEPUYDT

How would you define your style?: I would say 'artistic voice' rather than 'style'. Mine has some surrealistic tones, some fragility and hope at the same time, that I underline with my handmade colourful textures. Technically speaking, I use mixed media, mostly combining acrylics, colour pencils and Photoshop.
Where does your inspiration stem from?: Most of the time, it comes from music, art and photography. But I only illustrate subjects I believe in, and stand for. I often raise important social issues such as global warming, sexism, racism, giving a voice to those who need to be heard.
What is your goal as an illustrator?: I want to strike an emotional chord with people and have a positive impact on the world. I see myself as a visual activist, using my art to deal with sensitive social issues. By illustrating children’s books, for example, I have the opportunity to impact on the future, because children are our future.
Do you have a master or a reference artist?: Not quite. But one of the most unforgettable moments in my career is linked to a female artist, Sonia Delaunay. In 2017, I received the Global Illustration Award at Frankfurt Bookfair for the children's book about her life and art: “Sonia Delaunay. A Life Of Color”, published by MoMA.

Fatinha Ramos is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2014 and she started teaching in 2020