10 Questions with Valya Papadopoulou
Valya is a fashion Illustrator and designer with a background in chemical engineering, raised in Canada and currently based in Athens, Greece. A self-taught multidisciplinary artist, her work is deeply influenced by the intersection of these two distinct cultural and academic experiences, blending precision with artistic expression.
Throughout her life, she has been exposed to art through her mother, Merlie, who is an artist and introduced her to the magic of picture-making from a very young age. The first medium she learned to use, after pencils and gouache, all children are exposed to is oils. Today, Valya's style is rooted in traditional techniques, working primarily with pencils, watercolours, and ink. When time permits, she will make acrylic paintings on mounted canvas. During the pandemic, she rediscovered her passion for mark making and started investing all her free time in "relearning" and remembering the joy of creating art. Her interests are not only limited to the world of art in the pure sense, but she recently concluded her Master's in Graphic and Digital Design at LABASAD. She finds inspiration in anything with a visual impact, whether Photography, Fashion, Architecture or Film. Her work captures the essence with a refined, timeless approach, making her a distinctive voice in contemporary fashion illustration.
Her dedication to the art of fashion illustration has earned her recognition, including the Excellence in Fashion Art & Illustration Award 2024, the 10th Annual FIDA Awards, and a place among FIDA's Top 10 Fashion Portrait Illustrators. She was also selected by the VAIF (Visual Arts International Festival) in Athens for Poster design themed on sustainability and climate change, shortlisted by the Greek Visual Communication Awards, received a new Talent Silver award from Graphis Magazine in 2024, as well as being selected to partake in Illustratdays 2024 Print Calendar
Valya Papadopoulou - Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
Creating art and expressing herself visually has become Valya's way of life. Her influences are vast, but her journey from being raised in Canada and moving to Greece, as well as her background in engineering and her livelihood in technology, have deeply formed her way of thinking and seeing. A store window, a flower in the street, a picture in a magazine, random elements will speak to her visually and create the inspirational spark to make something new. She has tried her hand in many mediums and has found that if one learns to respect that medium and how it behaves, then one's way of drawing will always shine through.. Learning various mediums can be difficult and frustrating at times; however, nowhere can the expression" go with the flow" be truer. Her work is a mixture of styles.
She says: "Inspiration, beauty and expression are a very personal experience. I do not believe in being stuck in one type of Illustration or design in the name of having our own 'style'. I think that's extremely limiting for artists and creatives, so that we can be known for that one thing. One should be able to explore and learn freely without judgment. I believe this makes us better artists."
When it comes to fashion Illustration, for her, it is more than just a visual representation of garments, it is the soul of fashion, capturing emotion, movement, and storytelling in a way that photography cannot.
In a world of fast fashion and digital saturation, illustration brings back the artistry, the hand-crafted elegance that celebrates individuality and creativity. It allows for interpretation, for a mood to be felt rather than just seen. Whether through the delicate transparency of watercolour or the boldness of ink, fashion illustration is a language that speaks to the beauty of form and the power of imagination. The Fashion and beauty industry is used as a springboard to express the power of women, their magnificence and strength. It is a journey of research into the female form and its complexity as a being. Works are imbued with vibrant colours, thus captivating the diversity of emotions that come from within.
It is not just about depicting fashion, it is about feeling it, living it, and reimagining it beyond the constraints of reality. Her go-to traditional medium is watercolour. She has found it extremely meditative, its method requiring patience for the layers to dry out completely or for the colours to mingle and mix in their own way and at their own pace. The key is learning how to respect this time. All of her works start by sketching out ideas with graphite in her sketchbook, by trying different layouts and colours. She also uses digital methods when more clean-cut results are required.
TOM FORD SS25, Mixed media, 31x41 cm, 2024 © Valya Papadopoulou
INTERVIEW
Let's start from the basics. When did you first get interested in art? And what sparked your initial interest?
I have always been interested in art. My mother, Merlie, was an artist, so she used to drag us kids to the museums and buyus art supplies from a very young age. I remember being mesmerised by the colours, the depictions of the characters, the light and the storytelling. We had tons of art books in the house, so being exposed to art was part of our daily lives. When I was in my teens, she gave me a book on Alex Coleville, a Canadian artist, that totally enthralled me. His use of soft colours, brushstrokes and subject matter marked me, and made me think "This is how I would want to make art".
Can you tell us about your journey from chemical engineering to fashion illustration?
That's an interesting one. Despite being good at art and wanting to pursue an Art degree, there was no thought at the time that this was something one should pursue. Having grown up in the 70s-80s, it was a time when the "starving artist" myth was true, and the best option for being able to have a sustainable career was in the sciences. Luckily, I actually liked science, so I decided to go into chemical engineering and left art on the side for a while. During the pandemic, I was given the chance to slow down and think a bit more serenely about what lies ahead, and this is where I rediscovered the joy of drawing. Eventually, this led me to my other passion: Fashion. I discovered illustrators such as Stina Persson, Bill Donovan, Jessica Durant, Nuno Da Costa, to name a few, and completely fell in love with the genre.
DiorFW24, watercolor, A3, 2025 © Valya Papadopoulou
How have your experiences in Canada and Greece influenced your artistic style and perspective?
I think it's about change, and adapting to change, learning resilience, but also letting oneself be absorbed by one's environment. Montreal had a sleekness and a sense of quiet about it. The snow in the winter, the golden sun on the autumn leaves. It felt like a slower pace. Athens and Greece in general had a more direct effect on my soul. The light, the frenzy, the sound of the sea. All elements that for me were extremely conducive for creativity. The odd thing is, after so many years (I have now lived here for 25 years), I find the city of Athens even more interesting as it evolves and I rediscover it. It is an infinite palette of inspiration and creativity, and all one wants to do is experience it.
What drew you to fashion illustration specifically, and how did you develop your distinctive approach?
Fashion, for me, has always been a way of expressing myself. I would gobble up fashion magazines and used to say that selecting my wardrobe was like creating a painting: the colour combinations had to be right, the materials, the mood, the overall tone of voice. When I got back into painting, I took a workshop given by Carmen Garcia Huerta, and it completely blew me away. In this course, she showed me how to build a fashion illustration on a theme based on a customer brief, something I had never done before. She used her signature colored pencils, which I loved as well. She had references, influences, etc. It was like an explosion of information for me and of discovery as well. My approach, on the other hand, has to do with what attracts me to image-making of all kinds. That being a dynamic composition or the close-up of a detail. I tend to be drawn to impactful images, either because of their colour palette or their sense of mystery, and this is what I myself try to imbue as well.
What traditional techniques and materials do you enjoy working with the most, and why?
My most trusted art tool is the graphite pencil. I find that we can create infinite nuances by using it to convey all sorts of emotions. That said, for me, watercolour is the most enigmatic and magical medium. It has a life of its own, and once you learn how to draw with watercolour (or ink, for that matter), you can give any illustration that sense of mystery. Layer after layer, the image achieves more and more depth. It's amazing.
When I go on summer vacation, though, and time sits still for a while, I open my tubes of acrylic and paint on canvas. It takes me back to when I used to use oils. The feeling of scratching the paintbrush on canvas is a really meditative one for me.
Prada FW24, watercolor, 31x41 in, 2024 © Valya Papadopoulou
Rabanne Cap, mixed media, digital collage, 2023 © Valya Papadopoulou
How do you capture emotion and storytelling in your fashion illustrations?
It is a very intuitive process. I do a lot of research, and let it sink in for a few days. I find that giving it time to settle in one's brain helps a lot. After this, I have a good sense of what I want to portray and how I am going to do it. Usually it involves choosing a specific colour palette or pose. Even the medium may differ depending on what I want to do. For instance, I created a couple of illustrations on Hermes, and used vector illustration as I felt that this was the best way to speak the same language as the Hermes brand. Admittedly, at times this takes longer than expected, but when I actuallytake the time to think it through, it makes the actual image-making process easier and faster. I've never been that good at just magically filling a blank page. I need to research and study beforehand.
What role does the female form play in your work, and how do you approach portraying it?
The female form is central to my work, not just as a subject, but as a vessel for emotion, movement, and narrative. It's never about literal representation or perfection, but about capturing an essence, an attitude, a mood, a silhouette that tells a story. I'm not particularly keen on depicting beauty per se. I feel that the women that I represent are the ones that give life to fashion, through their dynamism, their inner strength, their vulnerabilities and their smile. And this is where my background as an engineer comes into play. Having worked for many years in a male-dominated field, I have grown acutely aware of how strong we women really are in order to survive and shine in this environment. And this is something I want to convey in my illustrations. I want to celebrate femininity in all its glory.
You've received awards and recognition for your work. What has that meant for your artistic journey?
For me, receiving these awards has been recognition that all the time I have poured into illustration, the countless hours spent practising, finally paid off. For me, it's as if someone is saying," Keep going, you're headed in the right direction". Of course, I would still continue in my journey without this recognition, but this gives me an extra little push. I am very excited to be here and cannot wait to see what the future holds.
Naomi, mixed media, 31x41 cm, 2024 © Valya Papadopoulou
What do you hope viewers feel or take away when they experience your illustrations?
For me, the act of beholding a great picture is a highly emotional experience, a journey. When I create something, ultimately my goal is to move the viewer, to transport them to a feeling that resides deep inside or make them experience pleasure. For in the end, why do we create art? We create because it brings us fulfilment and a sense of well-being. I would like to convey that sense of well-being to the viewer, to make them feel special.
Lastly, are there any upcoming projects or new directions you're excited to explore in your work?
For now, I'm looking forward to continuing my journey in the world of fashion illustration and trying to incorporate more diverse subjects, but also work with a wider array of media. I'm also exploring Graphic design, another area that I have grown to love. I do believe that the two are connected, despite the fact that many say that graphic design is not art. I beg to differ. And in this manner, I try to combine both of these aspects in my work.
Artist’s Talk
Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.
