Culture? introducing Ruth Veres...

...Todays feature is the great Ruth Veres. Ruth`s illustrations really has something rare. They are all so contemporary and cool. Ruth is also telling us a little about her work, so happy reading. Here it is, your daily shot of art with Ruth Veres:

.. Bambi (t-shirt design for a competition by the band Tokyo Police Club)..

..Kokonmädchen (cocoon girl)..

..milkshake (for the FM4 radio calendar 2011)..

..Muttersprache (mother tongue)..

..pleasure (for Göoo magazine #8)..

..rain on me...

..Schneewittchen (Snow White)..

-Can you tell the readers a little bit about yourself, name, what country you live in, age etc?My name is Ruth Veres, I'm 25 and live in Vienna, Austria.
-What inspired you to start being creative?I can't exactly remember when it all started, I always wanted to be creative, enjoyed spending time with drawing, painting, knitting, ...
My mother and grandmother often took me to museums, so I came in touch with culture and art history quite early too.
Growing up with books by Cicely Mary Barker, Ida Bohatta, Sibylle von Olfers, Brian Wildsmith and other great illustrators surely influenced me in some sort of way. And I guess those images are still present in my mind somehow.
I also was inspired by animals, like birds, cats and butterflies, by flowers, trees, gems and astrology and started collecting all kinds of things (dried flowers, stamps, coins from foreign countries, semi-precious stones, marbles, ...).
Now I'm more interested in humans in terms of drawing/illustration, but still in connection with nature and animal behaviour.
-Is making art your fulltime job, and if not, what else do you do?I work as a freelancing graphic designer and illustrator. If there's time left I participate in various art competitions and work on personal projects.
-Have you gone to art school, if yes where did you go and what did you study?Yes, I've been to Vienna School of Art, graduated with distinction last June. I studied there for four years; my main subject was Graphic Design. So I would rather consider myself an autodidact in terms of illustration.
-Where do you find inspiration?Hmm... nearly everywhere around and inside me.
I find inspiration being around my family and friends, watching strangers, listening to random conversations – as well as in body language, sadness, fear, pessimism, abnormality, city life/urban jungle, night (life), online communities, street art, urban typography, nature, certain colour combinations, fairy tales, poetry, literature, music, independent films (and classical film posters), idioms and phrases, proverbs and aphorisms – the list could go on and on.
Following street fashion blogs (my favourites are facehunter.blogspot.com and hel-looks.com) and night club photography (such as dirtydirtydancing.com, billabaldwin.com and megamegamega.com) is always an inspiration for me as well.
-Do you have a favorite artist and if so who and why?Not only one in particular ... Some illustrators and artists I’ve always admired are Egon Schiele, Frida Kahlo, Alfons Mucha and Carl Larsson, the Pre-Raphaelites (like John Everett Millais, Edward Burne-Jones, John William Waterhouse), Japanese woodblock printing and Russian constructivism artists.
I also adore Swoon, Banksy, Blu and Os Gêmeos, to name just a few more contemporary street artists.
At the moment I'm interested in graphic novels and zines too.
-Where can my readers see you`re work?My website (currently under construction): www.ruthveres.at
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/ruthveres