Ilse Valfré is a textbook virgo; creative, original, driven, & on top. This girl boss is a full time artist, blogger, mother of 2, & the owner of a multimillion dollar clothing brand.
Ilse was born in Sonora, Mexico, but raised in Tijuana. Valfré credits her inspiration to the vibrant graffiti scene surrounding her, and comics she read such as Archi growing up. Ilse came from an artistically supportive household that viewed art as therapy and provided her with supplies and encouragement.
In 2010 Valfré left her position as a kindergarten teacher & moved in with her parents so she could focus on building a career as an illustrator, fashion designer and blogger. Now residing in California, her hard work has paid off, a decade later her Instagram holds over 800K followers and her clothing brand is leading the industry.
I would describe Valfré’s art style as mystical, psychedelic, & female empowering. The most reoccurring/prominent feature of her work is the adorable female characters she has created.
Valfré has a style that almost looks easy but you know it’s not that simple ( or else everyone would be a phenomenal artist ). There are so many elements to her style that I adore, from the small ways she adds texture (such as in the hair) to the proportions of her characters that differentiate them as a Valfré creation. Her minimal shadowing/highlights & use of clean thin line work adds a dainty element to her work that I greatly admire. One thing I have struggled with a lot recently in my illustrations is finding the right combinations of tools such as brush or paint type and what type of stroke to compliment it. Valfré’s artwork reminds me of the importance of simplifying specific elements in your work in a tasteful manner.
Among all other things Valfré is a phenomenal artist who empowers anyone but especially women to chase their dreams and accomplish their goals. Ilse on occasion has used her art as activism and even donated proceeds to charitable causes such as planned parenthood. Not only does she inspire me artistically but motivationally to achieve any goals I have in general, I can only hope that my artistic work can eventually influence someone else in the same way<3
Art Bananas 