Photo by Violeta Rodriguez
HELLO THERE!
I am Mariajo. I am a Spanish illustrator based in the UK.
I love drawing and painting (of course), I always have. Since I was very little I ´ve been fascinated by mixing colours and experimenting with different materials, and definitely getting my hands dirty. I am a mess, I just don't know another way!
Choosing my career wasn't difficult at all. I always wanted to be an "artist". The smell of a printing room or getting into an art shop, just gets me totally excited!
In 2010 I graduated in Illustration at the School of Art, Arte 10 in Madrid. After a few years working as a freelancer in the Co-working space Utopic_Us, I moved to Bath (UK), where I studied Graphic Communication at Bath Spa University and I graduated in 2015.
At the same time, intrigued by other cultures and landscapes I tried to travel around the world as much as I could. In 2016 I was very lucky to travel to India and be an Artist in Residence, at the Uttarayan Foundation in Vadodara. There I worked in traditional Lithography and Xylography.
I believe in constant development and new ways of working, so every experience has pushed me in different directions, learning new ways of working.
After the residency I moved back to the UK where I worked in-house designing greetings cards for Clintons, Paperchase and Caroline Gardner. Despite not being my dream job, this experience made me more confident of my work and enabled me to get a better understanding of the commercial industry, and topics such as finalising artwork and printing processes.
However, being a picturebook author/ illustrator has always been my big dream, so in 2018 I started a Masters Degree in Children's Book Illustration, at Anglia Ruskin, in Cambridge. This Masters helped me to find a new direction in my work, learning to give shape to my ideas and refreshing my skills and artistic voice.
At the same time I carried on working with my freelance work and personal projects.
In 2020, I was the overall winner at the World Illustration Awards, which led me to publish my first author/ illustrator picturebook: Flooded, published in May 2022, by Frances Lincoln, and imprint of Quarto.
I LOVE what I do. I am really passionate about my work, so I am always ready for a new project! If you want to work with me, please give me a shout! I look forward to hearing from you!
Mariajo x
NOMINATIONS AND AWARDS
Nominated for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2025 ― I (Hate) Love Books
Longlisted for the 'UK Literacy Association' Picture Book Award 2025 ― I (Hate) Love Books
Nominated for Lovely Books Community Award (Germany) 2024 ― Lost (Get’s tier sum Nordpol?)
Finalist at the Premios Torre del Agua (Spain) 2024 ― Lost (Perdido)
Winner of Frances and Wesley Bock Book Award (E.E.U.U) 2024 ― Flooded
Longlisted for the World Illustration Awards 2024 ― I (Hate) Love Books
Nominated for the Unicef Prize (France) 2024 ― Flooded (Débordés)
Shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2024 ― Lost
Longlisted ― Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2024 ― Lost
Shortlisted ― Finchingfield Picture Book Award 2024 ― Lost
Winner of the Klaus Flugge Prize, for the most promising and exciting newcomer to picture book illustration 2023 ― Flooded
Winner for the UKLA Book Awards 2023 ― Flooded
Winner of The English Association 2023 ― Flooded
Winner of the VI Premio muestra del Libro Infantil y Juvenil de la Comunidad de Madrid 2023 ― Flooded (Inundado)
Longlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2023 ― Flooded
Finalist illustrator, Bologna Children’s Book Fair exhibition (Italy) 2023 ― Lost
Longlisted for the Waterstones Prize 2023 ― Flooded
Longlisted for Derby Children’s Picture Book Awards 2023 ― Flooded
Selected by the Unpublished Picturebooks Showcase 3 (Dpictus), 2021. Showcased at dPictus platform and Bologna 2022 ― Circus and Unexpected Guests
Sebastian Walker Prize Runner up 2021
Selected for the 2021 Exhibition The Children-Spectators, at Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2021
Finalist illustrator, Bologna Children’s Book Fair exhibition (Italy) 2021 ― Flooded
Shortlisted illustrator. Nami Concours (Korea) 2021 ― Flooded
Highly commended runner up. Winter Comforts competition 2020, Picture Hooks
New Talent OVERALL Winner Award in the World Illustration Awards. Winner, New Talent Children’s Publishing Category at the WIA (World Illustration Awards), 2020 ― Flooded
Selected by the Unpublished Picturebooks Showcase 2 - 3rd most voted project (Dpictus), 2020. Showcased at dPictus platform ― Flooded
Longlisted by Templar Design and Illustration Awards 2020 for the Fiction category & Picture Book category
Selected by the Unpublished Picturebooks Showcase (Dpictus). Showcased at the Frankfurt Book Fair, 2019 ― Lost
Winner of the Bath Fringe Festival poster competition, 2015
EDUCATION
MA Children´s Book Illustration, Distinction
Anglia Ruskin, Cambridge. Graduated in 2021
Bachelor of Arts with Honours. Graphic Communication, 2.1
Bath Spa University, Bath. Graduated in 2015
Certificate of Higher Education. Illustration
Arte 10, Madrid. Graduated in 2010
RESIDENCY
Artist residency at Uttarayan Foundation,
Gujarat (India), August 2016.
INTERVIEWS
Talk with Pepa Aoiz ―Click here *
Arte 10, the art school where I studied illustration, created these “Jam Sessions”, during Corona Virus outbreak, to share the experience of old students and professionals with the current students. Pepa Aoiz invited me to participate in one of the sessions.
*Sorry! Spanish audio!
The Unpublished Picturebook Showcase: a video presentation by dPICTUS
In this video Sam McCullen presents some of the wonderful international publishers on the jury and some stunning illustrations from the unpublished picturebook projects.
I was invited to talk about being selected in 2019 and 2020.