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An illustration of a person with bright orange hair wearing a wide-brimmed black hat. The hat is detailed with a thin blue band, and the figure wears red lipstick and a collared green shirt.

Brilliant, whimsical illustrations from RCA graduate Maria Ines Gul

Words
Billie Muraben
—
Date
30 September 2015

Maria Ines Gul draws, paints and embroiders patterns of words, women and whimsy. Her illustrations are bright, funny and well-observed with great colours, details and expressions.
Maria graduated from the Royal College of Art earlier this year, and for the summer show she exhibited a Graduation Coat, a workwear jacket decorated with symbols forming a non-linear narrative of the creative process—worts and all.

Maria seems to be living the dream of drawing all day, every day. Whether it’s personal work, collaborations with friends, in her role as a staff illustrator for Rookie or commissions for the likes of London Fashion Week, Drawn & Quarterly or The Fader , Maria certainly seems busy.

An illustration of a person with long black hair lying on their stomach against a red and white patterned background. They lean on their elbows with a pensive expression, while a smartphone lies nearby on a white surface.
Above

Maria Ines Gul: Bored Girl

A black and white illustration of two figures holding hands. One is a solid black silhouette, while the other is a white figure with a skull for a face.
Above

Maria Ines Gul: Two Women

An illustration of a person with voluminous dark hair and red lipstick. They wear a yellow short-sleeved shirt featuring a bold, abstract pattern in red and green.
Above

Maria Ines Gul: Amandla Stenberg for Rookie

A charcoal illustration of a person’s head and shoulders in profile. They have a small bow tied at the top of their head and a neutral expression.
Above

Maria Ines Gul: Girl

An illustration of two snakes, one blue and one orange, entwined in a series of loops. Their heads meet at the right, and the text “HI SSSEXY” is written in black below.
Above

Maria Ines Gul: Hi Sssexy

An illustration of two figures dancing together against a white background dotted with small colourful specks. One person wears a red jacket and yellow trousers, while the other wears a peach top and a black polka-dot skirt.
Above

Maria Ines Gul: Untitled

An illustration of a person with long, bright red hair seen from behind. They wear a black polka-dot dress and hold a small pot from which a large, grey leafy branch grows.
Above

Maria Ines Gul: Grow Grow Grow

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Further Info

www.mariainesgul.com

About the Author

Billie Muraben

—

Billie studied illustration at Camberwell College of Art before completing an MA in Visual Communication at the Royal College of Art. She joined It’s Nice That as a Freelance Editorial Assistant back in January 2015 and continues to work with us on a freelance basis.

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