All the pretty women

MANILA, Philippines - Soleil Ignacio’s fondness for drawing portraits of women with deep gazes and big, flowing hair came from her fascination with mermaids and princesses way back when she was little  specifically, The Little Mermaid. She holds a bachelor’s degree in visual communication from the College of Fine Arts in UP Diliman, focusing more on graphic design. After graduating, she worked as an art director for a local art and fashion magazine, later on venturing out on her own as a freelance illustrator and exhibiting artist. Her exhibition of new works, entitled “Exalted Souls,” can be previewed on May 11 at 8 p.m. at Vinyl on Vinyl (at The Collective, along 7274 Malugay Street, Makati), but you can also check out her online portfolio at Choleil.com.

YSTYLE: Which projects do you feel you are most known for?

SOLEIL IGNACIO: I’m really not sure, but I think it’s the Yoko Ono cover I did for Status magazine.

When you hear “YStyle,” what kind of images or ideas does your mind conjure up?

I easily think of art and lots of fun things!

What was your concept for the new YStyle logo?

Since this month coincides with my first ever solo exhibit, I thought of using different parts from my exhibit pieces on this logo. I just wanted it to reflect my current... state?

Were you listening to music while you were designing it? What song? On purpose or on shuffle?

Music is a must when I work. I get sleepy when I’m not listening to something. And yes, it’s on shuffle. Kind of. Some stuff I’ve been listening to is Justin Timberlake’s new album, “The 20/20 Experience”, Macklemore’s Can’t Hold Us, Get Lucky by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams, with some Bastille and Alt J thrown in. My current gulity pleasure is 22 by Taylor Swift!

Who/what inspires your art?

Beautiful photos of beautiful girls! Whenever I see one, I always get the itch to draw something like the photo. 

Who/what inspires your personal fashion sense?

The Internet and my mood.

Apart from your exhibit, what other projects do you have coming up?

I don’t always know what exactly will happen in the next few weeks or months, so my answer is, “I’m not sure.” Haha! Projects, big or small, always just suddenly appear right in front of me. But right now, I’m doing some illustrations for a shirt company and my group, Thursday Room, will be doing a live art show this coming May 18 at the Wanderland festival. Ultimately, artist Kris Abrigo and I plan on setting up our first studio! Yayz.

Tell us a little bit about your exhibit — what your inspiration was, the theme, etc.

My exhibit, “Exalted Souls,” was inspired by my cat. But I didn’t want my works to be literally filled with cats, so what I did were ladies with cat-like behavior. I feel like women have a lot of similarities with cats, that’s why. I focused on their goddess-like and always superior personality — I know cat lovers will get my point.