Ulrika Kestere is a girl with good taste. Since discovering her blog last year I have not stopped admiring the Latvian illustrator slash photographer’s creative input into the blogging hemisphere.
Childlike illustrations bring a novelty factor whilst her photographs have a certain dream like quality you cannot help but adore.
It is quite stereotypical to say her artistic abilities have a feminine approach, but as Uli herself describes how she is inspired mainly by ‘fairytales, pretty little cottages and animals’, the word feminine fits in quite rightly so.
I thought I would veer away from the high fashion attitude LMN usually adopts, and throw something a bit different into the mix. So it is, my interview with a Latvian princess.
Tell me a little about yourself, where do you live and where are you from? Have you studied illustration at all?
I was born in Latvia but I moved to Sweden when I was four. When I was young I studied art once a week after school but nothing much. I’ve studied photography for 2 years but I’m self taught in illustration…that’s probably why I still find it quite difficult!
You have a very particular style, how would you describe it yourself?
I want everything I produce to have a cosy warm feeling. I’m very much inspired by fairytales and animals. However, in illustration I want to show this feeling monochromic while in photography I prefer to use a lot of colour. In order to use more colour in my illustrations I really feel that I would need some education.
In your photographs and illustrations it is evident you have a love for animals, what is your favourite animal and why?
That’s a tough question! There are so many wonderful animals. But of course I would absolutely have to say THE FOX. I like it because it’s almost a mix between a cat and a dog. Also it is a great size, not too big and not too small. And the colour…ah… it’s simply beautiful! Hah, and also I like how it does this yapping sound when it gets excited.
Fairytale and dream like references also seem to crop up regularly within your work, if you could create a magical world, what would it be like and why?
Either a crazy world were a new adventure happens every day, like a mix between Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan. I love the idea of meeting new weird characters every day and doing things that don’t really make sense.
Otherwise, it would have to be a calm world, where everyone lives in little cottages in the forest and people and animals live in great harmony..like in the sweetest Disney movie.
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