[Artist] Camilla d’Errico

Camilla d’Errico is an art factory. This girl’s got an output like Andy, minus the minions. Think wide-eyed girls in futuristic cephalopod headgear, instead of Ms. Monroe and Campbell’s soup. This prolific Vancouver-based artist spends practically every moment of every day creating, or thinking about creating. Her body of work spans many genres and mediums, and has taken the form of video games, anime, comic books, graphic novels, fine art, vinyl and plushie toys, clothing, handbags and anything else that she can get her hands on. She and her older sister/manager AdaPia make a formidable team, combining their talents to make the most of each other’s strengths. Camilla credits AdaPia with helping ease the load, managing her many projects and organizing her time, taking on the business aspects of her ever-expanding art empire.

After many years of taking every job that came her way – paid or not – Camilla has reached that enviable point in a successful artist’s career where she can pick and choose which projects she takes on. “If I ever did a 9-5 job it would destroy me,” she says with a sigh, when I ask how it feels to be making a living from her art. It turns out that – through a combination of hard work, luck and stubbornness – Camilla has always found some way of working in a creative field. And, like many whose lives lead down imaginative paths, she thrives on variety, treating each aspect of her artistic practice as a new adventure. Working in a variety of mediums and genres serves as one of her many tools for overcoming artists’ block. As a last resort, she browses through photography magazines, looking for striking visuals that just might inspire her current work or send her spiralling off in a new direction.

AdaPia is not the only d’Errico sister to be involved – all three of Camilla’s sisters are the inspirations for The POOKS, a new set of cute little characters who could very well be the next Hello Kitty. Named Poe, Kamel, Bean and Gawn-o, each one is based on a sister’s unique personality. As well there is a fourth “unofficial” sister, opera singer Morgan Strickland, who’s been an essential part of the d’Errico family since they were kids. Camilla is also collaborating with younger sister Bianca on one of her “passion projects,” Tanpopo, a unique graphic novel series that takes advantage of what Camilla sees as a huge opportunity for innovation – merging two genres that typically don’t mix – classical literature and comics. Written by her sister and illustrated by Camilla, Volume I was based on Faust and Volume II will draw inspiration from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

As is to be expected, Camilla has always loved “drawing, doodling and watching TV, especially cartoons.” Her journey into the comic book world got a kick-start back in 1998, when she attended Comic Con International. “Most people never find that thing that clicks,” she says with a grin, “and that clicked for me.” While attending Emily Carr she worked for a small press company called Committed Comics and found various commercial illustration gigs. As always, gaining experience outside of school makes a world of difference – since then, her career in comic books has taken off and shows no signs of slowing down. In 2004 she began development on a six-issue manga series called Camilla d’Errico’s BURN, a project that (like almost all of her work) is multifaceted. Officially launched at the 2008 Emerald City Comic Con, BURN is slated for publishing in 2009 as a graphic novel, with publisher Arcana Studio currently negotiating for the series to be further developed into an animation, a motion picture and a video game.

Her first collaboration with Hellboy writer Joshua Dysart came in 2007 for a two-part miniseries called Avril Lavigne’s Make5 Wishes. She is again collaborating with Dysart to develop a graphic novel series based on her signature Helmetgirls characters. “Joshua has created a beautiful world, inspired by what I wanted my girls to be,” she says. An epic story set in a post-apocalyptic world, this series is poetic and elegant while also dirty, grimy and full of strange technology. The two are meeting again in New York in February to continue work on the series. Camilla says that she feels “truly honoured” that her artwork has been able to “inspire and excite a writer like Dysart who has been in the industry for so long.”

In addition to her work with comics and video games, a large part of Camilla’s current artistic practice falls under the umbrella of Pop Surrealism, a rapidly growing art movement which is gaining acceptance in the fine arts community at large. Her doorway into the LA market and into fine arts in general came as somewhat of a surprise. She credits collector-turned-art-rep David Freeman as providing the springboard that launched this aspect of her career. A phone call out of the blue led to a three-hour conversation about the gallery scene, which in turn led to her first ever solo show at Gallery 1988 in San Francisco that completely sold out before opening night. Since then, the growth of this genre has widened her fanbase. Feedback from new audiences ranges from “pure enjoyment” to some rather strange and twisted interpretations, and often helps Camilla to see her own work in a new light. When asked for a “weird fan story,” she tells of a guy who frequents comic conventions asking his favourite artists to add to his erotic “chocolate and fairies” black book. “Some artists go crazy,” she says, “A lot of the artwork is so explicit, it’s shocking!” When he first approached, black book in hand, Camilla was “terrified” – but eventually she succumbed, adding her own page into his fantasy fairy world.

Looking forward, Camilla will continue the trend of bringing Pop Surrealists to new audiences, and will be walking in good company. She joins contemporaries Ron English, Lori Early and Sas Christian in having landed permanent representation by Opera Gallery, one of the most prestigious galleries in the world. With branches in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai, as well as closer to home in New York and London, Opera juxtaposes classic and contemporary works by artists from many different periods in one space, encouraging fans of more traditional art forms to see the value in a genre that they may have previously discounted. Having finished off 2008 with a showing at Art Basel and her “last Vancouver show for a while” at El Kartel, 2009 will be a year of transitions, as she settles into her new representation at Opera. Along with a March show at Gallery 1988, she is planning a “final, goodbye show” at LA’s Thinkspace Gallery before she moves on to tackle the international art scene. Also upcoming, she will be included in numerous art books, notably the 4th edition of Grafuck by Gallery Nucleus, as well as Thinkspace’s Untitled Love Project – in which her artwork is accompanied by some cheeky answers to a shockingly personal questionnaire about love and relationships.

Camilla is also excited about the upcoming launch of her own art book, which will include fan favourites as well as some never before seen works – sketches from works in development, video games and movies – that give old and new fans a true look behind the scenes at her artistic process, past and present. She’s traveled a long and eventful road since that first day at ComiCon, and she is nowhere close to slowing down. As we sit drinking coffee and talking about what lies ahead, Camilla’s whole being practically sparkles with excitement. With seemingly boundless energy and a strong family support system, it won’t be long before this cheerful, charming artist wins over the rest of the world.

Words: Shallom Johnson
Photography: Kris Krüg