Two names (and a pseudonym):
Katrin Eftimova
Introduce yourself in a few words:
I live and work in Vienna. I'm originally from Varna. I love drawing stories with intertwined real and fantastic elements. I'm a movie buff. I love books (oh, fantasy!) and I can't resist ice cream.
What did you graduate from?
Architectural environment design and communication design.
What is your professional experience so far?
I graduated from school and high school with a fine arts profile. Then I stopped drawing for a while until I discovered the difference between fine and applied. Applied was mine! At the university in Turkey, I had a wonderful teacher, Erkut Terliksiz, who directed me towards illustration and from there I started drawing again and continued to develop in this direction. I have worked with the festivals Varna Jazz Days, Varnalit. In 2023, my first illustrated book "Upupa Uturkuli in the World of Abundance" will be published, with which I won the grand prize at the 2024 Biennale of Illustration, Sofia. And this year, just a few weeks ago, my second book was published - "A Beetle with a Zipper and a Beetle with a Button", text: by Ivan Radenkov, from Marmot Publishing House.
Tell us more about your work (style, technique, interests, way of working):
I draw and think messy. I work with different materials, from traditional ones like watercolor and acrylic, through markers and pencils, to digital on the tablet. Then I have to choose and focus on one option and from there work on it in the chosen technique and palette. My desk is always full of materials. I arrange it for guests. The characters of both books were born traditionally, but the final drawings for the books are digital. In my chaos, I need to impose boundaries on myself, like - now I will only draw in this sketchbook, or now I will make this triptych of illustrations, so that I can finish something. When I draw, and not only, I always have new and new ideas, and it is important to be able to focus on the current project or I will not finish it. I never imagined that I could sit down and draw an entire book. And it turns out that it is absolutely possible!
Exhibitions/participations/performances/awards:
After the Words – 19 Bulgarian Illustrators of Children's Books, Exhibition, curators: Svoboda Tsekova and Anton Staykov, Bologna 2025
Grand Prize - Biennale of Illustration, Sofia 2024
Solo exhibition, Pi Books, Varna, 2019
"The Dragon", Stoyan Bachvarov Drama Theater, Varna, Curator: Dimitar Traychev, 2018
Triennial of the Stage Poster 2015/2018/2021
99 - exhibition, House of the Architect, Varna 2017
A_DA, Architecture, Constanta 2016
Unprotected Zone, Contemporary Space, Varna, 2015
OneDesignWeek – "3 Favorites", Curator Kiril Zlatkov, Plovdiv 2014
Unprotected Zone Museum "Georgi Velchev", Varna 2014
Illustrated works:
"A Beetle with a Zipper and a Beetle with a Button", text: Ivan Radenkov, Marmot Publishing House, 2025"Upupa Uturkuli in the World of Plenty" text: Tanya Petkova, Yasna Kniga Publishing House, 2023
Who is your favorite illustrator?
Felicita Sala, Emily Hughes, Isabel Arsenault, Luke Pearson, Anthony Brown, John Klassen, Sean Tan and many others.
What is your favorite illustrated book?
"Into the Wild Things" by Maurice Sendak.
What book do you dream of illustrating?
"Little Ida's Flowers" by H. Andersen, "The Lying Shepherd"
Facebook/Instagram/other:
https://www.instagram.com/katrineftimova/
https://www.facebook.com/katrin.eftimova
And here are some of Catherine's works...
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