Maria Bilius - Art for the pleasure of freedom, love and nature

Maria is a 28-year old illustrator and graphic designer based in Spain for the past 4 years now, from an eager search of adventure, romance and ambitious challenges.

Hello, Maria! We are happy to have you with us, on Weeglo! Where in the world are you currently based now?

Hello Weeglo! I work as an Art Director at a studio in Madrid, creating advertising campaigns for brands like Starbucks. I also have my personal, freelance projects on branding, illustration and packaging design.

Was there a pivotal moment when you decided to follow your path as an artist? 

I am still having my doubts sometimes but then again, I have never thought of doing anything else with my life. I come from a family of artists so I always knew I was a creative. It was just hard to choose an exact specialty. From wanting to be a fashion designer to being an architect, I ended up exploring many fields until I figured out what I loved most. I do think that focusing on only one branch of art is quite boring, and The Artist should be a free spirit who doesn’t have to root into one area or style.

What piece of your artwork would you like to be remembered for?

I definitely haven’t reached that level yet but if I were to die tomorrow, I’d better start working on something asap! I think no creative is 100% satisfied with their creations. We’re imperfect creatures in search of perfection, an utopia in which our goal is to get as close as possible to it.

If you could work within a past art movement, which one would it be and why?

This is a tricky one. I can’t decide between ancient Egypt, the Renaissance or the Bauhaus movement. The latter is still very contemporary and I look up to it as a nun reading the Bible. The Renaissance, as the name suggests, was a moment of enlightenment where only the skillful ones were succeeding but Antiquity on the other hand, besides not knowing anything too certain about it, is something that fascinates everyone far more than any Michelangelo.

How does your work comment on current social or political issues?

You can find a lot of nudity and sex in some of my illustrations so I guess it’s all about feminism and sexual freedom, but I can’t say I do it intentionally. I am quite the melancholic type so in order to compensate and hide these traits, I choose to depict scenes of pleasure. And what brings more pleasure than freedom, love and nature?

Which current art trends are you following? 

As I said before, I like exploring different fields of art so I consider myself multidisciplinary. I have a bold, colorful style, with a lot of contrast and edginess. Lately I have been peeking an eye into virtual and augmented reality, a current that is growing very fast and is already part of our daily lives.

What’s your scariest experience as an artist?

I have experienced many unfair things working as an artist, such as not being paid or seeing my work being copied after refusing to work for free, but I think scary is too big of a word for that. What I would call scary though is my experience during the first covid lockdown. It’s scary to feel how you are abruptly losing your mind and not being able to concentrate nor work on absolutely any project.



Should art be funded?

Of course art should be funded! But what’s more important is that we should learn how to share more support between each other as creatives, and that is priceless. There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing mates copying others or being treated with jealousy.

What is your greatest indulgence in life? Tell me is music ☺

Music is definitely one of my biggest pleasures and it helps me connect with the unconscious. I think of myself as a hedonist so I simply love indulging in life’s pleasures but admiring Mother Nature and stargazing are by far my favourite things in life.

Thank you for your time and good luck on your journey!