'I start out with very small, rough and incomprehensible sketches,” she tells us. No matter her location though, the first part of her creative process is always to experiment with different ideas in her sketchbook. When it comes to bringing these stories to life in her illustrations, María enjoys regularly switching up her daily routine– working both from home and from her studio, where the terrible Wi-Fi connection means she’s forced to focus. 'I find myself having long conversations with people who might be 50 years older than me and have a completely different perspective on life! But we get talking and they often tell me really unexpected and moving stories.' 'When I go out with my dog I always end up talking to at least one or two people,” she says. It was here that she studied for her degree in Fine Arts, and it’s the people and places she encounters in her daily life that provide constant inspiration for the narratives in her work. 'I don’t feel happy with a drawing unless it has some narrative behind it-even if I’m the only one who can see it!”Įven María’s hometown of Seville seems like a fairy-tale setting, with its ornate architecture and sunny parks and plazas. 'What I love most is creating stories,” María tells Wrap. From inky star-strewn heavens, to rich glowing sunsets and luminous moons, the expansive skies she uses in her work form the backdrop against which her simply-depicted characters feature. Ethereal and dreamy, María’s vividly-coloured illustrations pull us into a world full of fantasy and imagination.

Cenit by María Medem