Both humor­ous and mor­bid, Bár­bara Malagoli Mar­tino illus­trates girls and women, in a sort of cross between Japan­ese Hara­juku and a Lolita.

I like the spin that’s put on Bárbara’s illus­tra­tions. They depict exu­ber­ance and super­flu­ous­ness, using pas­tels and col­ors so sweet that it’s sac­cha­rine. Out­fit­ted with lace-up boots, cups of tea and pal­ing around with uni­corns, there is, at the same time, a sense of dis­ap­point­ment or some­thing awry. Dis­mem­ber­ment, black tears, skulls — all of these things are also present amongst the sweet.

A lot of draw­ings that I like are done in a Mole­skin, to which I say “great job!” to Bár­bara. My sketch­books are never that com­posed. Her port­fo­lio also includes shoe design, street art, apparel and acces­sory design. These things are a bit more unas­sum­ing than her draw­ings and paint­ings, but still delight­ful nonethe­less. I love her painted shoes!

All images via her Flickr