Artists We Love: Taila Carboni

INTERVIEWED BY Michaela Stehr IMAGES Courtesy of @a_little_behind

Western Cape-based illustrator Taila Carboni brings a childlike wonder and innocence to her simplified artworks. She tells us how her process has evolved since she was young.

When she started dabbling in art

“I was a fuss-free kid so long as my mom had crayons and paper on hand. Very little has changed in that regard. I think I’ve subconsciously honoured the childhood origin story of my art by remaining quite childlike in my style and choice of mediums“. 

Her preferred mediums?

“I use fine liners and gritty 8B pencils for the black-and-white pieces. The colourful pieces, however, are a lawless state. While I gravitate towards gauche, crayons, and watercolour pencils, I try to resurface the bottomfeeders of my art drawer every now and again to experiment“. 

What inspires her

“Ideas generally come from my constant ruminating. I’ve got a lot going on upstairs and some of my best ideas have come from me processing thoughts and feelings about myself and the world around me. The anxious ruminations give me a good idea. The good idea inspires the desire to draw. The physical act of drawing calms the mind. Quite a cool system, methinks. Also, vintage smutty art “. 

Black and white of colour art?

“How could I choose?! The crisp black-and-white pieces are the structure and the colourful pieces are the lovable mess. It’s hard not to draw comparisons to oneself in that regard and so, excuse me while I cop out and say I love my children equally“. 

A regular day looks like…

I engage in the small internal Tekken battle of sloth and will most call “waking up” (a struggle as loyal as drawing itself) and crack on with my to-do list. I like to get all the adult-y stuff (running a small business and freelancing) out of the way and free up my evenings for my hobbies.

Three words to describe her style

Irreverent, whimsical, and childlike. 

Commissions VS her own ideas

Definitely my own ideas. I have a drawer full of report cards that can testify to me not being great with being told what to do. 

Her favourite piece

I keep a folder of my favourite pieces. They’re dog-eared and messy but an earnest retelling of life over the years. I’d sooner rescue that folder in a fire than my passport (and not just because the photo in it is harrowing).

Where to purchase her artwork

People can purchase originals and prints through my art page @alittlebehind. 

Incorporating humour into her work

Humour’s up there with drawing when it comes to my go-to coping mechanisms. I think somewhere along the line they joined forces and became a package deal. I think a disregard for proportions, indifference to lighting, and the inclusion of a wayward willy here and there helps too! 

Future plans

I have been readying to create a T-shirt brand. Naming it is an endeavour that is still keeping me up at night (and not in a hot way) but the designs and ideas are locked in and ready. It’ll be a mix of moving, relatable pieces that draw on mental health as well as unhinged NSFW pieces – perfect for Christmas brunch if you want to give your conservative aunty something to talk/pray about.

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