About 5 — Cecilia Simonyi

I am an illustrator constantly on a journey, driven by insatiable curiosity and wonder in the world around me. While I never stop exploring, I do believe in slowing down and savouring the colours and textures of the moment.

I write and illustrate picture books, novels and poetry. I mainly work with aquarelle, ink, cyanotype, and when I have a chance, with printmaking methods such as linocut and etching. I love to experiment with materials, to invent and merge techniques, to learn new things. What leads me most securely in any work process are my hands, who will know their way even when I still have no idea what the artwork will end up like. I like to invite randomness, and I love the physicality of materials, because they have their own rules, their own character, and I am grateful to them for the richness they bring, and for leaving their marks on my artwork.

At heart (and by my first MA) I am an anthropologist. Nothing fascinates me more than human stories. I am most inspired by travelling in slow ways, engaging with local communities, and by working with children. I love teaching art. I have been teaching it in different forms (classes, summer camps, workshops, courses) for more than 20 years, during which I have been working with Hungarian children living in state care, with tribal groups in Gujarat (India), with street children in Kigali (Rwanda), village communities in Minas Gerais (Brazil), disadvantaged people in Naples and Roccaforte (Italy). Through these experiences I learnt that illustration is a language for telling our own stories. We all have our stories, and to have a tool to express, to bring our inner images to paper is often a channel to work through difficulties, to relieve and to transform.

In 2011 I got to know the community of Urban Sketchers, whose manifesto – “to see the world, one drawing at a time” – deeply resonates with me. My brand Walkit and its flagship product, the Walkit sketching bag born in 2019 was inspired by this beautiful worldwide community of slow observers walking and sketching the world.

I grew up in a large family. My 4 siblings mean the world to me, I am grateful for my parents to undertake this adventure which was not always that easy. But to know my two sisters and two brothers are there is something that I appreciate more and more as I grow… khmm… wiser. I am proud of what they do and who they are - they are all beautiful human beings.

The brightest light in my life is Samu, my son, playing and learning life with me every day since his birth.

Since the very beginning of my artist life a lot of learning and support came from my Hungarian fellow illustrators who form a uniquely inspirational and encouraging professional community (Illustrator Fellows / Illusztrátor Pajtások) in Hungary.

For the beautiful photos and for building this website, a heartfelt THANK YOU to Andrea Soós, Nóra Hunyadi and Gyula Simonyi.

Instagram: @ceciliasimonyi, @walkitsketching