Selected Illustrations by Maria Wisniewska

Maria Wisniewska grew up reading Sven Nordqvist, Astrid Lindgren and Tove Jansson’s Moomin adventures. Just like me. And it might be just that why her illustrations fascinate me so greatly. Her timeless, primarily nature related work remind of the legendary tales of the Moomins, with rich, luscious colors and textures carrying you away to a land beyond your imagination.

Growing up in Sweden and Poland, Wisniewska settled down in an inner-city South London neighbourhood about 9 years ago. Her work is very much inspired and influenced by what she sees in nature and aims to both celebrate it and explore it. Loving the colours and patterns in leaves and foliage; the infinite detail in plants and flowers and the endless variety in hues and shades of colour that can be found everywhere – she studies the effects of nature reclaiming man-altered habitats and eco-systems pushing through abandoned buildings and towns. Recently starting to work under the name Wild Malin, she has her own online shop in which you can find her illustrations on prints, postcards and all sorts of fun stuff.

Wisniewska explains how the children books she read in her childhood by legendary Scandinavian author’s fuelled her strong conviction in the existence of all things magical in nature. Trolls, forest elves, nymphs and dwarfs. And it’s from this that her love and passion towards illustrating children’s books has become from. Mainly working with watercolour and ink she also finds joy in the simplicity of drawing just with a black pen or a pencil. Her great talent lies in the ability to create beautiful, timeless illustration which evoke the feelings of times gone past yet arouse interest in the story they tell. I can’t help but feel somewhat nostalgic, which ironically enough is like a breath of fresh air among all the new and trendy designs.

Images © Maria Wisniewska