Irene Malvezi – Artist and Designer

I was born in Jundiaí, São Paulo Brazil in 1969. My first career was in chemistry. I worked for eight years as a technician in various companies as a quality controller. In 1994 I travelled to England to study the language and decided to stay to carry on studying art. In 1997 at Northbrook College, Worthing in West Sussex, I completed my BTEC/National Diploma in Graphic Design and Illustration. I went on to the Surrey Institute of Art and Design where, in 2000, I completed my degree in Graphic Design. During the three-year degree course, as an exchange student, I went to Saint Lucas University in Boxtel Netherlands, Lahti Polytechnic in Finland and St. Petersburg State University of Culture and Art in Russia to expand my art skills in the photography and animation fields.

My first job as a graphic designer was at Imperio Design Ltd in London with owner and director Tom Davies. In time the company grew and became TD Tom Davies LTD, focusing on bespoke optical glasses. Alongside developing the company's corporate identity, I worked for a variety of clients. I developed my skills to include; design management, creative origination from concept to completion, logo design, branding, website design, and illustration, including in-store graphics, magazine adverts, brochures and packaging design.

In 2004 my next job was for Inline Ltd in Billingshurst, West Sussex, designing promotional materials for sports eyewear. The main brand was BLOC. Here I developed my photography skills, producing all the product images for catalogues and websites. Working with other professionals I directed photo shoots for fashion and sports shots.

In 2007 Veritas Gifts Ltd director Mark Platt, started his luxury corporate gifts company in Dorking, Surrey. He knew my work through my previous companies and invited me to join Veritas as a Senior Designer. As well as creating and maintaining Veritas' corporate identity, I worked on product visualisation and presentations to many prestigious clients.

Veritas constantly created new, beautiful corporate gifts for its own collections. These had to be photographed and certain products, for example those pieces made of silver, were a challenge to capture. In 2013, I completed a Diploma in Photography at the University of Hertfordshire School of Creative Arts in order to expand my technical photographic skills.

The Royal Collection Trust, were one of Veritas' clients. Their retail manager saw my product images online, and approached me to take the photos for their products. I agreed, and worked for them for six years, photographing most of the Royal Collection Trust products, including Her Majesty's china collections.

Please see more of my portfolio samples clicking on links below:
Graphic Design
Product Photography
Illustration
Product Visualisation
Gallery

Apart from my full-time job as a designer and product photography, I also spent time oil painting, a skill learned since my teenage hood in Brazil. I met Linda Nissen Samuels, Artist and Author, whilst exhibiting my paintings at “The Untitled Artists Fair” in Chelsea, London. I was immediately captivated by Linda's ideas for the book DRAW WATER AND OTHER THINGS, a book to teach children and adults how to draw. I decided to take the project on board to design and illustrate the book for Linda.

The book was launched in 2011 and since then it has been a success, selling in major art galleries and shops such as Waterstones, Cass Art, The Courtauld Gallery, Eden Project, Tate St. Ives, City Art Centre, Pullingers, Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

Because of its success, Linda and I went further to create a second book with a royal theme. In 2015 DRAW QUEENS, KINGS AND ALL THINGS ROYAL was launched and can be bought at the Buckingham Palace gift shop and online via The Royal Collection website.

Since 2012 Linda and I have been running numerous workshops using both books in Waterstones and Cass Art shops in London. Also in primary schools and within charity organisations, where children and adults with learning difficulties can develop their artistic skills. These books are also used as an aid in Art Therapy sessions. Both books can be found for sale from myself with a discount, Amazon or http://www.patopress.com. Please see more information at: How-to-Draw Workshops for ages 5+ and on Art and Design – Illustration Learn-to-draw Books

Eco Drawing Workshops, developed by Linda and of which I have been facilitating, are a combination of concerns for the actual environmental issues around the Planet and the use of art for environmental awareness, as well as fun. We use the how-to-draw method from the book DRAW WATER AND OTHER THINGS illustrated by myself together with Linda's books on ecology stories for children. Essex Country Parks and Essex Country Council have been the main promoters for the workshops. Please see more information on my How-to-Draw Workshops for ages 5+ page.

In August 2015, after fifteen years in the design career, I left my full-time position at Veritas Gifts Ltd to become a Freelance Designer and to return to University. My wish to use my art skills for the benefit of others had steered me into embracing a new carrier, as an Art Psychotherapist.

My Contact Details:

Mobile: 07715601222 - Email: