Karin Efraim is a creative soul whose creation has followed her through life, from graffiti and music in her early years to today being a writer and illustrator. She works mainly with ink and fineliners, often combined with acrylics, and her art is characterized by contrasts between dark and light, the sugary and the brutal. The inspiration comes from a jumble of impressions and subconscious feelings, which gives her work a personal and raw honesty.

Interview with Karin Efraim

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background as a writer and illustrator?

I have always been a creative person. It is never something that I have chosen, but creation has consistently followed me through life. When I was a teenager I painted graffiti and played music. I played in several punk bands and hip hop bands. It went quite well for some of the bands and we played a lot until I was about 25 and had children. Then I could neither tour nor be out and play on the weekends, so then I replaced the creativity I had previously had an outlet for through music in drawing and painting. Since then it has become my form of expression and I can now make a living from it and my writing in periods. The writing was born out of the image creation and I have released five books so far and two new ones will be published next year. I feel really silly saying it but creation is vital to me. At times I have worked against it and it never turns out well.

"I think some images come from the subconscious, such as dreams and hidden feelings that you didn't know existed before."

What does a typical working day look like for you?

I get up in the morning, eat breakfast and drink coffee standing in the kitchen, barely get dressed, then I sit and work all day in my studio, which is attached to the house. We live in an old church/mission house, so there are large surfaces and lots of light. Right now I'm working on a new book so I'm writing and making pictures about each other and nagging back and forth with my publisher regarding the typesetting of another book that will soon be completely ready for printing. I often lose track of time and space and set the clock when it's time to pick up at school and leisure.

Are there any particular techniques or tools you prefer when creating?

I painted in acrylics when I started painting, then I've almost completely switched to markers and fineliners. Sometimes I mix acrylic with markers and fineliners. I also paint some on mugs and ceramics.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I don't get inspiration from any particular artist, it's a jumble of impressions that find their outlet on paper. Sometimes I see myself a bit like a printer who prints out everything that moves inside my head. It's somehow nice to get it concrete, in black and white. It's never hard to get started because there's something to take off. I also believe that some images come from the subconscious, such as dreams and hidden feelings that you didn't know existed before. I never know where I am when I work, but can see almost exactly from what time I created different works, what phase I was in and what my feelings and mood were.

What do you listen to when you create?

I listen to podcasts, audiobooks (just started it), radio (but get such anxiety about the state of the world) or music.

Who is your favorite illustrator? Why? Oh, how difficult!

I don't think I have a favorite illustrator. But I have many I think are talented. In almost all interviews, I am connected with Hans Arnold. So I don't know, maybe some inspiration comes from there, although I didn't know it myself. I also like Robert Hurula's art, but that's probably because I also like the music and can identify with him a lot in many ways. I think it's often about a whole for me, what I like and what I don't. The feeling is also very direct in what I get stuck on if I have no context. Some things kind of go straight into me and what I don't get attached to, I don't give a single chance.

How would you describe your own artistic style?

An image world full of contrasts. Some would say that I have dark imagery, but I disagree. I absolutely work a lot with darkness but also with light. I also like contrasts between the cute sugary and the brutal and honest. That's why I have very nice pictures with profanity etc. Many can probably be a little darkly ironic with it. They probably say more about me as a person than I care to admit.

Do you have a favorite among your posters, if so which one and why?

I always like the latest I've done, but it's probably mostly because I'm sick of the older stuff myself. But I notice that the things that are a little older often sell as well in some cases as the new. Right now I probably like the tigers and the animal portraits the most. I like the ones that I have mixed acrylics and fineliners the most I think. I also like the three mountains. Those that together form an image of a mountain range with the blood moon in the middle.

You also write and illustrate books. Are there any particular themes that you come back to often?

I would say NIGHT is definitely a theme. It keeps coming back. Then the purely concrete night that occurs every day but also the night within us. The darkness that we all carry. The world and the microcosm that exists within each individual person. The stories we all carry in the form of dreams, thoughts and feelings. Another theme is PSYCHE, but also ANIMALS. Preferably animals of the night, an example of that is my book SOVDJUREN. It explores how different animals sleep and live their lives precisely at night. I also have two collections of short stories for adults that explore the psyche and our natural storytelling in the form of dreams and psychoses. There I have interviewed people who have experienced terrible nightmares and psychoses and made nice little fairy tales about them with illustrations.

What advice would you give to young creators who want to immerse themselves in their creation?

Just hold on. If you have it in you, you have it. Just keep at it until you find your thing and your special style. If the drive is there, there is no other way.