Interview #28: The art of Magdalena, the wild pencil
Take a glimpse into Magdalena's sketchbooks and stationery store
* Note to my Italian friends: Clicca (QUI) per leggere l’intervista in italiano!
Hello art community!!! This is the first interview of the year and it comes with a new page update. From now on you’ll get a new interview every 1st and 15th day of the month. Plus a bonus book flip-through once a month.
So let’s meet today’s artist!
For those just finding me - I’m Madalina, an artist and illustrator who loves discovering and talking to many fellow artists. I now share these conversations through monthly interviews available to read for everyone :)
Magdalena (aka the wild pencil) is an artist and illustrator based in Prague with a deep love for nature, hiking and painting in her sketchbooks. That is where the magic happens. She captures the joy and emotions of the forests and places she has traveled to, through delicate color palettes and intriguing shapes. She also runs a small business - Wild Pencil - showcasing stickers, notepads, washi tapes and other cute stationery items. Let's find out more about her and her creative process.
✿ Hi Magdalena and thank you for joining forArtists. How would you describe your artistic journey that led you to where you are today?
I've always been a creative child, painting and drawing have been my second nature ever since I learned how to hold a pencil. From an early age I always wanted to be an art teacher. I took painting classes after school and had the best art teacher ever — who was also a professional children's book illustrator. I wanted to be like her when I grew up.
Then I went to an art academy (but I chose to study Type design instead of Illustration, thinking I wouldn't be good enough to get into such a competitive course; I was very into typography and lettering at that time ). But I never stopped painting and started posting my creations on social media, where I gained quite a following over the years. Luckily, many commissions have also come my way, including several book illustration projects. That's where I am now! I run my own little shop, illustrate children's books and finishing my master's degree at the Academy of Architecture, Art and Design in Prague.
✿ Do you have any tips for drawing and painting on the go? What aspects inspire you the most?
I always take a lot of pictures when I travel, and most of the painting happens when I get home and decide to put everything in my sketchbook. I don't paint much during my travels, since it takes a lot of time. But I always think about the things that inspire me the most: trees, plants, beautiful landscapes.... So I focus on taking pictures of these.
However, when I do paint outdoors, I like to keep it simple. I have a little tin can with my paints (that I each picked out), three brushes and a sketchbook. That's it.
✿ Do you have a sketchbook routine or do you only draw when you feel inspired?
I do have a routine, I try to paint in my sketchbook everyday. I think painting is a skill that has to be acquired by doing it plenty, but then also by keeping it up with training. I think about it a lot like running or going to the gym, which are things I also love to do. Sometimes I'm not inspired at all, but over the years I’ve found methods that help me get out of the rut — like painting patterns, simple landscapes, doodling...
✿ You use a bunch of different mediums and I bet you get asked a lot about. Which brands do you rely on the most and which colors do you use the most?
I’m not very picky about tools, except for brushes. I only use Richard Oliver brushes that I got in Ireland when I used to study there, and I’ve had them delivered ever since. I love them so much, they're the perfect kind of pointy for me and don't frazzle much.
Other than that, I love all things Khadi paper (both paper and sketchbooks), Caran d’ Ache (pastels and pencils) and many different brands of gouache (Umton, Holbein, Schmincke and Winsor & Newton). Other favorites of mine are Duffy Bookbinders sketchbooks and Art Talens Mixed Media sketchbooks.
As for the colors, I think my most used shades are bohemian green and flesh (I love to use that one instead of white when mixing colors).
✿ How do you choose your color palettes so that everything on the page looks cohesive and balanced?
I think a great way to choose palettes is to get a particular shade of each color and then stick with it. For example (in a sketchbook spread), for blue I would go with cornflower blue, for yellow with warm naples yellow, for red with a pinkish cool red shade, and for green with a very bright elm green. And whenever I use a color, I use that particular shade (even if it’s different in real life or on the photo). That way my pages stay cohesive and I use the same trick for my picture books too.
✿ What are the joys and struggles of running a small stationery business?
There are soooo many joys and struggles, I could talk about this forever! It's also what keeps me going. I make almost no money from my shop, but I love doing it nonetheless, the journey is so exciting. The biggest joy is of course the lovely feedback I get from people, sharing what they made with my stickers... I love including little gifts in my orders and think about the moment when a person gets to open my package after a long day of work.
I believe this life is all about the little things (as cliché as it sounds) and I like to think that I can brighten someone's day with my art. There are many terrible things in this world, so I try to do as much good as I can. The biggest con is of course a lot of behind-the-scenes admin work, which sometimes takes weeks. And also when things go wrong, printing errors, late deliveries, website malfunctions... You kinda have to roll with it and learn that nothing will ever be perfect or on time. :D
✿ Can you walk us through the process of creating one of your products?
All the products I make usually start in my sketchbooks. When I like an idea in my sketchbook (like a particular flower or a landscape) I sometimes think "this would look great on a washi tape". Then I recreate it so it fits the product measurements.
Getting a supplier is another thing — I've had my shop for eight years and only now I feel like I have trusted suppliers I can rely on. It takes a lot of trial and error, a lot of samples, and money. Then there's the admin part of having a website, all the necessary documentation, taxes in order, postage and shipping — my boyfriend runs an online shop for a music label, so I have a lot of help from him in that regard.
The last thing you need to do is promote it on your social media. In the past, I would update my website many times through the year, but it's unfortunately so much work that I had to give it up. Now I only do around two bigger shop updates a year, so all the work is concentrated in one month, and then through the rest of the year, I only take care of fulfilling the orders and sometimes posting about it on my social media.
✿ What would you like to accomplish in 2025?
I do have some plans for the year (although I'm usually a no planning gal)! I'll be graduating (hopefully) in June, turning in my diploma, and then moving out of Prague. I will have to get a studio (so far I've been running my shop from our tiny one room apartment, but that's becoming impossible, we sleep surrounded by boxes of stuff). And then I would love to do illustration full time! I had kinda been doing that but it never felt like a ‘‘big full-time job’’ since I've also been studying alongside it. So we'll see where it takes me! I would love to do more content creation, I love painting, but also have been getting into video editing.
✿ For those planning to visit Prague, what stationery and art stores would you suggest checking out?
I think the one you cannot miss is Papír Plojhar — as far as I know that's the only one with "special" stationery, Japanese and local brands (such as mine!). Another great store is Place Store Prague, it's a "local Czech design shop" but they have quite a collection of stationery (once again, including mine, this is getting ridiculous :D). If you're more into art supplies, I wouldn't miss the Zlatá loď art supplies. And don't forget Epipí store — my friends who make cute illustrated goods opened their shop around a year ago. Then I would also send you to my favorite bookstores that I probably frequent far more often than any art supply store: Vršovické knihkupectví, knikupectví Ostrov and Baobab Book Shop.
☆☆ To learn more about Magdalena's work you can visit her Instagram and TikTok. Her products are available on her Etsy shop and website.
Lovely interview, I love Magdalenas work, it’s so colourful and it cheers me up every time ❤️
Love her work!! Enjoy following her on IG and YT!