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Pamela Samel

Biography

Pamela Samel (b. 1985) is a freelance illustrator. She studied textile design at the Estonian Academy of Arts, received a bachelor’s degree in art education from Tallinn University, and has participated in several other illustration courses.

Samel works as a costume designer for film and television. She has collaborated with several Estonian publications including the children’s magazines Täheke and Hea Laps. Her style is novel and trend-conscious in the context of Estonian children’s literature: naively laconic illustrations dominated by elegant color combinations on surfaces, all of which inspire fun and enjoyment. Her characters are pleasantly peculiar and highly relatable in their sincerity.

Several of Samel’s illustrated books have been awarded in both Estonia and abroad.

 

What fascinates me about illustration is that it’s an endless and limitless world. While drawing has always been something I’ve done, I place particular focus on illustrating children’s books, which allows you to visualize longer stories. When working on a book, I like to maintain a certain kind of discipline that compels you to make decisions. What tools should I use? What will the format be? What colors? Not to mention the strong emotions that come with making picturebooks. I like flipping through children’s books, inhaling their scent, and returning to them again and again to discover something new. It’s a magical form of art to tinker with.

24.04.2023

Profile picture: private collection

Tiiu Kitsik. Who's there?, 2022, colored pencil, oil pastelTiiu Kitsik. Who's there?, Koolibri, 2022, colored pencil, oil pastelTiiu Kitsik. Who's there?, Koolibri, 2022, colored pencil, oil pastelTiiu Kitsik. Who's there?, Koolibri, 2022, colored pencil, oil pastelLiis Kivirand. Tubes. Päike ja Pilv, 2022, gouacheLiis Kivirand. Tubes. Päike ja Pilv, 2022, gouacheLiis Kivirand. Tubes. Päike ja Pilv, 2022, gouacheLiis Kivirand. Tubes. Päike ja Pilv, 2022, gouacheLiis Kivirand. Tubes. Päike ja Pilv, 2022, gouacheTäheke magazine, 2022, coloured pencil, oil pastelHea Laps magazine, 2022, coloured pencil, oil pastelToaster, 2023, coloured pencil, oil pastel

The Toaster

Puänt
2023, 32 pp
ISBN: 9789916992814
silent book, fiction

Who's there?

Tiiu Kitsik

Koolibri
2022, 22 pp
ISBN: 9789985047996
picturebook, fiction

Tubes

Liis Kivirand

Päike ja Pilv
2022, 24 pp
ISBN: 9789916630280
picturebook, fiction
2023
dPictus’ 100 Outstanding Picturebooks
Bologna Children's Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition winner (Liis Kivirand, Tubes)
Book Tubes was selected for the Bologna Ragazzi Awards “The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf”

2022
Special Newcomer Prize, 5 Best-Designed Estonian Children’s Books (Tiiu Kitsik, Who’s There?)

2021
Knee-High Book Comptition, 3rd place (Liis Kivirand, Tubes)
2024
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, CxC Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
Tallinn Illustrations Triennal, Art School Gallery of Jõhvi, Jõhvi, Estonia

2023
VII Tallinn Illustrations Triennial (TIT 2023), Estonian Museum of Architecture
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Nanao Art Museum, Ishikawa, Japan
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Otani Memorial Art Museum, Nishinomiya, Japan
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Itabashi Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava, Bratislava, Slovakia
Frankfurt Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany
The International Book Arsenal Festival,  Kyiv, Ukraine
Bologna Illustrators exhibition, Bologna, Italy
dpictus 100 Outstanding Picturebooks exhibition (Tubes) , Bologna, Italy
Bologna Ragazzi "The BRAW Amazing Bookshelf", Italy