It feels like it’s been 4 million years yet here we are with a brand new set of Wednesday Wallpapers on The Fox Is Black. To kick things off I only reached out to one person, illustrator and art director Simone Noronha, and thankfully she said yes! My introduction to Simone’s work was through Twitter as I would see friend’s likes of her work popping into my feed and my mind was blown. Simone’s style is so full of life and energy and color and grit and it’s the masterful way she makes it all come together that makes me such a fan of her work.

Her wallpapers this week is a gorgeous piece that celebrates women, and I think particularly, women uplifting and supporting other women. As someone who was raised by his mother and grandmother, who has mostly women for friends, and with the world the way it is right now this is exactly the type of energy we should be putting channeling in our lives.

A huge thank you to Simone! If there are other artists you’d like to see participate in a future Wednesday Wallpapers leave a comment below or feel free to email me at thefoxisblack@gmail.com.

<3 Bobby

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Where do we find you today? How are things going?
https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co/

Can you give us a little insight about yourself, who you are and why you create?
I’m an illustrator and art director living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Originally I’m from Dubai, U.A.E. and I’ve always loved drawing. It's still wild I do this for a living. I predominately work for editorial publications like The New York Times and The Economist as well as animation studios like Buck. And since 2017 I’ve been WIRED magazine’s staff portrait illustrator.

I would love to talk about your art style. In a word, it’s WILD. Your use of color is phenomenal, you depict people in such a myriad of interesting ways, and I saw you were even building your own typeface. How do you feel your work has gotten to where it is currently?
Ah! Thank you! It’s been a journey and I’m still curious how my work will change over time. Initially, I think, I had a fixed idea of what my work should be like, but the more I’ve let go of those ideas the easier it’s been to enjoy the process and come upon happy accidents that have helped evolve my work.

How has it been working as an illustrator and art director in the last year?
This last year has been wild, but working has been mostly the same if not busier than usual. Illustration has always been a pretty isolated profession, but this year I have felt more connected to friends and peers, and grateful to have a little support network to lean on.

Brooklyn seems like a pretty great place to work as an illustrator.
Yeah Brooklyn is great, but it’s not at all necessary. That’s the nice thing about illustration, you could do it from anywhere. It’s always been a remote job.

Any specific piece of creative you’re proud of or were surprised by the outcome?
My risograph prints and animations (above), I started making them back in 2018. It was a good outlet to rapidly experiment while getting a break from staring at screens and client work. Looking forward to the day I can return back to the print lab. 🤞

What’s the first place you’d like to travel to when the time is right?
My first flight will be to India to see my family again. After sitting locked up in my apartment for a year plus, I can’t wait till it’s safe to go home. I’ve been making a list of things I’d like to do on that visit and came across these ancient (dated around 2nd centry BCE) Buddhist cave monasteries that are nearby to my family. In all my years of visiting Pune I can’t believe I’ve never been there before.

Favorite thing to watch?
SVU, did you hear Detective Stabler is returning?!

Favorite thing to drink?
Cardamom ginger tea.

Favorite thing to eat?
Apples and almond butter.

If you could have a Sunday picnic with any creative person living or dead, who would it be?
I would honestly love to have one big picnic with all the friends I haven’t seen in a year plus.