Claudia V

Born in São Paulo, Brazil, a self-taught artist, since early childhood I knew that my full expression manifested through visual art. Graduated in Architecture and Urban Design, I worked in my own practice for around 15 years in total as an architect and interior designer.
In 2004 I moved to Finland with my first child. While carrying my second, I made the decision to step away from my professional career to focus on family life. During this time—and with the arrival of the third child—I returned to painting and drawing. What began as a quiet reconnection soon grew into exhibitions, with works that often echoed the language of children’s book illustration.
I continued with my drawings and exhibitions and in 2013 I returned to Brazil where I resumed work in architecture and interior design for a few more years. However, by 2016, the desire to fully explore my artistic side had become undeniable. An invitation to illustrate a children’s book marked a turning point, and I embraced this shift wholeheartedly, continuing alongside with painting.
Disappointed with an extreme right-wing government in Brazil at the time, and the increase of polarized political points of view, I moved back to Finland with my family, in 2021. My artistic work has now develop into a mix of figurative and abstract – the desire to move away from the need of depicting a story or the realism that are so particular to children’s book illustrations. For me, my style now feels liberating and expressive, always having nature as a starting point.
In 2025, I completed a Master’s degree in Creativity and Arts in Social and Health Fields. Since then, I have dedicated time mostly to my artistic practice, occasional illustration, and a few times a month, facilitating creative workshops for well-being—bringing together my commitment to art with the belief in its power to boost quality of life.