Interview · By Stanislav Arnautov · Berlin · 8 min read
There is a lot of grey in Hadar's world right now. Construction sites. Scaffolding. Concrete. Streets torn up and being put back together. She lives in Israel, and much of the building around her exists because something was damaged and now has to be rebuilt.
Her art is the opposite of grey. It is loud, warm, funny and impossibly colourful — characters with attitude, tiny stickers hidden in the corners, and a sense that someone is having a genuinely good time. She works as Citrus Rock, and three of her illustrations now live on deckarts maple.
We asked her how one becomes the other.
Finding a style is not a lightning bolt
Citrus Rock has such a recognizable look — bold, colourful characters full of attitude. How did you arrive at this "pop-grotesque" style?
"It definitely wasn't something I figured out overnight. For a long time, I wasn't sure what my style was.
At one point, I challenged myself to draw every day for 30 days with one goal in mind: to discover my own visual language. I found myself constantly drawing colourful, street-inspired characters with exaggerated personalities. I genuinely enjoyed creating them, and little by little they became more refined. Looking back, that challenge was the beginning of what eventually became my style today."
It is a quietly encouraging answer. The style did not arrive fully formed — it was found by showing up, thirty days in a row, and paying attention to what kept coming out of her hand.
Why grey makes her reach for colour
You've mentioned that grey construction sites and scaffolding inspire you — that you almost see them as skate spots. How does that raw, chaotic city energy turn into something so colourful and joyful in your work?
"Yes! There really is construction everywhere around me. I think being surrounded by so much grey naturally makes me crave colour even more.
Some people say that artists should draw on grey paper instead of white, and while I still draw on white paper, I think there's something about that idea that really resonates with me. Grey makes me want to create. It makes me want to pour colour back into the world.
I love finding beauty and playfulness in places that most people overlook, and somehow construction sites, scaffolding, and unfinished spaces have become part of that visual inspiration."
"Grey makes me want to create. It makes me want to pour colour back into the world."
Scaffolding as a symbol of new beginnings
How does living in Israel — its streets, contrasts and energy — show up in your art?
"The difficult period we've been through — and are still going through — in Israel has taught me a lot about myself.
I've seen a lot of grey and darkness. Many of the construction sites around me exist because homes and streets have been damaged and are being rebuilt. Even though there's so much concrete and scaffolding around, I don't see them as symbols of destruction anymore. To me, they represent new beginnings — places that will soon have life, colour, and meaning again.
When the world around you begins to rebuild, it encourages you to rebuild too.
That's why it's become so important for me to fill my illustrations with optimism, bold colours, and joyful characters. It's my way of creating the kind of world I want to see around me.
Creating joyful illustrations has become my way of adding a little more colour to the world — and maybe reminding people that even after difficult times, there's always room to build something beautiful again."
The characters are her, on a given day
Your characters have so much personality and humour. Where do they come from — real people, moods, imagination?
"My characters come from me. They usually reflect how I'm feeling at that moment — or sometimes how I wish I was feeling.
Most of the time, I don't start with a clear plan. I just let my hand lead the way and see where the character wants to go. That's one of my favourite parts of the process — it always surprises me."
Is there a feeling or message you hope people take away when they look at your work?
"More than anything, I hope my work makes people smile.
I love using bold, vibrant colours because they naturally make me feel happy, and I hope they can bring a little optimism to whoever is looking at them."
Seeing the work leave the screen
What went through your mind the first time you saw your art on an actual skateboard deck instead of a screen?
"Honestly, it was an amazing feeling.
Seeing my illustration exist in the real world instead of just on my iPad made everything feel much more real. It reminded me that illustration doesn't have to stay on a screen — it can become something people actually hold, use, and connect with. I hope it's the first of many projects like that."
Does the long, narrow shape of a deck change how you approach a composition?
"Not for these illustrations! I actually didn't know they would end up on skateboard decks when I created them.
But now that I've seen how well illustration can live on that format, I know I'll definitely think about the deck's shape and composition from the very beginning in future projects."
The one she hung in her own home
Of your three decks with us — Reach the Sky, Proud Moment, Time of My Life — which one is closest to your heart, and what's the story behind it?
"'Reach the Sky' is definitely the closest to my heart — it's also the one I chose to hang in my own home.
It's probably the illustration where I allowed myself to have the most fun with tiny details. I filled it with little stickers and objects that reflected what was happening in my life at the time. For example — there's a tiny planet sticker because I was reading a book about space, a tooth sticker because my wisdom tooth was hurting (true story!), and even a fashion logo inspired by a brand I had recently worked with.
When I first shared the illustration, I paired it with the phrase 'Find Your Own Way to Reach the Sky.' The character felt like a reflection of myself, and I wanted it to encourage both me and anyone looking at it to follow their own path toward their dreams in the most authentic way possible."
Which means that if you hang Reach the Sky on your wall, you are also hanging a wisdom tooth, a book about space, and a small private joke. Look closely.
Afraid of colour? Don't be
This is the question we most wanted to ask, because we hear the hesitation constantly: people love bold art, then panic about committing it to a wall.
For someone who loves bold art but feels nervous about putting something this colourful on their wall — what would you tell them?
"Honestly? You'd be surprised how much less intense it feels once it's actually on the wall (although maybe I'm just used to decorating my own space with my art!)
I do think these boards naturally attract people with a certain personality — people who aren't afraid of colour. My feeling is that if this kind of artwork speaks to you, you probably won't overthink it. You'll just know it's right for you."
It matches what we see in practice. A bold piece almost always reads calmer in a room than it does on a screen, because a wall gives it air, distance and context. The thumbnail is shouting at you from twenty centimetres away. The real thing is across the room, holding one corner of a space together.
And a deck is a forgiving format for exactly this reason. It is narrow. It takes up a slim vertical strip rather than dominating a whole wall — so you get all the personality of a bold artwork with a fraction of the visual footprint. If you have been circling the idea of colour, a single deck is the low-risk way in.
Where to find her
Hadar's Citrus Rock decks — Reach the Sky, Proud Moment and Time of My Life — are printed on Grade-A Canadian maple, matte and ready to hang.
You can follow her work on Instagram at @citrusr0ckk, or explore more projects and products at citrusrock.store.
Thank you, Hadar. 🍋
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