{"id":3623,"date":"2015-01-04T00:01:32","date_gmt":"2015-01-04T06:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=3623"},"modified":"2015-01-03T22:42:03","modified_gmt":"2015-01-04T04:42:03","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-413-featuringup-and-coming-illustrator-esther-lui","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=3623","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #413: Featuring
Up-and-Coming Illustrator, Esther Lui"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Crazy Like a Fox, 2014<\/em><\/center>
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\nIt’s the first Sunday of the month—the first one of 2015, of course, and Happy New Year to all!—which means a student or debut illustrator here at 7-Imp. Today, I’ve got a recent graduate. Her name is Esther Lui, her website is here<\/a><\/strong>, and she’s here to tell us a bit about her work, as well as share some art. <\/p>\n

I thank her for visiting. Oh, and she does comics, too!<\/a><\/strong> (This one<\/a><\/strong> will take care of my nightmares for a while. HOO HA.) <\/p>\n


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Circus, 2014<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

Esther<\/font><\/strong>: Hi! I\u2019m Esther Lui. I graduated with a degree in Illustration from RISD<\/a><\/strong> last May and am currently working as a textile designer and illustrator in my hometown of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

When I was little, I spent all of my spare time reading. I think at one point I was going through ten books a week! That\u2019s where my love of narrative started. But rather than writing, I ended up expressing my own stories through pictures instead.<\/p>\n


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Llama Wrangler!, 2013<\/em><\/center><\/p>\n

Because I view a lot of my illustrations as stand-alone stories, I try to fit in as much detail as possible. That way, the viewer can really get immersed in the world I created and wonder about what the characters are like and what\u2019s going to happen to them.<\/p>\n

I usually work with a mix of traditional and digital media techniques. I like the physicality of a drawing on paper, and on the computer I can freely experiment with different colors and textures. It\u2019s a good fit for me, because I don\u2019t like having a messy palette.<\/p>\n


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Dirty Secrets, 2013<\/em><\/center>
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\nRight now, I\u2019m working on some personal projects of stories that I\u2019ve wanted to work on for a while. I really enjoy the process of it, because sometimes in the middle, the piece will take a very different direction that what I first intended \u2013 and it becomes even better as a result!
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The Herbarium, 2013<\/em><\/center>
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The Magnolia Room, 2013<\/em><\/center>
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Summer Flowers, 2013<\/em><\/center>
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What Liesel Thinks of Horses, 2014<\/em><\/center>
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Cover illustration for Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day,”<\/a><\/strong> 2014<\/em><\/center>
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\nAll artwork here is used by permission of Esther Lui.<\/em><\/p>\n

Note for any new readers: 7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks is a weekly meeting ground for taking some time to reflect on Seven(ish) Exceptionally Fabulous, Beautiful, Interesting, Hilarious, or Otherwise Positive Noteworthy Things from the past week, whether book-related or not, that happened to you. New kickers are always welcome. <\/p>\n

* * * Jules’ Kicks * * *<\/strong><\/font>
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1)<\/strong><\/font> We didn’t watch Fargo<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, the T.V. series, when it first came out this year, but I kept seeing it on year-end best-of lists (from critics I trust), so we watched it. And boy howdy, is it good — especially the acting. <\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> I can’t get over how good this song from Blake Mills<\/a><\/strong> is:<\/p>\n