{"id":3655,"date":"2015-02-01T00:01:10","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T06:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=3655"},"modified":"2015-01-31T19:03:25","modified_gmt":"2015-02-01T01:03:25","slug":"7-imps-7-kicks-417-featuringup-and-coming-illustrator-molly-walsh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blaine.org\/sevenimpossiblethings\/?p=3655","title":{"rendered":"7-Imp\u2019s 7 Kicks #417: Featuring
Up-and-Coming Illustrator, Molly Walsh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It’s the first Sunday of the month, which means I invite a student illustrator or recent grad to visit 7-Imp, and today I’ve got the latter. Molly Walsh<\/a><\/strong> graduated in 2013 from RISD, and she’s here today to share art and tell us a bit about herself. <\/p>\n

Without further ado … <\/p>\n

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Molly<\/font><\/strong>: Hello! My name is Molly Walsh<\/a><\/strong>, and I am an illustrator living on Cape Cod. I graduated in 2013 with a degree in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design<\/a><\/strong>.
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\nI work by day as a designer at a gift company in Cape Cod and, by night, as a freelance illustrator. I love creating art for decoration, but my first love is telling stories, large or small, through my illustration. Inspiration for my illustrations could come from something as small as a little detail from a friend’s story to something as large as trying to sum up an entire concept or emotion in one image. My love of nature and goofy characters also have a way of creeping into the images I make.
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\nI started working in my current style toward the end of my time at RISD. I had been making 3D sculptures as a way to compensate for my lack of confidence in my drawing skills. Sculpting somehow gave me a better understanding of shapes and lighting, and I began drawing and painting again to save time. (Funny how that works!)
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\nOne of my professors, Fred Lynch<\/a><\/strong>, was of great help to me settling into a style that suited my voice as an illustrator. I do most of my work in watercolor and gouache, though my surface design job has taught me a great deal about digital media, which I’ve started incorporating into my work.
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\nMy current sketchbook is full of doodles and sloppily-written ideas for future projects, both somewhat formed idea for series and comics, as well as notes about “great ideas” I’ve written myself while half asleep. (The other day I found the words “Gastronaut — astronaut with gas” written on one page.) Looking forward, I hope to find more opportunities to tell both my own stories, as well as the stories and ideas of others through freelance work for books and magazines. Illustration is a wonderful, exciting thing, and I hope to use this power for good!
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\nAll artwork here is reproduced by permission of Molly Walsh.<\/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> I love the characters in Molly’s work. Also I love: “Illustration is a wonderful, exciting thing, and I hope to use this power for good!” (P.S. The last illustration up there is from Ray Bradbury’s “All Summer in a Day,”<\/a><\/strong> which is something like the third or fourth illustration I’ve shared at 7-Imp from that story, which used to HAUNT me as a child. I’m starting a 7-Imp trend.)<\/p>\n

2)<\/strong><\/font> Yesterday, we saw a stage adaptation at the Nashville Children’s Theatre of Mo Willems’ Elephant & Piggie<\/em> stories. It was fun. Here’s a bit of what it was like: <\/p>\n