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\nIt’s not the first Sunday of the month, which is when I tend to do my student-illustrator features here at 7-Imp, but I’ve been rather unorganized lately and haven’t done one in a while. So, why not today?<\/p>\n
This morning I’ve got some artwork from Ellen Shi<\/a><\/strong>, who graduated in the Spring from RISD<\/a><\/strong>. Ellen has been an SCBWI<\/a><\/strong> scholarship recipient and has had work chosen for shows at the Society of Illustrators. I love the image above. Beautiful, yes? Just watch out for those wolves. Always. <\/p>\n Ellen tells us about herself and her work below, so let’s get to it. And I thank her for visiting. <\/p>\n I recently graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), majoring in Illustration, and I\u2019m an aspiring children\u2019s picture book illustrator. I work primarily and traditionally with acrylic, gouache, and colored pencils with some light digital editing. But I\u2019ve been trying to figure out a way to transfer the way I work completely into Photoshop. There once was a land called Arnavootloo, full of with people who dressed in the color blue, and right next to Arnavootloo was Kanakoosted, which was filled with people in red.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I\u2019m hoping someone will like it enough to publish it! I like to keep busy. If I could draw\/paint every day for the rest of my life, I\u2019d be the happiest person alive!<\/p>\n Thanks so much for featuring my work! 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 1)<\/strong><\/font> My mother gave me my late brother’s beautiful guitar, the one he loved and played so often. <\/p>\n 2)<\/strong><\/font> I got tickets for all the Danielsons to see Star Wars<\/em> when it opens. <\/p>\n 3)<\/strong><\/font> I got tickets for two of the Danielsons to see Laura Marling<\/a><\/strong> live in November. <\/p>\n 4)<\/strong><\/font> Thoughtful gifts and notes from thoughtful friends. <\/p>\n 5)<\/strong><\/font> My husband did some serious tech support work on the blog. Spam and spam-bots were tripping things up for me and making 7-Imp hiccup a lot, but it’s all fixed now. <\/p>\n 6)<\/strong><\/font> Fargo<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, season two. <\/p>\n
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\nEllen<\/font><\/strong>: Hello! I\u2019m Ellen.<\/p>\n
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\nI grew up in the great state of New Jersey with busy parents, so I spent most of my time in between bookshelves at the library, in front of a TV, and daydreaming about far off places and people. I love when certain elements—like color, shapes, texture, composition, and story—fit together perfectly. So, naturally I found my home in children\u2019s books. <\/p>\n
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\nThe first book I wrote and illustrated was in Senior year and is called Red Blue Hullabaloo<\/em> [below]. It\u2019s about two make-believe countries who don\u2019t exactly see eye to eye. Here\u2019s the text from the first page:<\/p>\n
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\nRight now, I am taking online classes to improve my foundation and technique, while working on building my portfolio. I\u2019m also looking for jobs and an agents\/artist rep.<\/p>\n
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\nAll artwork used by permission of Ellen Shi.<\/em><\/p>\n
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