ROCKAWAY: Where are you from and where do you live now?
LILY QIAN: I was born in China and raised in Virginia. Brooklyn has been my home for the past 16 years. There's no place like New York City.
ROCKAWAY: When did you become an artist and what inspires your work now?
LILY QIAN: I loved drawing since early childhood. I studied and worked as a designer in the fashion industry prior to making the jump into freelance illustration. I find inspiration from French new wave films, old vinyls, 90's animation, my childhood children's picture books, and commercial illustrations from the 60's and 70's.
ROCKAWAY: What kind of visual diet did you have as a kid — what inspired you?
LILY QIAN: As a kid, our home was filled with oil paintings by my father and posters, costumes and toy design samples by my mother, a collection of curated art books, a large oversized wooden drawing table, fabrics, trims, and a vintage sewing machine. My artist parents were my first inspirations. They showed me how fun it is to experiment, to embrace accidents and seek elements of surprise, to be brave and pursue dynamic range. I'll always respect artists.
ROCKAWAY: What do you love about storytelling thru all the elements of fashion, animals, kid-lit, advertising and beauty?
LILY QIAN: I've worn many hats in the creative industry and all the skills you learn from each job will carry on to the next. I enjoy the different thinking and medium specific processes required when working in multiple markets.
ROCKAWAY: How do you balance work and play?
LILY QIAN: I subscribe to the work hard play hard motto -- and no longer stress over finding a perfect balance. All I can do is focus on what is the current priority. I feel happy and balanced when I'm making decisions that are honest and true to myself.
ROCKAWAY : What's your fall mantra?
LILY QIAN: Summer is my favorite season so when fall comes around, it's time to put my head down and work.
