Meet Clover Li | Illustrator&Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clover Li and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clover, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Art caught my special interest since young, quite naturally. I didn’t know how important art was to me until I grew up, I found that it is the one thing that truly smooths me among many other things in the real world. It provides a space to settle the feelings and thoughts that I find hard to express in other ways. It is a window that I shoot out light and hope. It is a channel that I love connecting with people. And illustration, among other artistic form, is the one that excites me the most. Before I knew clearly illustration is the path I want to pursue, I practiced Chinese calligraphy for nine years since primary school, that helped me understand the rhyme and mood in the lines and shapes. When I was not doing calligraphy, I loved doodling as a kid. On my textbooks, my desks, everywhere even on a dictionary. In high school, I played with more mediums, painting, printing, making art installations, fashion design… And then illustration came into my sight, it was Oliver Jeffers’s children’s book ‘Lost and Found’ introduced me to the world of illustration. I was amazed by this form that connects children and adults, combines naive and sophisication. Its subject can be as simple as a cup of tea but metaphorical like a movie.
I pushed my practice much further during my study at Fashion Institute of Technology, where many talented and wonderful educators helped me tremendously to hone my skills and form my unique language, and more importantly, broadened my understanding of the field. All of this helped me to realize how much power images can convey. It gives me great honor when my audiences felt touched or been taken away for a moment when seeing my work. Because one of the great motivations for me to pursue this career, is to offer a space for people to let their thoughts and imaginations run free, or to have a moment of peace and joy.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Although I am always looking forward to expanding the range of my work, a sense of naïve, a dreamy but vibrant color palette, careful depictions of characters’ emotions and atmospheres, love of nature are things I always wanna keep in my work. My work are mostly done digitally, but I love to leave brush strokes or blends of watercolor in my work. I think that makes digital works feel warmer while keeping the splendid visual effect that is achieved on digital platforms. Apart from the technical aspects of my work, I love to make works that touch on the topics relate to empathy, cross-culture, cultural identities, animals, and drama/literature. In my visual thesis project at FIT, I created a children’s book ‘The story of the Doggo Prince’ , where the doggo prince transcended his misconceptions about other animals as he ventured out his home he has never left before, by overcoming fear and prejudice, he came home with treasures he never expected to have found. The project was honored the New Talent Merit by ijungle illustration award and shortlisted by Hiii Illustration 2021. I am really touched by the love people have shown to the Doggo Prince, and I personally love this character very much as it resonates with somewhere deep in my heart. But it was not easy to have reached to this little milestone for me as an illustrator. It took me a good couple of years to form the current style that feels comfortable and authentic to draw. I looked at many many illustration works to analyze what speaks to me, what makes sense to me, what are in those works that sparked joy for me, and tried to put those insights into practice. But it can get intimidating when working with all these goals on your mind, you want to work relaxedly so a more authentic or unique voice would likely to come out. It was very challenging to achieve such balance, but confidence is the key. I believe you have to trust yourself to walk through the battlefield of creating art, and give life to your art. My illustrator friends were a huge help at giving critiques on my work, which all helped refining the work, and pushed me to design the work more carefully. So I would definitely advice to stick with a good group of illustrator friends that offer different perspectives to your work. And follow your instincts!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There are many fantastic museums in New York City, Guggenheim is great for a quick visit when you’re strolling around the mid-east side of the Central Park, it’s a remarkable modern architecture designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. If you are enthusiastic about modern art, the Museum of Modern Art is an excellent choice too. Parks are great ways to experience the spirit of New Yorkers. My personal favorites are the Washington Square (for people watching), Union Square (for Green Market and the lovely shops around the area), Bryant Park is a surreal place to have a moment of serenity while being surrounded by skyscrapers. New York offers many surprising options for food! You will never be bored! K-town is amazing to grab some authentic Korean BBQ and Soju bars are really exciting too. Coming from a Chinese origin, I am so satisfied with the restaurants available in NYC, there are some truly authentic Szuchuan food or hotpot in Manhattan or Flushing if you don’t mind go a bit further. Chinatown at lower east side offers more than traditional Chinese food, rather, it has been filling up with many exciting cool restaurants and bars that worth trying and exploring. Apotheke is one of my favorite bars in NYC, it’s always on my list of hidden gems.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Without my family’s support, I wouldn’t be where I am. I always think that I stand on their shoulders, or they put wings on me. None of my family members does art related profession, but I have a mum who loves art but studied law, who spent her very first month salary to buy a guitar, and a father with a sweet soul who always try to understand and support me. With their love, I had the freedom to pursue my dream. The instructors at FIT Illustration MFA community have been strong mentorship to me. The department head Brendan Leach, always give the best advice that align with my perspective of the type of art I wanna make; the amazing educator and artist Hyesu Lee, always inspired me to be playful and experimental with my work that helps me to be more creative; Richard Borge who always challenges me to make better work and provides helpful insights to build better design sensibility; Lauren Berke who encouraged me to let out a more authentic voice in my work. And my fellow classmates and other instructors who offered precious critiques on my works. They all helped me grow tremendously. And I’d like to give a pat on my back, for always pushing myself the extra mile, confronting and going beyond the difficulties I have been through this art-pursuing journey. Last but not the least, a shoutout to my partner Eric Qu who has always been my first audience, and the reason I love to have an elephant character in my work, thank you for supporting me whole-heartily.

Website: www.thecloverli.art

Instagram: @shuyitheshiba

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clover-li-illustratordesigner/