Meet Kaylee Yang | Nurse and Artist

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

Hi Kaylee, why did you pursue a creative career?
I’ve loved art and drawing since I was young. I work currently as a nurse and am thankful to be able to do what I do, but I would also be thankful to be able to help make art for media that people can enjoy. I grew up watching so many cartoons with my sister and played so many video games with my dad and mom that have given me so many fond memories to look back on. I think that being able to help make shows, games or movies that can make people happy or have lasting impacts on people is a very special thing to be able to do, and it would be a great honor to be able to make cool projects for other people and pay it forwards.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I grew up with stricter parents, so they never approved of me going to art school or making a career out of art despite encouraging my drawing hobby. Because of this, the plan was for me to get my Bachelor’s to be a Nurse and then go back for my Master’s and become a Nurse Practitioner afterwards. I graduated from the University of Michigan then in 2021 with my Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing, and went to work as a nurse where I do now. After getting a bit of experience, I applied to the Master’s program at Michigan as well, all according to plan.

As I was waiting for the decision though, I started to realize that I had been drawing a lot less, and I was feeling incredibly uninspired. I didn’t want to lose art, so that was when I bought an iPad and decided to start experimenting with digital art as a change of pace from realism. It was very fun and soon after, Michigan sent me a message saying that I had been accepted to the program. I was incredibly grateful, but also felt very conflicted; so despite my parent’s disapproval, I rejected the offer and set a year deadline to see what I could do and see if I could make a digital art portfolio.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’d say that the must visit place in Michigan is Mackinac Island. It’s an island close to the upper peninsula with the clearest, beautiful blue water. All of Michigan’s lakes are freshwater and definitely worth visiting! The island is especially fun for the bike ride around the perimeter of the island that’s next to the water. There’s a lot of dark sky parks that are cool too to see the stars.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I am so thankful to my parents for helping me foster my artistic growth and passion growing up. They were always supportive of my hobby, from being willing to buy me art supplies to asking about my art that I currently share online. I’m also thankful to my sister for always being willing to be a second eye and opinion on my work.

My coworkers at the hospital I work at are also incredibly kind and supportive of my dream of working as a background artist/visual development artist some day and I cannot thank them enough for it. They make me feel like I can accomplish anything!

I also want to thank Kat, my teacher and mentor, for being such an incredible instructor. She is always so supportive and gives amazing advice- I truly would not have made as much progress in my digital drawing journey if it weren’t for her and her class that I took all the way back in February! She inspires me so much with her beautiful work and I’m so thankful to have such a talented mentor, it’s an honor!

Website: Kayleeyang.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/nalikaylee

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylee-yang-7740aa273/

Twitter: Twitter.com/nalikaylee