STEPHANIE LI
Stephanie Li is an artist and muralist residing in Brookline, MA. Inspired by nature, they enjoy illustrating whimsical, colorful, and fantastical scenes. They hope that through their work, they can bring a sense of wonder into the everyday and help people feel a little less alone in this world.
Instagram: @hemlockcreates
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ARTIST Q&A
Born: London, Canada
Currently lives: Brookline, MA
Title of artwork: “Secret Escape”
What’s it about? Do you ever feel like escaping out into nature? I definitely do! This piece is part of a body of work I call “Otherworlds,” where I illustrate scenes from my travels with a fantastical twist. “Secret Escape” was inspired by a trip out to Mount Hood, Oregon, where we explored several waterfalls.
Where else can we find your work? Instagram and website!
Where is your favorite public art piece in the area? “Knotical Waves” mural by artist Massiel Grullón
Who is your favorite Boston-area artist to follow? Christoper DeLorenzo
What’s your favorite way to spend a day off? Taking walks in the neighborhood, drinking a lot of tea, and drawing!
What was your top song for 2022? Wild Flower by RM
Favorite food spot in in Allston, Brighton or the surrounding area? Kaju Tofu House
What have you learned about your creative practice in recent years? I’ve gotten a lot of comments lately about my use of color — and I think it’s starting to become a recognizable element of my work. But the truth is, when I first starting drawing and illustrating, I DREADED color. It was so hard. I had little knowledge of color theory, and I’ve only done monochrome black and white stuff before. But slowly, I started getting less scared of color…studying how other artists use color, learning more about art theory, and using tools like Procreate’s gradient mapper helped a lot. Now I embrace color, and I can’t wait to keep experimenting!
What is a piece of advice you would give to your past self as a young artist? Take the plunge. Just draw. Don’t overthink it. You’re going to be bad, so embrace the suckiness of it. It’s okay! Because you do it for you.
What is your dream project to work on? Long before I started drawing, I wrote poetry. I have a poetry collection that I’ve slowly been illustrating. It would be my dream to publish this illustrated poetry book and to perform it! And past that, my dream is to work on comics and graphic novels. Need to keep practicing!!!
