We talk to the Chinese American artist about how she developed her style and the sublime, tranquil imagery she creates.
Draw the viewer to the heart of the story. It’s what Brooklyn-based illustrator Jesse Zhang aims to do every time she sets out to create an image. Through her art, she builds mood, feeling, and emotion, with big, flowing, abstract forms that take us into the narrative.
Her style seems perfect for any brief where storytelling is central, but more than that, her background in painting brings depth to her digital artworks. “I am heavily influenced by analogue materials and painting techniques, such as preparing an underpainting before final colours, and a preference for shapes and brushstrokes over outlines,” says Jesse.
“I’ve always loved how with painting, the use of colours, textures, and layers can take a simple concept and give it so much more depth,” she continues. “Colouring is my favourite part of the process – a certain colour palette can shift the entire meaning of an illustration, so I like to spend extra time on it, plus I just love colouring!”
A brief peek into Jesse’s portfolio reveals a unique, beguiling style. It’s a look that took time to develop, with many bad drawings created for every good one. Practice and refinement have led her into a successful career, and a client list many illustrators would envy. The New Yorker, New York Times and Washington Post in the editorial column; Adobe, The Verge and Google in tech; and Fashion Revolution, Architecture Magazine and Emergence in the cultural arena.
But it hasn’t always been so. After graduating, she worked in retail, then in product design, before building up her illustration portfolio. She waited six years to become a professional illustrator after completing her BFA at The School of Visual Arts, New York City.
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“I think the most important lesson I’ve learned is to have patience. There have been pivots and pauses in my career,” she says. “It took some time to gain momentum. Given the current state of the illustration industry, AI and rising living expenses… I feel a pivot may happen for me again. I’m both nervous and curious about how it’ll unfold.”
One of the most interesting aspects of Jesse’s work is her approach to the human form – it’s unusual, eye-catching, often serene and almost spiritual. This seems to flow naturally from her personality and interests.
Jesse’s 2023 mural at at Twin Parks West Community Center in The Bronx
“I’m drawn to the human form as it is an image everyone instinctively connects to and understands. Dance, yoga, and natural everyday moments inspire me, like a hunched-over body – everyone knows that feeling of being so tired that the body feels heavy, or when you feel so elated that it feels like floating. I think the body is its own landscape and it’s fun to play around with that idea,” she says.
Bold shapes dominate Jesse’s work, elements that together move the eye through the image and the story. There are hard edges to lend impact, but the lines themselves are wavy, curvaceous and organic. It’s an example of how an artist can turn a weakness into a superpower. “I despise drawing straight lines, and I can’t draw a straight line to save my life, so I’ve leaned into my natural style of drawing with fluid shapes and brushstrokes,” she says.
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Now, with several years’ experience in client work, the challenge is sometimes to keep things fresh. To do so, she changes media, experimenting with different materials, sketching, and doing collage work.
While other artists pursue personal projects to express themselves, Jesse likes to step back from the art altogether. “I’ve been finding creativity in other things, like writing, cooking, baking, crocheting, and collaging. It’s good to have other creative outlets, and I know that energy will flow back into my artwork a little bit at a time,” she says.