The effortless charm of illustrator Gracey Zhang

Illustrator Grace Zhang tells us that she “also goes by G and Gracey.” Originally from Vancouver, Canada but currently based in New York (“although I bounce around a lot”), Gracey is newly returned from Rio de Janeiro after finishing a “great” residency with Despina, Largo des Artes “where we ended with a bang of a show opening.” “It’s always good to step out of the illustration wheel and experiment with new ways of working,” she notes of the experience.

Gracey tells us that illustration has been part of her life since a very young age. “I’ve always been drawing since I can remember (scrap paper and pens being easy to come by growing up), and that ended up with me choosing to study illustration at Rhode Island School of Design,” she explains. “I took a year off after my junior year, to try out other things but I think in the end it just reconfirmed to me that I really do love drawing and illustration at the end of the day.”

With inspiration coming “from the environment I see around me, small gestures between people, little scenes of life” as well as from her peers (“I’m always learning from and in awe of the work of André François, Lorenzo Mattotti, Yann Kebbi, and Jillian Tamaki”), Gracey’s loose, charming and apparently near-effortless style has already captured the attention of clients including The New York Times, Darling magazine, Plansponsor, and CBC Radio.

Of her working process, Gracey tells us “I work in strange bursts of energy which may be a little detrimental! Sometimes I’ll be working on something hours straight but end up more satisfied with something that took less time to do.”