An Interview with Watercolorist Sophie and Lili
Meeting up with Sophie and Lili, A Watercolor illustrator. A few weeks ago, as I was perusing Instagram, a certain picture caught my eye. It was a watercolor illustration of a smiley, round-faced little girl in the arms of her mom. Being that art is a particular sweet-spot of mine, I looked into this a little more and found that the illustrator, known as @sophieandlili, was the creator of this lovely image.
Through Instagram, I found her website, and I reached out to her. I wanted to find out how I could get one of those adorable watercolors in my hands but I also wanted to learn more about this talented woman! The entrepreneur behind Sophie and Lili is Jennifer Vallez, and she possesses a great deal of creative talent. Sophie and Lili, named after both of her grandmothers, stems from her childhood love of art and style. Her parents, father an art teacher, were both very encouraging and provided art supplies for her at a very early age. Seems fitting then that she went on to study Fashion & Accessory Design at FIT in New York.
(Her work for Joy Cho of Oh Joy!)
Jennifer's true passion lies in drawing and fashion sketching, and she has a great deal of freelance experience working with Joy Cho of Oh Joy! , L'oreal, Tattly, and Nearly Newlywed. Here are a few tidbits about Jennifer and her business (ney, passion) that are worth knowing about.
1. How did you get started?
I was very interested in a show on TV called Style With Elsa Kllensch. She was a fashion reporter. One day she interviewed Betsey Johnson in her studio. I was blown away by her unique fashion illustrations. Something in me clicked, and I knew I wanted to do something like that. I was only 9, so I wasn't quite sure what "that" was. I wound up studying Fashion & Accessory Design at FIT in NY.
2. Other than your already wonderful clients, who would dream to work with?
I would love to do illustration work for Land of Nod, Anthropologie, Kate Spade, J Crew - ALL dream clients.
3. What continues to give you inspiration?
There are so many amazing artists out there. I definitely have a lot to learn! I always want to stay true to my own style, but am continually inspired by artists like Katie Rogers, Julia Denos & Sujean Rim. I regret listening to my Fashion Illustration teacher at FIT when I was so young. She told me there was no future in illustration. Everyone started to use computers. I gave up on it for a while. Computers can never take the place of illustration on paper!
I love what Jennifer does! I was so inspired by her work that directly after speaking to her, I contacted my sister and we decided to have Jennifer sketch and paint a watercolor of the both of us for a birthday gift to me! Here is the finished product and I couldn't have been more thrilled. She captured such a precious moment between two sisters.
(Jennifer's pencil sketch)
Check out Sophie and Lili 's amazing line of children's dolls and custom watercolors. And if you don't know about her already check her out on Instagram and visit her website and blog. The brand Sophie and Lili is doing amazing things and is a great artistic inspiration!