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July 07, 2020

Kimberly

Creative Inspiration: An Artist Q&A with Kim Sielbeck

Kim working on beach

A journal can be the keeper of many things—from everyday notes and tasks to exciting ideas and aspirations. With our Write Now Journals, we wanted to create a line filled with personality and style to inspire drafting and dreaming. And we’re grateful to be able to work with illustrators and designers from all around the world who make the theme of each journal come to life.

This month, we will be highlighting some of the talented artists behind this vibrant line. Kim Sielbeck illustrated our journal You Are Weird, Unique, and Wildly Perfect. Her playful use of color brings bright energy to this nature-inspired journal. We asked Kim to share a bit about her experience working on this project.

Zebra Journal

What were some of the inspirations behind your illustrations?

I tried to take each quote and think of a fun way to represent it. The title of the journal is You Are Weird, Unique, and Wildly Perfect, so I knew I had lots of freedom to be as silly as possible, and I ran with it. I wanted the art to be full of different animals—and zebras with their “unique” stripes were a recurring theme I kept coming back to. I live in Hawaiʻi and I’m inspired by its foliage, so I also tried to incorporate as many lush backgrounds into the pages as I could!

What was your favorite spread to work on?

I truly enjoyed all the spreads, but my favorite was the one with the quote, “Believe in yourself and all that you are,” by Christian D. Larson. It’s such a good reminder to slow down and tap into your potential when you may be in doubt. I also enjoyed how the foliage and birds ended up weaving in and out of the text on this page. I think it really makes the quote stand out.

believeinyourself_Cropped

What was your favorite medium to use?

For this journal, I created all the artwork digitally, using a combination of Photoshop and Illustrator. I love how easy it is to change colors and manipulate shapes, it really makes things easier with my flat, graphic style. I also love to paint with acrylic gouache for this same reason—it’s very flat in color and easy to fix!

Where is your favorite place to work?

I have a studio in Honolulu’s artsy neighborhood of Kakaʻako, but I’ve been working from home for the last few months of lockdown. My home is on the 24th floor and I can see Diamond Head and a little bit of the ocean from my desk, so working there is kind of nice. I also enjoy the flexibility of being an illustrator and being able to work from anywhere around the world. Certain jobs for me will always be tied to certain places. I guess my favorite place to work is wherever I am!

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You can find Kim’s wonderfully wild journal and the entire collection of Write Now Journals here.

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