We were lucky to catch up with Skye Paquette recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Skye thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful projects I’ve had the privilege to work on have centered around Diversity and Inclusion at the community level. One of my favorite recent projects, in June 2024, was designing the Seattle 50th Pride Parade t-shirts for AMC Theatre employees in the Seattle area.

AMC has been a significant part of my journey since I started working there at 18. It was my first job, providing stability while teaching me leadership and business skills as I pursued a degree in Design. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work at four AMC locations within the Seattle market: Alderwood 16 (Lynnwood, WA), Woodinville 12 (Woodinville, WA), Riverpark 20 (Spokane, WA), and Pacific Place 11 (Seattle, WA).

This project was especially meaningful to me because it allowed me to collaborate with colleagues, allies, and friends in the LGBTQ+ community at AMC. Designing something that resonated with them and that they wore proudly for such a historic event was truly an honor.

Skye, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve been passionate about drawing and creativity since before I could walk. My natural curiosity has always driven me to take ideas and bring them to life. Growing up, I didn’t have much access to technology or the internet, so while many of my peers were exploring tools like Photoshop, I had to get resourceful. I often mimicked the effects of digital design by hand—cutting, pasting, and illustrating manually to create compositions that mirrored the results others achieved digitally. This hands-on approach was my way of teaching myself the principles of design.

Portraiture and faces have always fascinated me, and I spent countless hours studying and recreating images from magazines, movie covers, and still-life photography. As I entered high school, my creative world expanded when I gained access to various art mediums, including photography, painting, ceramics, and glass cutting. I’ve always found it difficult to settle on a single medium, as my true passion lies in being versatile across many forms of creative expression. It wasn’t until college that I realized my calling was in Visual Communication Design—what is commonly known as graphic design.

Over the years, I’ve developed a wide range of creative skills, and I’m still refining my focus to make it easier for clients to access the services they need. I like to think of myself as a “jack of all trades” in the creative field. However, I currently brand myself primarily as an illustrator, since it’s the medium I’ve worked with the longest and am most confident in offering to clients. From logos to album covers, custom tattoos, booklets, posters, and more, my portfolio is diverse, and I thrive on taking on new challenges—no idea is too big or small.

When working with clients, I believe in being upfront and transparent, especially if it’s a project I haven’t tackled before. However, this doesn’t mean I won’t deliver. I enjoy collaborating closely with clients and involving them in the creative process. At the end of the day, it’s their vision that I’m helping bring to life, and I see every project as a partnership to create something unique and impactful.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I believe perfectionism can be the enemy of creativity, and I speak from experience as a recovering perfectionist. For a long time, my perfectionism held me back from fully embracing my art. I needed a clear, preconceived vision before I could create anything. If I didn’t have that, I would simply avoid starting—on my own terms. School, however, pushed me past this resistance, since my work was tied to grades. But outside of that structure, perfectionism continued to block my personal creative projects.

It wasn’t until my senior year of college that I truly began to understand the therapeutic power of art. I took a beginner’s painting course to complete my minor in studio art. While I had some prior experience, most of it was self-taught or from attending casual paint-and-sip sessions. I expected the class to focus on techniques and projects, with occasional demonstrations from the professor. To my surprise, it was so much more than that.

Each class began with a 20-minute meditation to help us tap into our intuitive nature before we even picked up a brush. Our professor, Mr. Askman, would occasionally share different painting styles, but he didn’t show us how to do things step by step. Instead, he encouraged us to discover the process for ourselves, with minimal rules or expectations. It was liberating—there was no pressure to create something “perfect.” To make things even more enjoyable, Mr. Askman would often pop popcorn for the class while we painted, creating a relaxed, fun atmosphere.

For the first time, I felt free to open up through my art. I didn’t have to strive for perfection; I could simply be myself and let whatever emerged from me flow onto the canvas. It was a transformative experience that changed how I view both my art and my creative process.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability to release everything that’s bottled up inside, whether I’m fully conscious of it or not. There’s something profoundly beautiful about making a statement without words, using only an image to convey emotions and ideas. I’m also humbled by the fact that people come to me to help bring their visions to life—visions they might not have the tools or means to express themselves. Being able to turn those ideas into something tangible is a deeply fulfilling experience.

Art, for me, is a powerful expression of what it means to be human, with all the complexities that come with it. It’s what keeps me going, even when I’m not working on projects full time. No matter what, art will always be there. It’s helped me understand myself in ways I might not have without this passion and ability. I’m not sure where I’d be without it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://spaquette1.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: @graphic_skye
• Facebook: Https://facebook.com/skye.paquette
• Linkedin: linkden.com/in/skyepaquette