We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Annelise Capossela. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Annelise below.

Annelise, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I’ve always loved illustration and grew up admiring my older cousins who were talented artists, as well as my close friend’s mother, Bonnie Christensen, who was an incredible illustrator and printmaker. When it came time to look at colleges, I assumed I’d go to a large state university but fell in love with the possibilities that seemed to await art school students. I received my BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design and, years later, my MFA from School of Visual Arts. Both degrees offered me very different, valuable educational experiences in the field of illustration. The cool thing about illustration is degrees aren’t all that important – what really matters is our work and how we interact with collaborators and clients – but I am grateful I had the chance to learn from the artists who were my teachers and peers.

Over my years of trying to build an identity and career as an illustrator, the most important skill I’ve found is the art of knowing oneself and utilizing personal strengths and interests in our art. Doing so allows us to be authentic and to enjoy our work more which, in my opinion, translates to better work. It is tempting to prioritize making market-trendy products in an effort to gain jobs and validation, but this can be a short-term mindset with limiting outcomes. I had to unlearn my ideas of what “good illustration” is “supposed” to look like, in order to make more room for my own exploration and growth.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m an illustrator and educator! I specialize in conceptually-driven images which often appear in editorial settings like newspapers and magazines, as well as books and advertisements, and I also make animated pieces for just about anything from editorial, to advertising and educational services. I also love to do surface design – one of my favorite projects ever was designing and illustrating wallpaper for a restaurant bathroom, which depicted a diverse crowd of people representing the neighborhood of Crown Heights in Brooklyn, New York. I love drawing the human form, and also enjoy centering themes of psychology, relationships, lifestyle and culture. A born-and-raised Vermonter, I try to connect with nature as often as I can, and look for opportunities to bring that into my illustrations. I’m always proud when I can make work that is exciting and clever. Sometimes my work is one or the other, but when it’s both I’m my happiest.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Support begins with recognition – recognition that art and creative work helps to make all of our lives more fun, healthy, meaningful, entertaining, and enlightening. When I am just a person sitting on the couch after the end of a long week, or dining at a restaurant, or walking through my neighborhood – in other words, when I’m the audience, and not a creative – is when I feel it the most. I do not want to live in a world without human creativity, art and storytelling, and I am willing to bet most people feel the same, even if they do not always consciously recognize how much of our daily lives are shaped by creative works – and the artists behind them.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

In my experience, the best resources are other creatives and entrepreneurs. Not only are we able to learn from each other, but we truly appreciate the time, skills, and heart that goes into each other’s work. When I first moved to New York City, I sometimes felt like I was waiting to be “discovered” or land a big break that would allow me to cross over into some imagined world of success, where everything is better and easier – but life is really much more random, slow-moving, and incremental than that. One thing always leads to another, and we are strongest when we have a community and support one another through the big (and small, and medium) breaks.

Contact Info:

• Website: annelisecapossela.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/annelisecapossela