Meet Mellow Yue Li

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mellow Yue Li.

Hi Mellow, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m an illustration artist from Shanghai. I remember that I started to show a passion in drawing when I was only a kid. Drawing was almost my instinct, and it wasn’t until in college that I started to make art as a professional artist, where I started to put my entire person and my thinking into my art. The four years at SVA definitely did contribute to every step leading to where I am now. I remember in my first and second years, I was working with all kinds of materials, including sculpture, fabric, wood-cutting, etc. I believe that set up my openness and willingness to materials, and that experimental side is still in me deeply today.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s not a completely easy road like everything else. For me, finding my own unique voice in art is not hard. I firmly believe that everyone can be a great artist when they dig deeply into themselves, their world, their mind, and what they love. It’s always natural for me to make artwork that’s genuine and real to me, and from that I develop into a unique style. However, it’s not easy to always have a balance between work and art. I often find that when making art is also a job for artists, their work loses part of the charm. Thus, I always choose commissions that I’m also interested in and identify with so that I don’t feel like it’s work but also a passion that I could devote myself in.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I draw inspiration from ancient murals and folk art around the world, such as Southeast Asian Islamic paintings, Buddhist art, Ukiyo-e art, etc. My works explore different cultural contexts and female identities. My interest in nature and spirituality gives my work an energy of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. Hand-drawn textures are key to my creativity, and I can hardly break away from hand drawing to make art on a digital screen as I believe hand drawing conveys a sense of warmth through paper and requires a close engagement with the material. For me, drawing with colored pencils is a “meditative” material, like knitting.

My work has had the honor to be exhibited around the world. The body of work has been held in solo exhibitions at Junior High LA Gallery in Los Angeles and in group exhibitions at Kiblind Magazine in Lyon, France, Nucleus Portland Gallery in Los Angeles, MadeIn Gallery in Shanghai, and Latitude Gallery in New York. Clients that I have cooperated with include the well-known band Khruangbin from Texas, Everpress, etc. I’ve also had the honor to have interviews with Metal Magazine, It’s Nice That, Creative Boom, etc. I firmly believe that only by putting my heart in my art can I create art that touches people.

How do you think about happiness?
Simplest trivial things in life can become the source of my happiness. A plant that I come across out in nature, a beam of light outside the window or the morning sip of coffee can be the spark of my next illustration. I believe that these little moments in life that I pay attention to is what make me and my art different.

Contact Info:

• Website: mellowmeadow.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mellowmeadow7/?hl=en