#icon11

Lil baby illustrator showing up to his first con in 2 years next week, ICON11

Want to know more about the main stage speakers at ICON11? In the third installment of our series #ICONspeak, we’ve chatted with Loveis Wise.

Loveis is a freelance illustrator living in Los Angeles. They describe themself as “an expression of joy and oneness with you,” and their work features bold colors and with a sense of play—all while speaking to themes such social consciousness and resilience. Loveis’ extensive client list includes The New Yorker, Google, The New York Times, BuzzFeed News, and Instagram.

For those that are unfamiliar with your work, how would you describe your style? 

I usually describe my work as joyous & vibrant!

How have you honed your visual language throughout the years?

Over the years, I learned that I wanted to cultivate more playfulness in my work but also speak to themes of social awareness, spirituality, and resilience.

Can you tell us more about how joy plays a role in your work?

I started working with this element mostly because, it can sometimes feel hard to excavate in a world where uncertainty and trauma boils over. Even the act of expressing my own joy didn't always feel as accessible to me growing up. So, in order to reclaim it, I realized that it was so important for me to create a world in my work where folks could feel into that feeling as well or even understand that it's okay for them to access it for themselves!

You haven't been out art school that long and have already amassed an impressive list of clients. What is one of the most memorable projects you've worked on so far, and what about it made it so great?

Yes! Super thankful for everything that has come my way but most recently, I worked on my largest piece and mural to date for Google's Artist in Residency program. This piece was created as an ode to the future generations of creators and to my ancestors for transmuting their pain into a dream of what the future could be!

What’s one topic you’re passionate about in regards to illustration and/or the illustration community at large?

I'm very passionate about sharing the intersections of Black and queer identity and while I was in art school, it sometimes felt as if most Black and Brown illustrators were often left out of the conversation. I then made it my mission to research them heavily and bring them up more in conversation during. Sharing underrepresented narratives is very important to me because, it creates a safer space if others can visualize themselves there and can create more possibilities of what they could be!

Who is/are one (or two!) illustrator(s) that you discovered during your research that you think more people should know about?

What came to mind was Clementine Hunter, Jackie Ormes, and Remedios Varo.

Have you been to ICON before?

Yes! My first year attending was actually back in 2018.

What can we expect when we see you at ICON11?