From a young age, Kendra Dandy knew she wanted a job that allowed her to be creative. Look at her now! Her sassy illustrations have graced everything from iPhones to limited edition artwork.
The Philadelphia-based illustrator has a style that is distinctly her own. Kendra’s whimsical illustrations are dominated by bright colours and bold people. You can sense the attitude jumping out of her work, in the best way possible!
Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? How did you get started doing what you do?
I’m an artist and illustrator born and raised in Philadelphia.
Ever since I was young, I’ve always been creative, so I just had to find a way to turn it into a viable career.
While working in retail, I would work on art after my shifts and use social media to get myself out there. After a while, brands began to notice and luckily it has continued over the years.
You have a very unique and defining style. Can you tell us how the process of finding that style and perfecting it has been like for you?
I pretty much just combine things I like. I experiment and practice often and the style naturally evolves over time.
Can you describe your creative process? Where do you start? What do you usually have on or around you? How do you know when a piece is done?
There’s really not an in-depth process.
Ideas may come up either randomly or through experimenting. Depending on whether I have time to work on it or not, I’ll either just write it down or sketch it to fully work on later. I don’t have anything special around, just paper and whatever pen/pencil/marker that’s close.
A piece is just done whenever it’s done.
What do you do to get out of a creative slump?
Sometimes, I just take a break from creating so nothing is forced.
Tell us about a career highlight.
In 2017, I had the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong for a sneaker customization event. It was my first time going out of the country on my own, and especially for work. It was really cool.
Where do you look for inspiration these days?
I mostly just look online, art books, and use moods or current events as a source of inspiration
What’s the worst advice you have ever received?
I don’t remember any. Guess I never listened to it.
What are some of your future goals, personally and professionally?
My future goals are to get a bigger space to live and work in, continue working on great collaborations with awesome brands, and hopefully get to travel again post-pandemic.
Check out Kendra’ store and give her a follow on Instagram.
