The Atlanta illustrator and founder of She Is This has spent years turning the everyday lives of Black women into bold, colorful art, and she is just getting started.
Shae Anthony did not wait for the right equipment, the right program or the right moment. The Atlanta-born illustrator and founder of She Is This built her creative practice on what was in front of her, and the result is a growing body of work that celebrates Black women through bold color, heavy line work and the kind of joyful representation that makes little girls say, that looks like me.
Anthony sat down with Rolling Out Arts and Culture to talk about growing up inside one of the country’s most visually rich cities, why her personality bleeds directly into every piece she makes and what it means to zoom in on Black women just living their lives.
How did growing up in Atlanta shape the way you see and create art?
Atlanta is a very vibrant city, very vibrant culture. Graffiti and street art are kind of anywhere you go. If you are going downtown or over in Decatur, you can find a really healthy dose of art and talent from all kinds of makers around the city.
My first inspiration was my mother. She is a doodler, she loves crafts and making anything, so I got it from her first. And then just being out in the streets and seeing it, you are always surrounded by it. It is a part of the culture in Atlanta because people will put it on a building. You can tell it is intentional art on the side of a building that adds to the aesthetic. Going to school at SCAD Atlanta, it was just surrounding me everywhere. On a bridge, some people will say it is graffiti, but it is artwork. It is someone’s signature, someone’s message. And when it is blown up into a mural, that makes it even more beautiful.
How did street art and graffiti influence your illustration style?
I love typography and bright colors and I really try to intertwine those into my style. The heavy line work, bold lettering, unique design, bubble letters, all of that comes through. If you look at my pieces, you can definitely tell the inspiration comes from there. Heavy lean on the typography and the coloring. The hues and all that vibrancy come straight from street art.
Your work is known for bold color and abstract shapes. How did you develop that visual language?
Growing up, I do not know if I was necessarily a super colorful kid, but over time it has become very much a part of how I even dress. I am often in something bold or bright or striking. My living room is black and white with rainbow colors on the wall. It is kind of through and through my personality, and I really do believe artists’ personalities come through in their work. So it is my personality in illustration form. A lot of my peers might work with a brown color palette, and while I love it and it is beautiful, I cannot do it. I have to have tons of color, a plethora of boldness, neons and pastels. It is not even in me to do otherwise.
What does your creative process look like from idea to finished piece?
Sometimes it is so sporadic. I can be working on one piece, do some kind of effect, and like it enough to save it as a separate file so I can come back to it later. I do take screenshots on my phone when I see something, but I never really pull from that. It is more like, I saw something while I was working and it makes me want to try something right here. I would love to say I have an inspiration book I always draw from, but it just comes when it hits me, and I go for it.
You started She Is This with what you had. What would you say to a creative waiting for the perfect tools or moment to start?
Do not wait. At SCAD, we had some of what the industry would consider the best programs and equipment. Before illustrations, my first craft was sewing, and we had top-of-the-line Juki sewing machines. But I never tried to limit myself by what I had available. Same with illustrations. Some people have the best programs and sign up for all the subscriptions. Others cannot afford it or are waiting until they can get the best tablet or setup. If you have a desktop computer, go ahead. Do not let anything make you hold off, because you could be doing something amazing with what you have right now in front of you.
Tell us about your current collection. What does Black women just existing look like through your lens?
A lot of my work started as portraits, front face and profiles. But recently I started thinking about how we do our nail shots when we get our nails done, or a little side shot of our shoes. That is what a lot of pictures in my camera roll look like, and that is just my life in photo form. So what does the zoomed-in view look like from a Black woman’s perspective? While I still do portraits and other designs, right now I am focusing on what does our life look like in zoomed-in angles. Just the hand and what we are doing, the side of a face, what your earrings look like, what that little piece of hair looks like. Just zoomed-in, captured, intentional moments.
What do you want people to feel when they look at your work?
I want them to feel the joy in my pieces. The color is part of my personality, but it is also rooted in joy. When we see bright, bold colors, my hope is that it makes you happy. And also that you see yourself in my work. I have had people reach out and say they put a piece in their daughter’s room and she said, hey, that looks like me. That was always the initial goal, to create representation. Representation mixed with bold, bright colors. That is what I want you to feel. Hey, I am Black, I am brown, and I am excited about that. That is a wonderful thing. The celebration of it through joy and representation.
How has Atlanta’s creative community supported your journey?
Going to SCAD Atlanta was one of the most inspiring experiences. The minute I walked into that building, it felt so advanced and inspiring. Colorful, the technology, the creativity in the building. And being in the heart of Atlanta, you could walk two minutes and see incredible murals right there. Just being in that school, in that area, in that community really helped add to the creative culture that I needed at the time. We also did trips and had community projects come in that we could work with, so it took us outside the walls of the school and gave us reach directly from the city.
What is next for Shae Anthony and She Is This?
The next thing is just continuing to add representation for Black and brown girls and finding other ways to share that. When I started, it was art prints and it still is, but I have been adding apparel. I also handmake pillow dolls that I created another business for under my name. They come in different shades and different hair textures. I use yarn to create different hairstyles and it is really about the textures and the tones, because that is the heart of She Is This. Celebrating hair, freckles, moles, skin tones, outfits, everything that is being a Black woman from a style and hair and skin perspective.
How can people find your work and order custom pieces?
You can find everything on sheisthis.com and I am also on Instagram as sheisthisdesigns. If someone reaches out asking about custom portraits, I do take those requests through the website as well.