Yuko Shimizu — New York, USA

"In the rest of the world, you have to communicate strong ideas and concepts, because perceptions vary so much that the only way for people to understand each other is through the strength of their expression."

Yuko Shimizu is a freelance illustrator based in New York City as well as an illustration instructor at School of Visual Arts. Although Shimizu has never worked in Japan, her artistic style still carries a strong traditional Japanese water-colour style. Having been featured by many big-guns in the publication industry such as The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Playboy, GQ and Esquire, creating ads for Visa and Tiger Beer, T-shirts for The Gap, Shimizu is rapidly gaining the much deserved respect for her beautiful art and designs.