Sharese Suriel

New Jersey-based illustrator, Sharese Suriel, has been honing her skills in watercolor and ink illustration for the past three years. She's worked in digital marketing agencies as a graphic designer and currently works as a marketing assistant. She first became interested in art in high school. In her junior and senior year, she had the opportunity to attend the School of Visual Arts's Pre-College Program. There, she took the courses, Visual and Critical Studies and, Black and White Photography. 

She went on to study art in college and earned a BFA with a concentration in illustration from New Jersey City University in 2016. She was featured in a senior thesis show in April 2016 titled, “#PopCulturelRL.” Her show consisted of 9 caricatures depicting her views on some celebrities in pop culture. She describes this body of work as both whimsical and thought-provoking. 
In 2017 she became part of an illustrators group that worked pro bono alongside writers and editors from UK based publication, gal-dem. She illustrated for various articles discussing social issues and current events in the UK and US. 

In that same year, Sharese also began her freelance career. She became the brand designer for Joe Miguel, a hairstylist. She also painted a movie poster for filmmaker, Be Steadwell's debut film, Vow of Silence. 

Now, after completing her first year of Inktober, she's ready to begin a new project. She is currently planning a series of playful portraits consisting of people and their animal counterparts. She hopes to continue to bring quaint elements into her work in the new year. 
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