This week we welcome Emily Ree, a comic artist, illustrator, and streetwear designer from New York. Emily holds a BFA in Fine Art from the Fashion Institute of Technology and is an alumnus of the School of Visual Arts Visual Storytelling Residency Program.
As a comic artist, Emily is best known for her three original graphic novel series; Anarchy Dreamers, Marshmallow Horns, and Chase Me!
“I prefer working on my own original stories, but I have created comics, illustrations, and merchandise for book publishers big and small,” she says. In 2020, one of her illustrations was displayed on 3500 LinkNYC digital billboards all around New York City. That piece was later collected by the New York State Museum as a part of their COVID-era collection.
As a designer, Emily is best known for my streetwear and lifestyle brand, Caring is Punk.
“The idea behind the brand is that in a world full of hate, caring is a rebellious act. It’s a radical concept to care about others and we all benefit when we give a shit about what’s happening around us.”
Her hope is that as the brand grows, she can continue to donate more money and time back to the community to support the arts. Emily was recently chosen as one of Columbia County’s 40 Under Forty for her work providing low-to-no cost art lessons to kids in the Hudson Valley.
“My work takes inspiration from the mysterious side of everyday life. I like to create things that celebrate the strange, magical, and endearingly chaotic things one might easily overlook modern New York,” she says.
“Though I am trained as a fine art painter, my current body of work is digital.”
