Meet Zoey Qu | Painting, drinking, and traveling

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zoey Qu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zoey, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
What was the thought process behind your venture? As an illustrator, it is very important to have a firm goal and execution. It’s actually quite common for some recent college graduates to not be clear on what they want to do. There are also many college students who know what they want to do and what their goals are, but are unable to reach them with their current abilities and water quality. I want to create my own studio and brand, which requires a lot of relevant work experience and planning. At the moment, I choose to keep my feet on the ground and maintain my daily funds, learn the experience of teamwork, and meet more like-minded friends. When the opportunity comes, I will always be ready.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an illustrator, focusing on books illustration and advertising illustrations. Last month, I finished my graduation project, a brochure design with illustrations about mental illness. I’ve never been an excellent communicator with words and language, so I’ve always been committed to using my work to express my thoughts and spirituality and to build bridges with people. I have a friend with ADHD whose daily life is plagued by the disease and often misunderstood by people around him, which made me think about whether I could help people understand different types of mental illnesses better through my work and better express the feelings that different mental illnesses bring to the patients. This brochure aims to help people with mental illness to have a better dialogue with themselves and the people around them, and to respect and understand the feelings of these mental illnesses. I chose ADHD, OCD, bipolar disorder, gender dysphoria, and depression as the themes. It was not a smooth project from inception to completion. I would run out of inspiration, self-denial of my work, and question my decisions. Here I would like to say that there is no shortcut to overcoming these difficulties, only to keep working hard to polish the work, actively communicate with people around me, and try to solve the problems instead of running away from them when I find them.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would recommend the west side midtown in Atlanta, a great place to hang out and eat. From 17th Street onto Howell Mill Road, drive north to south, and you’ll pass a gallery called Free Market. There, my friend’s oil paintings are on display, and she is a very good and hard-working artist, using rich colors and lines that always bring pleasure to the viewer. Continuing south, you will pass many restaurants, and I recommend two restaurants catering to different tastes and groups. The first is the elegantly decorated steak house, their Wellington steak is well worth trying, but reservations are required 24 hours in advance. The other is a Japanese omakase called sushihayakawa. The chef is an experienced Japanese man and his restaurant requires reservations a week in advance. The sushi is fresh and delicious. His nigiri sushi is overwhelming!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
It’s really important to have an emotionally stable partner! I want to shout out my boyfriend Bruce, who always understands and respects the choices I make and provides me with a lot of emotional support. I was under a lot of pressure when I was about to graduate, not only from school but also from work. I am grateful that he actively helped me to sort out my situation and solve problems when I was facing a difficult time, and gave me a lot of encouragement. It gave me the courage to pursue my goals and become a better person.

Website: www.zoeyqu.com

Instagram: whalien5r

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zhijqu20/