Priya Gupta
Illustrator & Accessory Designer
For over a decade, Priya Gupta has designed fashion accessories in Delhi and Mumbai, and founded her own brand, Raafia. The pandemic offered a pause for reflection, and while revisiting her old school drawings, she rediscovered her love for illustration.
Now pursuing her MFA at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Priya specializes in picture books, posters, digital art, and traditional painting. Her creative process often begins with a personal memory or an element of cultural heritage, drawing inspiration from her upbringing in a lively, multi-generational home. From these roots, she develops a mood imagery to craft vibrant, joyful illustrations, each paired with a written story that reflects her deep love for storytelling. At the core of her practice lies color; every hue is chosen with intention, aiming to evoke emotion and draw viewers into the feeling and atmosphere of the piece.
Priya employs a combination of traditional & digital processes to create her art, allowing her to work efficiently while preserving a handmade sensibility. Each piece begins with pencil and paper, where her ideas take their first form. She values the organic quality of traditional media, using mixed materials for color and completing the line-work in ink separately to capture both the natural texture of the base colors and the delicate precision of the lines.
By day, Priya designs fashion accessories; by night, she transforms into an illustrator, weaving whimsical worlds through color and line. Her inspiration flows from everywhere, the vibrant energy of New York City’s streets to the quiet serenity of its skyline each moment inspiring her to celebrate life’s textures, patterns, and stories.
She was recently honored by the prestigious American Illustration AI44 Competition, with her work also featured across New York City on the ArtOnLink platform.