About

Esther Sitver is a Knoxville, TN-based illustrator who merges vintage aesthetics with contemporary progressive ideas. She draws great inspiration from Charles Dana Gibson, mid-century lifestyle illustrators, and Molly Crabapple. Sitver’s love for traditional pen and ink drawing pulls together her specialties: portraiture/figure drawing, editorial illustration, pattern design, plein air painting, and hand-lettering. A graduate of Ringling College of Art + Design’s Illustration BFA Class of 2020, she is looking for work opportunities.

EDUCATION_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL

Illustration BFA; Art History Minor, May 2020. GPA: 3.8/4.0

ILLUSTRATION EXPERIENCE_______________________________________________________________________________

Disney Creative Group Workshop, Sarasota, FL October 2019-January 2020

Created taglines, assets, patterns, and typographical layouts as Graphic Designer in a group.

Carter’s Workshop, Sarasota, FL January 2020

Learned essential job functions and skills necessary to create patterns and graphics for clothing design.

American Greetings Pattern Workshop, Sarasota, FL November 2018- February 2019

Researched current holiday pattern trends, made mood-boards, and created a collection of 6 original Christmas wrapping paper patterns, and worked with feedback from company representatives.

Freelance Artist, Knoxville, TN May 2016-Present

Completed commissions for: pet portraits, portraits, greeting cards, and landscapes in traditional and digital media.
Created contracts, followed through, and developed customer base through word of mouth and networking.
Sold work in about a dozen art fairs throughout Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Postcard Illustrator, Knoxville, TN; Sarasota, FL May 2017-Present

Sold upwards of 1000 postcards through shops in Knoxville, TN and in Sarasota, FL

SHOW EXPERIENCE & AWARDS___________________________________________________________________________

Ligature Show, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL 2020
Solo Show, Bliss + Tori Mason Shoes, Knoxville, TN, 2020
Illest of Illustration Exhibition, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL, 2017-2019
Juror’s Citation, No Bigger Than a Breadbox Show, Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN, 2019
Emerging Artist Award, Fall Open Show, Oak Ridge Art Center, Oak Ridge, TN, 2018
The Big Crafty, Asheville, NC, 2019
Old City Market, Knoxville, TN, 2019
Sketchbook Show, Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL, 2018-2020
First Place, Madeby Gallery Open Show, Ringling College, Sarasota, FL, 2016. Also displayed in 2017-2019
Solo Show, Arnstein Jewish Community Center, Knoxville, TN, 2018

LEADERSHIP/CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE____________________________________________________________

Digital Checkout Monitor, Nancy Nassiff, Ringling College of Art and Design,

Sarasota, FL, Aug 2017-March 2020

Managed library of valuable digital equipment for student use, kept photo studio in working order.
Carried out errands and secretarial duties.

Model Coordinator Assistant, Frances Avenoso, Ringling College of Art and Design,

Sarasota, FL Jan 2017-March 2020

Trained students to be figure drawing monitors, filled in for model coordinator, helped with payroll and data entry.

Workshop Assistant, AR Workshop, Amy Thomas, Knoxville, TN June 2019-Present

Helped guests make creative decisions, demonstrated DIY techniques, prepared projects, and straightened the studio.

President, FEWS (Figure Enhancement Workshop),

Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, FL 2017-2019

Kept track of membership and dues, delegated responsibilities to officers, scheduled and facilitated meetings to provide life drawing practice for students.

SKILLS_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Computer: Fluent Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word; Proficient Adobe Photoshop, Zoom, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter; Working knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, and Microsoft Excel
Traditional: Fluent in oil paint, gouache paint, ink, graphite, charcoal, collage, watercolor; Proficient in acrylic paint, typography, matting, framing, letterpress, and printmaking
Personal: Advanced basic knowledge of Hebrew; Fluent in literary analysis and research writing; Interested in cooking, mountain hiking, gardening, vintage shopping, reading, listening to podcasts