Illustration
Lanai - The Fun Never Ends

Can you please tell us about yourself and what inspires you to do graphic illustration?​

Hi, my name is Lisa, but also known as ke ai de ke (可爱的可)! I am currently a full-time illustrator and a recent graduate from Central Saint Martins, where I completed my master’s degree in architecture. Although I often portray myself on social media as someone who only draws people, nature and naked ladies, I am also working as an architectural illustrator for a UK-based practice called HTA design, where I am responsible for producing hand-drawn illustrations of housing projects and urban master plannings. 

To be honest, I think I have always been doing illustrations but didn't know there was a term for it. I remember that from the age of 13, I would always draw in my sketchbooks, and the artworks created were often quite random and explorative. I think is hard to pinpoint what inspired me then because there were so many, but I do know that I often use art to vent or escape reality. I also think there is always an innate need to create something, and somehow, illustration became my medium of expression.

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I am quite curious about your childhood and how does that relate to your current nature-inspired, colourful, joyful works?

Haha. I think the work I create right now does not entirely reflect my childhood. However, I believe my sense of colour was fostered during a time when I was learning watercolour. My tutor was Calvin Chua, and he is extremely bold in the way he uses his colours. I remember he would always say, "大胆一点!“ (be more bold!) when he looked at my work because the colours were too muted and lifeless to him. Because of his words, I learned how to have fun with colours!

Normally, the artwork I create would reflect the feeling and experience I had at that moment. Right now, I am quite happy, so it shows in my work. Haha. If you scroll down my Instagram, it is much gloomier, maybe because I was still figuring things out.

Currently, my works are quite nature inspired because I think I really miss the parks and woods in London. I suppose I wanted to recreate those feelings through my artwork. The forest in Malaysia can be beautiful, but it is a different kind of nature, it is more savage and real, and it is the kind where I need to be more alert of my environment ><

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What was your reaction when Lanai invited you for the submission based on the theme Play?

I was unsure what to do at first. You came out of nowhere, lol. However, eventually, I felt like creating a piece to show how play is a continuous journey and does not stop when you reach adulthood. So often, we get caught up in responsibilities that we forget how to care for our inner child. Personally, I believe an illustration is a form of play, and maybe that's why I kept drawing because it allows me to be free and have fun with characters, colours and forms. I can't imagine how my life would be if I stopped drawing; I don't know who I would be and how will I think.  

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While looking at your works, are you portraying yourself as the drawn character? how close do you think the fictional character is to yourself?

Yes. most of them are me, even the ones that are fictional. Haha. I think because I have a hard time putting my feelings into words, so I tend to draw myself in my artwork to show something or what I'm going through at that moment. Most of them are quite personal but can be interpreted differently by the public.                                                                   

 

What does a jungle or natural elements like water, wind, and sun mean to you?

I think nature can mean so many things to me if I decide to look at it from multiple perspectives. I think what speaks to me the most is how it allows me to feel so much. A large and expansive landscape like the mountains in Scotland can be so profound that it makes me think about life and my existence on a deeper level. I can't really express how it feels, but they give me some sort of pure awe and happiness that cannot be found anywhere. I think the tropical forest doesn't do that to me, but I’m always surprised by what I see in the forest, as there is so much to notice and learn. To me, the forest feels like a city. It is loud and distracting, never a moment for me to relax, haha.