European cities are well connected, you can always reach out. You won’t be blocked if you don’t live in Paris or London, which costs a fortune. If you are good, you can expand your network internationally. Madrid gave me a chance to stay in Europe, it has a chill vibe and really nice people. In Taiwan, you have to work a lot on social media in order to be seen. It’s a completely different approach and very time-consuming.  

Most of my works are very minimal. I see blank as an open field with different levels of white. It coexists with the subject in different proportion, which poetically highlights the subject itself. It’s a space that lets you breathe and imagine. It lets me be me. 

I might be quite a childish person? I find humour in silly things, and being able to be playful in my works energizes me. I try to build up characters in my works and their personalities are based on people I know or on dogs and cats that I know. I feature them because they once gave me a heart-warming feeling and I want to share those nice feelings with the audience, with you.

I daydream and I am inspired by my surroundings, which later I refine and recreate into my reality. How we puzzle up a person in our memory depends on how we observe them and what they decide to expose to us of themselves. We can’t invent things, they all exist until we find them. So it’s about paying more attention to your surroundings, looking at something small that could be overseen, and giving it your own interpretation. Those details I found in a character, are very personal and particular, and I choose what’s representative to me to emphasize in my illustrations. 

I like the colours, shapes, and how items symbolise and define different styles. I am not a real fashion lover – not so serious! But fashion reflects so much on the current cultural situation. I draw girls that wear Paloma Wool – a brand from Barcelona whose style I really like, it’s very nostalgic. Try out different clothes and give yourself a break; be someone else. It is also a process of getting to know yourself, finding out what makes you more comfortable. 

Loewe, Paloma Wool, and Palomo Spain. These are all authentic Spanish brands that I love!

I start painting by using oil. I like to brush slowly in order to feel that every trace is nicely landed. Painting is the thing that makes me the most patient and content, and it feels satisfying when you know that you’re able to focus on one thing and put yourself together to do it slowly, only to make right. 

I use iPad to draw but I like it better using paint and brush. To be inspired or to have the urge to create is an instinct, it never has to be learned. Tools keep evolving and being replaced over time, but great ideas don’t. To me, it’s more real to touch the artwork. It has weight, and will not always be perfect –sometimes, the colours absorb the light and fade. It’s like comparing a digital camera to a film camera. Looking through a screen is never the same as looking directly with your eyes. 

Animation is another area I want to explore. I am such a rookie in making animations, but I don't really mind. Sometimes, having the thought of just going for something you are not familiar with and have fun is very relaxing.

I always draw a still frame; my illustration is like showing you a sentence only and leave you to imagine freely the beginning and the end. But animation is a constant movement, so I have to do the opposite exercise in my brain – of not limiting myself to do all the storytelling in one image. I was on vacation and I was away from my studio without any colours to paint. Then, I took out my laptop and did some gifs – that’s how it started. 

I am working on a project with my sister on Instagram, 団子 二本 Studio By Pair; as our name, we pair up and create together, working on ideas that we are both excited about. She would write and I come up with visuals. We trust each other and it’s a carefree experiment. We are curious to see where it will lead us.
I recently did some ceramics and I’m very interested in it. Turning my illustrations into 3D requires great loads of learning. I also attended an art book fair in Taipei this year, and I received much encouraging feedback – meeting people off screen is fun. I would like to do more in different cities! Applying for an art residency is also an experience I want to try out soon.