Chuchu Wang is an award-winning illustrator who initially came from China and is now a freelance illustrator in New York. She got an MFA degree in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She went to the United States five years ago and got a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her background includes an Architectural art design degree from Luxun Academy of Fine Arts.
We’d love to hear how you got started, Chuchu. Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I was born in Shenyang, Liaoning, China. I have loved art since I was a child. After years of professional training, I was admitted to the Department of Architecture and Art Design of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts. When I chose my major, I had no idea about the industry’s future. I thought my score was much higher than the cutoff and wanted to choose a major with the highest admission score. After I went to college, I found that my major was not difficult for me, and I could easily understand the courses, but I was not very interested. I thought that going to college was all about dawdling around, so I didn’t take it to heart. Until one time, the editor of a local newspaper in Shenyang came to our department and wanted to find an illustrator to design the layout. By chance, he finally found me. I became very interested in illustrations when I was designing posters for them for the Chinese Lunar Year of the Rooster. Since then, I have been practicing illustration for several hours every day after finishing my assignments for my class. I moved the writing desk from the study room to the living room. After dinner, I would draw while watching TV with my parent. They went to bed, and I kept practicing. I have never taken any illustration courses; I draw because I love drawing.
My drawing tools are the markers and colored pencils I used to learn architectural design renderings. I paint like this until late at night every day, and I don’t even think of sleeping until dawn. My skills have improved greatly, and I love illustrating more and more. After I graduated with my undergraduate degree, I came to Chicago. Following my parents’ arrangements, I first studied a Master of Public Administration program related to my undergraduate major. However, after careful consideration, I still embarked on the illustration path. I moved to New York and entered the Illustration MFA program at the New York Fashion Institute of Technology and graduated this year.
What ideas are you exploring in your practice? Is there a theme you are currently addressing?
After more than three years of studying illustration, I found my direction. I am very good at drawing children’s picture books and enjoy the process. I like to tell a complete story rather than draw individual disconnected pictures. So, I created several picture books. Rus and Moose is a work I just completed this year.
The idea for my children’s picture book that I wrote and illustrated, “Rus & Moose,” is a fictional story inspired by my experience, with an element of exaggeration. My husband Rus was a long-haul truck driver, and before we were married, he had been driving a 70-foot-long semi-truck across the US. I also lived with him in the truck during summer and winter vacations. I thought life on the truck was interesting. I treated every day as a road trip. Thanks to his unique job, I have been to forty states in the United States and experienced many different cultures.
When I talked to my friends about the new things I saw during the trip, I realized through their reactions that ordinary people have no idea what it looks like inside the truck, even though you see trucks on the road every day. I told my friends that there were two large double beds, a refrigerator, a small dining table, and a microwave inside each truck. Whoever heard about this was quite surprised. I realized it was a good subject for my book, and my unique experience allowed me to focus my perspective on it. After all, not all illustrators are married to truck drivers.Â
I fabricated the character of Moose. He is like me, who just experienced the truck for the first time. He sees everything with new eyes, smells and touches everywhere, and occupies too much space. But his company made a difference in Rus’s life. The life of a truck driver is very dull. They often have to drive for more than ten hours at a time, and they must strictly abide by the delivery time. But when Rus found Moose, they became friends and shared this journey. This is the story of my book. While Moose helped Rus, Rus also took Moose to see different landscapes. Moose was a teenager, so he was rebellious and mischievous. He always wanted to escape from his family and see the outside world.
I used Procreate on the iPad to complete the entire book. I didn’t use too many fancy brushes and textures. My style is organic and sincere. I want this simple story to express the most profound theme: the relationship between man and animals, nature, and family.
Do you have a mentor or piece of advice that influenced your practice?
I think my father is my mentor in life and creation. He has always been supportive of my dream of becoming an illustrator. Actually, he also had an artistic dream when he was young, but due to livelihood constraints, he has been engaged in a career that has nothing to do with art his whole life. Whenever I have a big decision to make in my life, he will give me some suggestions, but he will not force me to follow his ideas. He also respects what I think. He told me a time allocation method inspires my life and work. I have been following this method, and I will share it with everyone here.
My dad said that as an illustrator, my time should be evenly allocated to three parts, namely,
   1. Illustration creation 40%
   2. Earn money part-time 30%
   3. Entertainment and social networking 30%
My dad said that illustration is art derived from life. An illustrator cannot create good art at home with the door closed. You must look for inspiration in life. I also insist that when doing something, concentrate on doing it well and devote 100% to it, which is more efficient than spending a lot of time practicing but doing it half-heartedly. I think 40% of the time for illustration is enough for me. I will spend about three days a week devoted to drawing. On weekends, I would work part-time as a host and cashier in a restaurant. Tips are better on weekends. Recently, I found another job by teaching painting to several children at a training institution near my home. This income can greatly reduce my burden of living in New York. I will also spend about two days a week catching up with old friends, going on dates with my husband, driving to surrounding towns to travel, drawing sketches with new friends, etc. These happy activities bring me energy and inspiration to draw.
What does “community” mean to you? Has your local community inspired you as an artist?
I moved to New York from Chicago two years ago and have lived in a luxury rental building with many international students living here as well. I feel like I wasn’t very connected to the community before. But since I received Litang’s interview question, I asked myself this question: why can’t I create some connections with the community? I searched the local art community on the map and visited some galleries and art centers. I also unexpectedly found a job teaching children art in a studio. Thank you very much for this question, which made me realize one of my shortcomings.
Is there any advice you would like to share with others?
I feel I am not yet the successful illustrator I want to be. I’m not qualified to give anyone advice. But I can share some of my experiences with everyone. That is, when I was in school, I took every school project very seriously. I won’t muddle through any project just because it doesn’t fit the theme I want to draw now. Instead, I will find ways to combine what I want to draw with my school assignments. I won many awards while in school, and many of them were school assignments. When you were in school, every piece of your practice work could receive timely feedback. After graduation, you will never have such an opportunity again. I hope that all students in school will cherish this opportunity.
text & photo courtesy of Chuchu Wang
- Website:Â https://chuchuwang.art
- Instagram:Â @chuchuwang_art
