Recent Work / Into the Mild: Canadian Holiday Fashion Comic for National Post.

One of my resolutions in 2013 was to get one of my illustrations published in print and last week just before the year was over I reached that goal. My holiday fashion comics feature with the National Post's Weekend Style came out on Sunday and I was so nervous!

Head on to the National Post to read the full comic.

I had never been commissioned by a newspaper before but not only that, the feature was huge, 3 pages! It even got a little mention on the front page of the paper! I still haven't seen it in person yet, waiting with bated breath and I think I might just very blissfully pass out soon.

Thanks for the snap Markus!

The comic was to be a fun illustrated holiday special featuring all the biggest trends and pieces from Canadian fashion this past year, Hudson's Bay x Converse crossover sneakers, Jeremy Laing, that Mercy camo sweatshirt dress, Beaufille and Roots mukluks amongst others. The editor had seen my previous fashion comic for Dazed and loved the format. The idea we came up with was a group of Canadian fashion-philes go cabining in Banff for the weekend and get stranded.

Probably my favourite panel is of the girls moose hunting, the girl in the camo dress we just get each other. Head over to the National Post site to view the online version. Huge thanks to the editor and fashion director Nathalie Atkinson!

Click through to see a snippet of my drafts.

This Month I've Been: Banana Leaves + Art in the Flesh November

This Month I've Been: Exploring.
Since I spent my wonderful October travelling all over Canada when I got back to Hong Kong I didn't want to stop. Seriously, Hong Kong is a paradise, I always forget this. This banana leaf forest was off a side trail on Lamma Island, just a 45 minute ferry ride from Central Hong Kong. 

Eating herbal jelly and having drawing dates on the rooftop by myself before the winter turned too cold.

Spending my last month in Toronto amongst friends has inspired me to go out more. Snapping a selfie in Wanchai before meeting up with my new illustrator friend Pearl Law, check out her amazing work. Yay to Twitter for connecting people.

A WIP shot of a painting of Shu Qi I've been working on from a series called "Women I've Wanted to Be" which I'm also hoping to turn into a little mini zine. In gouache and pencil, as always. I'm so into painting hair lately.

More work in progress. Another piece from the "Woman I've Wanted to Be" Series. This one is of Kate Moss.

When I was in Toronto I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) three times and I realized how much it inspired me to see art, not just scrolling through images on Tumblr or Pinterest, but really nose-pressed-to-the-glass-security-guard-death-stare seeing it in the flesh. So since I've been back, I've made a point to go to more gallery events and see more art and I think my work has already improved for it. There's more to life beyond the safety of the computer screen glare. This was at the fantastic Carne Griffiths show at Above Second. The photo of the dog and me is courtesy of the photographer Jordan Joe.

Checked out the Little Thunder exhibition and book signing at Rat's Cave. I'm such a fan, her work is so sexy and intricate.

A quick little Marilyn Monroe sketch in pencil and gouache which initially inspired the "Women I've Wanted to Be" series. Marilyn is the number one person I wanted to be when I was little, I watched all of her movies and memorized her lines when I was in elementary school. I still sometimes watch How to Marry a Millionaire and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes whenever I'm not feeling well.

Getting my products ready for the Tangram Christmas Edition Pop Up Shop. It's on until this Sunday, December the 22nd at Little Square in Hong Kong. I have postcards, prints and original paintings for sale. It's full of beautifully curated stuff and perfect for X'mas shopping.

And lastly, my most recent illustration for Hong Kong Tatler on an article about produce diversity by the wonderful food writer Janice Leung Haynes. Thanks always to editor Charmaine for the project. See the full piece here.

Tourist in my Own City / Ah Fong Shanghai Wonton Dumplings

Yesterday I had lunch at a really cozy spot near my house with a big Matisse print on the wall-- a little dumpling restaurant staffed by women where during the after lunch rush was full of lone diners like myself.

I had the "light meal" set which comes with a bowl of dumplings, your choice of side dish and a glass of soy milk for $39HKD. I opted for a comforting mug of hot Ovaltine for an extra 2 bucks since I'm trying to have less soy due to my thyroid. For the side, I chose the sweet vinegar ribs which were so delicious; tangy, savoury and sweet which went perfectly with the rice cake that came in the dumpling soup.

I read the new National Geographic about the world's first skiers. Since being back in Hong Kong I always ask for a Nat Geo subscription for my birthday, it's like getting a really informative present each month. 

阿芳餛飩
Ah Fong Shanghai Wonton
G/F, 40  Sung Kit Street, Hung Hom. Kowloon.

Where to find Cool Vintage Glasses in Hong Kong? Mei Yick Spectacles

Having nice glasses are my favourite thing, they tell people you are really artsy and smart and that you aren't like everyone else and they also help you see things. Also, contacts terrify me. I was about to blow my life saving's on these pair of Andy Wolf's but my goal before 2013 ends is to start a retirement fund so I had to reconsider my priorities.

So it was off to the Shum Shui Po and Mong Kong, Hong Kong's older districts to search for some affordable and unique frames, where I discovered Mei Yick Spectacles which specialize in deadstock frames.

 Photo: Think-silly.com

They have tons of interesting styles lining the tiny shop and the helpful owner brought down all the styles which might suit me. I ended up choosing a pair of clear cat eye frames with a bit of turquoise detailing which are also a bit bedazzled! I got Transition™ lenses put in, so I can always feel pretty and prepared whenever I go outside, but kind of douchey when I come to meet important people indoors and my glasses haven't Transition™ed back into normal from the sunlight.

The whole thing came out to under $1000 HKD, that's like $150 CAD for frames and lenses which is basically unheard of in Canada.

Mei Yick Spectacles
28 Tung Choi Street, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
It's on the "Ladies Market" street, behind the streetstalls.

Another place I love for eyeglass shopping in Hong Kong, not vintage and if you want to spend the big bucks and you already have a retirement fund is Pui Yi Optical.

Sketches / Kate Moss at the Beach with Two Cigs in Gouache and Pencil

Made some sketches while pursuing Tumblr the other night from a photo of Kate Moss on the beach.
Gouache and pencil on extremely shitty paper that I bought on vacation in Beijing.

Here's a detail shot, I like the texture. I always like to draw everyone with very Asian looking eyes.

This little beauty is for sale: $100 CAD. She's about 10" x 7", pencil and gouache on paper. Original painting.
Email me if you're interested: kitty.n.wong (at) gmail (dot) com

I have two weddings to go to next year, and they're both so far away. So I'm going to be selling some more drawings and paintings soon to try to save up for them. Keep your eyes out for originals on my Etsy shop. And the signed framed prints from the Shoes / Off shows are listed there too.

www.etsy.com/shop/themarrow

Tutorial / How to Fake that Chalkboard Look on Photoshop + Champagne Blending Illustration for Tatler HK

How to get a realistic chalk effect on Photoshop.
This trick looks more like chalk than CaCO₃, I learned it from a Jessica Hische talk. Speaking of which, talks and podcasts by creative people are the only way I survive while working since I spend 8+ hours drawing by myself, my sanity is just hanging on by threads. My absolute favourite lately is Your Dreams My Nightmares by artist / educator Sam Weber, he interviews illustrators and art directors and it fulfils all my podcast listening fantasies: weird music, cool people, talking about minute things only illustrators care about, NYC!

Anyways back to this tutorial, it really is super easy.

- Using a 2B or darker pencil draw the words or pictures you want on a piece of paper (bond paper is fine).
- Smudge it all around with your hands, that's why you need a 2B pencil, any harder and it ain't messy enough.
- Touch all your belongings and make everything dirty. 
- Scan the paper and open it up on Photoshop.
- Invert the image so the white part becomes black and voila! Finally play around with the levels until you're happy with the black to white ratio.

Here's one of my latest illustrations for HongKongTatler.com for their article on champagne blending where I used this chalkboard technique. Uh huh huh, I had a tres bien time drawing that French man.

Thanks to the editor Charmaine and the writer Esther.

If Fashion Week was a Horror Film / My Halloween Fashion Comic for Dazed & Confused

It feels surreal but my very first illustration feature with Dazed Digital is out now, they're the online companion to Dazed & Confused magazine. I used to buy secondhand copies of i-D and Dazed magazines at the huge BMV bookstore in downtown Toronto during 1st year university and I used to leaf through them thinking how cooool are all these people? And then I'd carefully cut out my favourite pages and save them for collaging, but after 1st year university I ran out of money and stopped buying magazines and just bought food instead.

So needless to say I'm super excited to be working with Dazed for this Halloween feature, "If Fashion Week was a Horror Film". 

There are 5 storyboards, with each image being it’s own story about the designer and their dark S/S 2014 collection:

1. Rei Kawakubo and her Commes des Garcons girl gang.
2. Marc Jacobs's Louis Vuitton circus.
3. The Maison Martin Marigela laboratory.
4. Meadham Kirchhoff's heaven and hell.
5. Thom Browne's mental asylum.

You can read more about the story and the illustrations on DazedDigital.com.

Click through after the jump to see my drafts and process for the project.

This Month I've Been: the Very Best October, Vancouver, Toronto, Canada Edition

Picking berries and frolicking on lush carpets of grass at my old neighbour's backyard in my B.C. hometown. Oh Canada, I've missed you so much. It's already been three years since I graduated and moved back to Hong Kong, I can't believe just how fast time flies.

Next I stopped by Vancouver fashion designer Jason Matlo's studio in Gastown, he took a chance on me when I was just a super green first year student at Ryerson and I interned there for the summer. I'm still super grateful for the experience. He also makes amazing chicken salads. I made this sketch of his White Cashmere collection as a little present when I went to visit.

And what is a day in Vancouver without the VAG? That's right, the VAG, the Vancouver Art Gallery. And also the gay village on Davie St. where this rainbow sidewalk was.

Speaking of stripes, my lovely friend Phoebe in Taiwan just ordered the Stripes in Shibuya iPhone case? Doesn't it look so cute? Get yours at my Society6 store.

My family and I did a 5 day trip to Banff, it was ah-mazing, I forget how beautiful Canada is sometimes. Every second was a perfect photo opportunity and the clear mountain air was better for my skin than any facial.

Then it was off to the land of cool cafes and wonderful friends, Toronto, my very first love. Having a delicious yogurt parfait at the beautifully restored Dineen Coffee.

But this vacay isn't all lounging and lattes, my friend Markus and I organized an exhibition of my illustration work that opened while I was there. We did tons of preparing and promoting after I landed. Even walked all around Queen St. West and Kensington posting up flyers and chatting with stores in the area. The show is on until November 10th at Cafe Pamenar, so feel free to drop by!

After all that hustlin' we needed some R'andR', so it was off to the country to my friend Markus's childhood home where his lovely mom made us delicious food and 4 kinds of pies and we spent the weekend lazily watching House Hunters with his awesome family and various pets.

Toronto is so lovely and full of friends, I stayed in Harbord Village near the Annex and kept bumping into friends on the street. Hong Kong can be so lonely sometimes and maybe because Toronto is my alma mater city but it just feels so cozy, I didn't want to leave. 

Postcards I printed for the exhibition opening, I'm all sold out except one last pack of the Shoes I Never Wear series (Email me if you would like that last one - $20CAD for 5 postcards). I'll be doing another print run soon to sell at the Tangram Gift Shop pop-up coming this Christmas. Keep your ears peeled for that.

On my last day in Toronto, we walked down to the Drake hotel on West Queen West and did the chemical photobooth there. Only $2! So worth it. I try to do a photobooth in every city I visit, so far I have Taipei, Korea and now Toronto too.

Toronto is such a creative city, passed by this beautifully illustrated poster for the Fringe play Fort Isabel by Anna Standish.

And lastly, for some super exciting end of the month news! I've been working hard on an illustrated Halloween story for Dazed & Confused magazine! It's so cool to work with such creative people. The piece comes out online tomorrow morning, I can't wait!

Come to My Toronto Art Exhibition! Shoes / Off: Drawings by Kitty N. Wong

The date's been set and the art's been printing! It's all happening!
If you follow me on Instagram you've probably noticed I've been dropping hints about my upcoming art exhibition. Well everything's been confirmed and I can finally share!

Shoes / Off: Drawings by Kitty N. Wong is taking place from October 20 - November 10 at Cafe Pamenar in Kensington Market in Toronto.
Opening Night: Oct 22, 2013 from 7:30 - 11:00pm and you're all invited!

If you have any friends that will be in town too, please please please tell them! It's gonna be an awesome time. I'm going to be at the opening night doing live sketches of the guests and asking them the stories behind the shoes they're wearing, just like the Shoes I Never Wear series. All the archival art prints at the show are all for sale and I'll be selling some very limited postcards/mini-prints as well. SO COME!

I've been so busy these last two weeks, with printing, finishing up freelance projects and setting up the show before I leave for Canada. I'm jokingly referring to it as my "sabbatical" since I'm celebrating my first year of being a freelance illustrator! I'll be heading back to my hometown Abbotsford (a small suburb outside of Vancouver) and then to Toronto where I'll be doing the show!
It feels so good to know that I've put in 100% and soon will be kicking it in Canada eating at the ABC Country Restaurant and buying old fashion sweets at the Clayburn Village Store (lemon bon bons please!) like nobody's business.

A huge huge huge thank you goes to my dear dear friend Markus Doerr for helping me make this exhibition happen, he found the venue and has been dealing with all the Toronto things and for putting up with my bossy text messages at 2 in the morning. Thank you so much Markus!

Please help me share the event by using the social media buttons below and RSVP'ing to the Facebook event! Thank you so much and I hope I'll get to meet some of you lovely readers there!

Free Shipping on Society 6 on Prints and Phone Cases

FREE SHIPPING in my Society6 Print Shop this weekend! From now until Sunday (PST), get it gurrrrl (or boyzz).

Use this link right here for the discount: http://society6.com/kittynwong?promo=7151d3

Recent Work / Burberry SS14 Predictions for Bagaholic Boy

Just a quick update on my most recent project for the Singapore fashion blog Bagaholic Boy, he's going to London for the Spring-Summer 2014 Womens Burberry Prorsum show and to celebrate he invited three illustrators: Olga the Cat creator Ridhwan Sesapar, HsulynnPang and yours truly to predict what might be shown on the runways this season.

Bagaholic Boy asked us to predict the show using the men's collection so I wanted to create an ideal Burberry girl and have her wardrobe match her boyfriend's SS14 look. And being the ideal Burberry couple they would even own a dog named Prossy (adopted of course, named after Burberry Prossum), a collie just like the one from the ad campaigns.

Thanks so much for the fun project Alvin!

To read more about it and to see the other wonderful illustrations from the projects check out BagaholicBoy's post.

Sketches / Streetstyle at Hong Kong's Fashion Night Out 2013

Emma in a one of a kind Tangram floor length dress with a blue Hawaiian print paired with geometric patterned flats from Square Street.

 The Bumbys.

Guess what! It's Fashion Night Out in Hong Kong again. How fast a year goes by I still remember it like yesterday making needlework with artist Suzie Stanford and eating thrice my share of salted caramel XTC gelato.

The Bumbys were there this year. They are an anonymous performance art duo who will give you "a fair and honest appraisal of your appearance". I hadn't heard of them until visiting the FNO website but immediately upon reading I was seized with jealous for not coming up with the idea myself and vowed to go early to get a glance and a judge. And early I went, at 6pm Friday night my friend and I got into the IFC Lane Crawford and found them, Theee Bummmmbys, tap tap taping away on their 80's style typewriters and so we got in line. But alas, we had misread the fine print and The Bumbys were a with purchase only activity and we were promptly kicked out of line left wondering if our outfits had been good enough for the red duo.

Matching candy coloured dolly outfits.

Blogger Nick Chan.

JJ Acuna, aka The Wanderlister in front of the entrance.

The Moustache Cocktail Bar.

In prep school girl looks: a sky blue dress with beautiful godet detail paired with a cat photo print clutch and a light wash jean jacket. Her friend in a cable knit sweater, raw silk pleated skirt and brogues, naturally.

It was a fun night, I was really happy for a chance to get out of the house and be social again after being sick for so long. And it was a nice chance to meet new friends and see old ones.

Hope you enjoyed the sketches! They're ball point pen (my new favourite these days, so loose and fuss free) and coloured digitally.

Vintage Hawaiian Print Girl and Prep School prints without watermark are for sale on my print shop if you loved 'em and wanna have them in your homes! 

Check out last year's Fashion Night Out post here.