Sketches / #Girlboss in NYC

I finally blogged! It's been forever, I've been hanging out all summer long in the greatest city in the world, New York City! And it really is the greatest city, there are a million great events to go to everyday, drawing events, comic jams, outdoor movies, yoga in Central Park. And yesterday was Sophia Amoruso's paperback book launch for #GIRLBOSS at Barnes & Noble in Union Square.

I remember first discovering the Nasty Gal website in university when one of my cool girl classmates told me about it, I loved it and always checked back to see what was new. They have such a strong look. You could just tell all the women at the event were huge fans too, everyone had that Nasty Gal 'look', there was lots of black, in mesh, lace and lacey mesh, 'marsala' (which Sophia said was huge for this season), floppy hats, dark lips and platform shoes. So while we waited for the event to start, there was a lot of marshaling to be done seeing as there were 500+ eager gals there, I made some sketches to pass the time.

Sophia had lots of awesome wisdom tid-bits during the talk, some of my faves were:

"Money looks better in your bank than on your feet." Cha-Ching! So true.

On creating your dream job.
"Professionalize what you love doing, that's what I did with vintage clothing."

From a Q+A from an aspiring stylist.
"Take quality photos of all your looks, get a Squarespace. Archive everything."

Well you know I love female role models (Hi Hillary!) and the entrepreneur spirit, so of course I can't wait to finally read the book. Plus! The book has amazing badassy illustrations by Jo Radcliffe.

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Sketches / Prada Baby

Prada Baby, 2015.

First day back at the desk, an one afternoon sketch to help me get back into the swing of things. Inspired by the Sasha Pivovarova for Prada ad. I'm just such a fan of drawing shoes and little animals.

Off to make dinner now, sooo hungry!

August TMI / This Month I: Night Hiked + Quick Sketches

RIP Lauren Bacall, she along with Marilyn Monroe were two of my favourite old Hollywood stars. I used to watch How to Marry A Millionaire on repeat in my early teens. I'll still put it own whenever I'm feeling down. That broad sure was on the level.

Do you guys know about Old Master Q? 老夫子! Ohhh my gosh, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this comic. As a kid living in Hong Kong, I used to go for dim sum with my grandma every weekend and each time she would give me a few bucks to go down to the newsstand to buy the new issue of Old Master Q so I would sit still for a even just a second during the meal. They were selling originals (!) at Sotheby's, I got a chance to check out the exhibition and most of the pieces still had me laughing out loud. So much love.

I've been so into night hiking this month, I've been challenging myself each week with a hike from Wong Tai Sin to Sha Tin Wai and it feels so good to see myself improving. And the hike itself is magical too, monkeys (ok, sometimes scary), lighting bugs and the trail ends just 5 mins from the MTR. Ugh! Too good. I drew this little sketch after a walk along the Tai Po Promenade where the sampans were parked for the night, romantic!

Pink is the word, is the word that you heard. It's got groove, it's got meaning. Pink is the time, is the place, it's the motion. Pink is the way we are feeling. I've been collection pink things this month just by accident: strawberry fields Tic Tacs (ew!), plastic hair thingymabobs, Japanese peach candies with adorable packaging, my new Kate Spade Saturday card case and my Strawberry Milk illustrated postcard.

One of my favourite things about being an illustrator is drawing ridiculously inane things for my friends for their birthdays. May I present 'Jumpin' Josh Hot Sauce', so hot it'll make you hop.

At last, it's my 27th birthday and just like that I'm in my late twenties. How did that happen? I did a casual day at the beach and BBQ in the evening at Shek O this year and I made these illustrated crowns for all my friends to wear for the festivities. Ifffffff I could turn back time (then I'd be Cher, I guess).

June TMI / This Month I: Got Back to the City

On my very last day in London I spent the afternoon wolfing down scones and chamomile tea at the top floor restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery, it's got one of the best and most interesting views of London, looking towards the Thames behind Trafalgar Square.

Feeling super inspired and creative from my trip in London, I wanted to make sure that I had a fabulous outfit to wear to The Golden Age, Duddell's 1st Anniversary Party. I went to Sham Shui Po, HK's sewing district to find fabric and trimmings and made my own costume, a gold lame qi-pao. I felt like THIS is how a young girl should live, like a F. Scott Fitzgerald adaption of Cinderella staying up into the wee hours to sew my own dress for the ball. Check out the final look here, complete with gold flakes under my eyes. Gold Dust Woman!

 Sketches from the Xu Bing exhibition at Asia Society, read the full blog post here.

"I will not just be a tourist in the world of images" - Anais Nin. Practicing hand-lettering which is always fun and easy.

Organizing my London-trip sketchbook, a pressed daisy, the flowers were ubiquitous on the sidewalks and in the parks all over the city. An art nouveau sticker from my favourite fast-food joint LEON's, and a ticket stub from Chatsworth House.

 Working slowly (but not even all that surely) on my London zine.

Spent an accidental afternoon at the beach, that's one of my favourite things about this cosmopolitan city, as cramped as the highrises are you are never too far from nature. This is Repluse Bay, a 20 minute bus ride from Central.

Just some loose sketches, since being back, maybe because it's the humid summer but I've had a hard time finding my daily rhythm and routine again. Doing little drawings without any purpose in mind always helps me feel better.

If you liked this post, make sure to follow me on Instagram for daily updates: @kittynwong

May TMI / This Month I: Was a Dream Girl in a Dream City

Month of May it's a violent thing! I can't believe May has come and gone again. May was indeed a bit violent at least for my schedule. I had three live-drawing gigs booked! One of which was for Lane Crawford, and the second was during Art Basel at the Chai Wan Mei Village event for Tangram x Spottly. This mirror I painted was part of my booth and mini-exhibition where I sat and painted large watercolour portraits for the price of a deep dark secret from my subject.

My illustration for Tatler Hong Kong art month's The Great Debate: Can Art Still Shock? Read the article here. As always thanks to the editor Charmaine.

Sketches at the Xu Bing exhibition at Asia Society. Read more about it on my blog post. 

As I was getting ready for my upcoming trip to London, I found a new use for those watercolour scraps that have no use but are too cute to throw away. I used the paper to pin all my earrings together so they're organized when I'm travelling. I hope people noticed that I wore these very location appropriate Big Ben earrings all throughout my London trip, just like Miss Frizzle would do. Dee. Eye. Why?

My first sketch in London made on the tube from Heathrow to my hostel in Holborn. The Tube, so expensive and so rickety! During my trip, I mostly ended up taking the bus or walking. And since being back in Hong Kong, I have gained back all the weight I lost while walking everywhere in London since being able to afford public transportation again.

First stop in LDN: National Portrait Gallery. NPG! NPG! NPG! This gorgeous mosaic floor was taken at the neighboring National Gallery, dope!

Last month was so special, not only did I get to visit a new country for the first time, but I also got to witness my very special friend designer and illustrator Belinda Love Lee get married in Wales.  During the ceremony inside a beautiful marquee decked out in white and the most delicate shade of grlue (green + blue) I snapped a pic with my pretty university pal Katelyn Bishop, who is also a talented graphic designer.

Sketching Henry Wessel photographs at Tate Modern.

I did a lot of walking when I was in London and during my walks I pretty much stopped at every single charity shop I came across. Retromania by Fara was my favourite, not only are they a really well curated vintage shop but all the proceeds go to charity. I got this super sick 70's white and blue printed batwing dress, can't wait to show you guys!

Sketching Robert Mapplethorpe photos while waiting for my time slot to the Matisse: The Cut-Outs to start. Overlooking St. Paul and the Millennium Bridge, Tate Modern really is a magical space in a magical city.

Love you so much London!
Follow my daily adventures on Instagram - @kittynwong.

Metamorphosis / Xu Bing at Asia Society

Before I left for my holiday in England I was lucky enough to be invited to preview 'It Begins with Metamorphosis' by the acclaimed Chinese artist Xu Bing at Asia Society. Acclaimed usually sounds like some frou-frou word which you use to describe someone who you know nothing about except that they're really famous. But in his case, Xu was rewarded the MacArthur Fellowship in 1999 (yes, the 'Genius Grant'!), so you know he's legit (bow down).

As you walk into the exhibition you are greeted by a large vase of mulberry cuttings, upon closer inspection you see that the stems are covered in small white silkworms feeding on the green leaves. As the show continues, the worms continue to devour the leaves leaving behind nothing but brown stems and the cocoons of the themselves entwined in silk.

I had never been to Asia Society until I went to see the Caravaggio exhibition a few months before, I had only seen pictures and it seemed like a magical secret place hidden amongst the trees high up in Admiralty with an illuminated walkway and peaceful Buddha sculptures. It didn't seem like a real place you could go to in Hong Kong, but alas love is a place and spring was in the air.

CLICK THROUGH to see more photos, sketches and what I wore from my luscious day at Xu Bing's 'It Begins with Metamorphosis' at Asia Society.

Sketchbook Girls / Vincent Van Girl

Kitty N. Wong, 2014.
Vincent Van Girl. Gouache and pencil on paper.
27 cm x 19 cm.

I've been working on this the last two nights, I had planned the background as simple polka dots and then it morphed into a sort of turtle shell pattern and then finally into a sort of homage to Starry Night.

Speaking of Van Gogh, I've been to this very cafe which he painted in Arles when I cycled through the little provincial town with an ex-boyfriend many years ago on bicycle trip through southern France.

Prints of this painting are now available on my Etsy shop.

Sketchbook Girls / Blue Moon

When I was little, I had a dream dictionary and I was obsessed with anaylizing my dreams and figuring out the grand meanings behind each one. Then I realized that the symbols in my dreams were nothing more than a reflection from the mundane details I had picked up throughout my day.

Inspiration is a bit like that, you could dissect your inspiration like your dreams. This is a sketchbook entry I did last night before bed. I had been listening to Snowblink's gorgeous rendition of Blue Moon all night and was probably inspired by it to paint the blue orb polka dot background. Earlier that day I had watched the Tate Shot: Lorna Simpson video and was really fascinated by the white paint that the analog photo retouchers used in her collection of vintage photographs. Even though I had mostly forgotten about the video, I subconsciously felt a need to outline the figure like in the photographs.

Just as our brains declutter our minds by dreaming, I like the idea that nightly sketchbooking clears out my mind and gets my subconscious onto paper. It's a kind of meditation. 

Did you guys do any type of meditation? And do you find it makes a difference in your life?

This illustration is available as a print in my Etsy shop, go and have a look, I'm always uploading new things.

March TMI / This Month I: Drew Everywhere

This month I drew everywhere, I got out of my studio and into the real world which takes a real effort for most illustrators, its a career where we spend most of our time in front of our easel and hand in assignments via email. The most interesting place at which I set up this month was at the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui. I did a special pop-up live sketching session and invited friends and strangers to get painted for quick portraits right on the promenade. My friend photographer Josh Tam is making a video of the event which is coming soon!

This beautiful Polaroid is from photographer Dickey Lai.

Here's one of my lovely little models from the day, she was so shy and waited behind me for almost an hour hanging out watching as I did my other portraits, but after a little urging from her dad, my friends and I she finally came around and didn't want to stop posing even after we were done. So cute!

I also got to draw at the Affordable Art Fair for Sassy Hong Kong, see the drawings here. 

And then some more live drawing for the Sassy Mama Awards. I set up a booth and did live portraits for the guest of the events, and it was extremely popular - 2 hours of non-stop drawing! It was exhilarating to interact with real people who were so interested in my work.

And of course, being out in the real world means you should have your business cards ready especially in a city like Hong Kong where it's all about giving out your "card". Make it rain bitches! I ran out of my self-portrait cards and get some new ones printed with my Cat Marnell painting on the back.

Mango, peach and cantaloupe, it was all bright and sweet with Paola, designer of Tangram at the M+ NeonSignsHK exhibition opening party. The night was sponsored by J.Crew and held in a park near Temple Street, directly across from one of the most impressive neon signs in the city.

Photo courtesy of M+.

In an attempt to declutter, I started a new habit where I cut out bits from old drawings that I liked and collage them into my sketchbook which helps to slightly dismantle the mountain of old sketches that are not really good enough to save but of which I feel too precious about to just throw away.

 I drew a lot of girls in my sketchbook, which you can read more about here.

I updated my Etsy shop with new postcards and prints. Go check them out here and get some lovely gifts for your friends (or yourself).

Phew, that was a busy and fun month. And now it's APRIL! Which has so far been very gloomy and dark. Happy Spring everyone and for daily updates get over to my Instagram - @kittynwong. 

How to Make Better Art: 10 Ways to Develop a Creative Routine + Get Better

Say Lou Lou. 2014.

Pencil and gouache on sketchbook paper. Made just before bed, my most creative time.

The only way to get better at something is to practice it, and to practice regularly you must create a routine and stick with it. During the last year or two working as an artist and illustrator these are the top 10 habits I've learned so far to help me develop my craft.

1. Don't apologize for your work. I know its tempting because your work won't be as good as you want it to be yet and you don't want anyone thinking that's all you have inside you. You have so much more you want to express, I know! But fight it, if you don't believe in your work how can other people? If it's not as good as you want, re-work it until you can accept it. Share it and then leave it at that, don't make any excuses.

2. It's OK to make ugly stuff. Experiment in your sketchbook or scrap pieces of paper for even less pressure. It keeps your work fresh and you can find and explore new directions. Continually experiment. Try something that might not work, that's what making art is.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP.

February TMI / This Month I: Spent Sweetly

February was short, but sweet. In an effort to dress more interestingly, I bought some bindis from my local Indian corner store, they're shaped like an upside down flower in unexpected bright colour combinations and I've been having such a good time wearing them. HKD $10/pack, cheap and cheerful.

This year I was really into Valentines Day, a little hand written love note I made (for myself). Various sources have accused me of being overly obsessed with kissing, or as I like to call it, smooching. But that's ridiculous, noone can have too many kisses.

At the Duddell's "Foreign Presence" exhibition, featuring a series of photos from a 1962 fashion shoot in Hong Kong by Francesco Scavullo for Harper's Bazaar. The show is on until May. 

A little shopping complex opened near our place and my mom and I went in to browse and discovered a bookstore! Alas they only had 2 English books (no lie), and I bought one of them! So many tips and new perspective on happiness in this book by Gretchen Rubin.

My friend Helene and I went hiking! We bought picnic supplies from City Super and took the leisurely 2 hour hike to Tai Tam Reservoir and waterfall. Bliss! We did however get lost on our way back and had to hike to the bus in almost complete darkness, luckily we were not attacked by 山賊 or wild pandas.

Taking the advice of the Happiness Project book, I decided to "spend out" and splurge on a deliciously fine lunch for my parents and I, all the better since it was Hong Kong restaurant week. We indulged in the 3 course lunch set at Messina, an Italian restaurant in Hung Hom, complete with molten pistachio cake, petite fours and full leaf peppermint tea. 

As a freelance illustrator, needless to say I spend way too much of my time on Pinterest, whenever I see a portrait on there that catches my eye I like to do a quick drawing of it in my sketchbook. It's spontaneous good practice.

SCAD DeFINE Art Exhibition showcasing the best of their graduating students' work. One of my favourites was MFA candidate Johnny Gin's photography series on HK's historic architecture. 

Invitations to Fixation were printed! I got to catch a glimpse of my Cat Marnell painting being used for the event invite, so exciting. The show opens today in Melbourne's Town Hall Gallery!

I love to go to the library to read magazines to relax and get inspiration. Reading Dazed and Confused and came across a strikingly beautiful portrait of filmmaker Katell Quillévéré so I made a sketch.

I hope you had a sweet February too. Follow me on Instagram for daily updates @kittynwong.