Papergirl met with illustrator and designer Chenoa Gao at her home/studio on Burrard Street. Chenoa's colorful and graphic work is a collection of illustration, typography, and design inspired by classic illustration and animation from the fifties and sixties. Chenoa originally pursued a career in the sciences but soon realized that her real passion is for art. After completing a diploma in graphic design, Chenoa worked in Vancouver's gaming industry creating illustrations for in-game graphics, taught graphic design at BCIT and Langara, and is now focused on freelance illustration and art direction. Chenoa has worked on a number of projects for clients such as Starbucks, Lululemon, and Avandeo, and has recently illustrated a series of posters for the Canadian government's signed treaty with the UN's Rights of the Child. Her work has been featured in art shows in St. Louis, New York, and Vancouver.
See more of Chenoa's work at Onedove and find her on Twitter here.
Our Q&A with Chenoa:
CG: There are a lot of things that inspire me - there are so many different styles I like, from cartoons to detailed illustrations to oil paintings. But what really triggers me is people who tell a story through their art and who give you some sort of emotional impact. I think that is why I like editorial illustration the most, because you take something that is really abstract and make it visual. Editorial illustration is always different, and it allows me to stay away from having a gimmick to my artwork. In my personal work, I tend to think a lot about context and situation and then break it down into basic elements. I then go online and type in words to see what kind of images pop-up. I look at my favourite artists and see what they may have done with a theme, and from there I start gathering a visual mood board and picking out colors, then start doing sketches. Once I have something that works for me visually I do a final version.
PG: Do you remember the first time you created something?
CG: I think I was around 3 and I was obsessed with drawing teeth. I would draw stick figures who had giant mouths with huge cone like teeth. I don't know what I was thinking! My sister saved all of them and showed me when I was teenager, and I thought "wow, that is really messed up!"
PG: What is your creative process?
CG: I am 100% digital. I used to do a lot of traditional work but the time I was spending to digitally correct the work and clean up my images made me wonder why I was still working traditionally when I had all the tools, in Photoshop and Illustrator, on my computer. Plus the cost of my supplies, all the paints, pens, and paper, ended up being so expensive. I also like the portable aspects of working digital -- I can go on vacation or pick everything up and go work at a cafe if I want to get out of the house.
PG: Do you think about the relationship between artist and viewer when creating?
CG: I am always thinking about how my work might be viewed. I don't want to alienate people -- I want them to enjoy my work and connect or relate to it, and be able to see it hanging in their home or on a t-shirt they would wear. Sometimes I do work that I won't put on my website but that I will put on my blog. I feel like my blog allows me more freedom to speak my personal opinion, and showcase some of my work that is a bit more risqué.
PG: What does community mean to you as an artist?
CG: When I was living in Austria I found that if you were an artist, or a sculptor, or a weaver you were really sort of revered in the community. It was almost like artists were like doctors, and had a special status. I wish we had more of that approach here. I think that the arts are really important - whether it is dance, music or visual communication - and should be a strong part of community. Art is something that everyone in a community can identify with, in some way. I think that because Vancouver is so multicultural art can be a good way for others to learn about another culture regardless of being able to speak the language.
PG: How are you supported as an artist in Vancouver? Are there changes or improvements you would like to see?
CG: I have found it difficult to get support in Vancouver. I find that it's not a very open industry here, and that if you don't already know someone in the industry trying to get noticed is incredibly difficult and frustrating. There is also not a single agency in Vancouver that works with illustrators to get jobs. It is so bizarre! Now that I've stepped away from the gaming industry to follow my own passion most of the work I get isn't often from Vancouver, it is actually usually from outside of Canada.
I would love for the community to be more supportive and more open here in Vancouver. My dream is to start a large agency/cafe/art space, similar to the hubs that are in Vancouver for web developers where you pay a little bit of rent and have a working space, access to wifi, a shared kitchen etc. I want to do something that would be similar to a traditional agency but different in that we wouldn't dictate who your clients are or what your salary is. We would just promote you, do your social media, help you to find clients and help negotiate fees. We would also have a gallery space where whoever we are working with could showcase their work so that when potential clients come in they can actually meet the artist and see their work. I think it could be a really great space in Vancouver. My goal, once I've become a bit more established, is to do a business proposal and try to get funding and a group of people, like an accountant, a social media maven and an art buyer, together to make it happen.
PG: What interests you about Papergirl?
CG: There is just something about that I think is so quirky, and so emotional in a way. It makes me think about paying-it-forward. It is so random for someone on a bike to stop you on the street and give you art. I would be so stoked if it happened to me! I think it helps promote artists and art, it gives back to the community and I really hope that wherever the art ends up it is appreciated.
PG: At Papergirl, we are all about the art of giving art. What is the greatest gift you have ever received?
CG: I know it's kind of cliché, but my husband. Having his undying love and his support for what I do means everything to me. It has been really tough with a lot of ups and downs but he has always remained really positive and is the #1 fan of my work. Without him I think it would have been a lot more difficult to make the leap to being a freelance illustrator and stick with it.
PG: To finish, a fun question: what kind of bike would you be?
CG: I would be my light blue beach cruiser! In a way I never really grew up. As a kid I was put in advanced placement classes so I always felt like a little adult because I had to leave my school to go to another school and back. My parents also very much treated me that way as well. When I got older I really craved childlike things and just cute things in general. This is why I have a bike with a basket that I can put my dog in! It's simple, it has one gear, and it's great for cruising around the sea wall. It's incredibly heavy and a bit of a pain to maneuver but I can be stubborn sometimes so it suits my personality very well! Lulu, my dog, loves sitting in the basket -- she barks at people when we go by so I guess I don't even really need the (donut-shaped) bell!
all photos by Julie Larsen. Interview by Julie Larsen and Tara Galuska.