Sparkling Illustrations: Yaoyao Ma Van As

Yaoyao Ma Van As @The ART.gallery Magazine

I first met her through her "living alone" series. I am in love with her artworks and I am sure that you are going to fall for her work too. Happiness, nostalgia, sorrow, but above all hope. Seems like her prints are the definition of the famous The Smiths' lyric "there is a light that never goes out". An inner light. The light of our souls.

And if you look closer, I am telling you, you'll see another you coming out of the pictures!

She ended up in L.A. following her dream. Animation production companies like Disney and Netflix are included in her portfolio. She lives with her other half and her lifetime furry friend Parker. She is in love with colours, adores autumn and has learnt how to embrace life with its ups and downs...

Meet Yaoyao Ma Van As and her sparkling illustrations...

“Season change intensifies the memories and feelings, whether it’s happiness or sadness, I welcome both.”

Yaoyao, welcome to ART.harbour! I am really happy that you accepted our invitation. I must admit that it feels a bit strange to me ‘cause it’s like I’ve known you through your prints a long time now...

Thank you! I’m honoured to be part of your article!

Tell us a bit more about you… You live in L.A. and you work there at the time, right? But… what’s your story? ?

I moved out to L.A. to pursue a career in animation and somehow fell into layout/ background painting along the way, and now I’m taking some time off to discover what I really want to do, because after working in the industry for a while, I realized that there are so many things I want to do with my life.

How would you describe yourself as an artist? Which are the bullet points in your creative path?

As an artist I am super critical about what I do, which is good but also kind of bad because I am so hard on myself.

I start off with an idea, usually about a point I’m trying to make or a story that I have in mind. Then I do a rough sketch to get the composition I want (this is the toughest part because I don’t want to always have the same composition and it has to read instantly, so it takes some time for me to figure out).

After that, I do the line work of the characters, and depending on what style I’m going for, sometimes I go straight into painting the background without doing a clean line pass. Lastly, I work on the lighting.

We can find your works in several animation series like Rick and Morty (Adult Swim), Future Worm (Disney) and BoJack Horseman (Netflix)… Is it “easy” to work for such huge production companies?

Yes, it’s pretty straightforward, especially if you have a good team and an organized production.

 Δε?τε εδ? τη συν?ντευξη στα Ελληνικ?!

I “met” you through your “living alone” series. Oh, those colourful magnificent prints of yours… It’s like reading every girl’s diary! What’s the message you want to give to the women of the world via those series?

To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re living alone or living with people, every girl (actually everyone) goes through similar emotions, whether it’s love, heartbreak, loneliness, or pure joy… and I just wanted to depict some of those.

It’s therapeutic for me to do these, and hopefully, it reminds everyone that we’re not alone in feeling these emotions. 

Seasons change… How does that affect the heart of an artist? Your heart…

I used to hate season changes as a child, and I used to especially hate autumn. But now as an adult, I love it so much, especially autumn. Season change intensifies the memories and feelings, whether it’s happiness or sadness, I welcome both.

We can see from your bio page on your website a lovely picture of you and your doggie. Is it a boy or a girl?

Parker is my little boy! 

The dog-human relationship described in your prints is so adorable – more like a partnership – and I can admit it’s pretty close to mine with my dog! How would you describe it in a few words?

Parker is my best friend, my son, my world, and I’d be lost without him.

What’s the print that best describes your present? Mine is “Can't Stop Eating” for example haha!

Haha, “Can’t Stop Eating” is definitely my constant struggle. But mentally I suppose, as of right now, it’s “Carry On”.

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