When we first saw Howie’s wallet design, we were amazed at how much visual information he was able to incorporate within just a few inches of material. We’re not the only ones similarly stunned by his work. He’s been exhibited all around Canada. He’s also been spotted in Beautiful/Decay, Carousel, Color and Border Crossings. His work is also part of the Canada Council Art Bank collection.

We caught up with Howie to ask him what inspired the design and how Chinese ink work may be a lot harder than it looks. Say hello to Howie Tsui:

We read that you moved around a lot—from Hong Kong, Thunder Bay (in Canada), Africa and now back in Canada again. How did that affect your art?
I think these divergent experiences provide me with a more radiant perspective of the world and our place in it. Given, that much of these re-locations happened during my formative years, I think the imprint of these contrasting experiences is actually embedded deeper within my psyche than something that is consciously and painstakingly incorporated into my practice.

Your work is so dense, but the execution isn’t visually taxing at all. How did you first come to work with ink?
I am using Chinese paint pigments for the most part. I started in 2008 working with this material on mulberry paper, which provides a tooth-y texture. The pigmentation is affective in achieving the faux-antiquated look that I was going for.

My move to these materials from, say, oil and canvas, was an intentional departure away from
traditionally Eurocentric mediums. I actually consider these works ‘paintings’, but from my experience applying to a Canadian painting competition, a painting must be on canvas or board.

What’s the most difficult thing about working with ink?
There ain’t really an undo or paint over option. So each stroke, gesture, texture and line is pretty much final.

Could you share what your studio is like and what your materials are?
I have a very modest work/live studio space in my house. It’s basically a master bedroom that I’ve modded with a flat works storage shelf on the ceiling. There’s lots of light, a big ass table, plants
and shelving for books.

My big paintings are rolled up and placed in tubes. Other parts of my house also come into play. There’s a computer area on the main floor for digital and office work, and basement for storage. Outdoors areas are also available, when the tundra hath thawed, for power saws and messier work.

What themes fascinate you and come up most in your artwork?
Hmm. I’m interested in fear and it’s relationship to creativity, imagination, child-rearing, the absurd and it’s historic role in Asian cultures contrasted with its modern day manifestation. There’s a lot more things that I could get into, but you probably don’t want to get me started. I wish I could just say, “I like skulls. Yeah man. And diamonds. Yeah. They bad ass.”

There’s a lot going on in the wallet design you made, could you tell us a little more about it?
The design is taken from segments of my scroll painting “Tengu’s World” (2009) from my Horror Fables series. It features the Japanese folkloric figure of Tengu perched atop a mountain; a rooftop figure who is poisoning a sleeping wife by dripping poison onto a dangling string; impaled lovers; a blue
guy tied to a tree and the Buddhist God of Heavenly Punishment is dunking baddies and biting off heads.

Your works are usually in scroll-format. How large are they usually?
The largest ones are limited to the largest wall I have in the studio. They are 125” x 38”. The tall vertical ones are 75” x 38”. Tengu’s World from the wallet is 72” x 25”.

How do you approach your work? Do you start from one end to another? Or do you work on whichever direction that catches your fancy?
I usually have a few major anchor components in my composition and then areas for mid-sized content and also areas for free unconscious work. Usually bouncing back and forth between areas striving for a balance.

How has your work changed over the years?
My practice has changed and matured quite dramatically in recent years. I’ve been very lucky to receive arts funding which allows my practice to be less affected by fashion and/or commercial pressures, while offering the chance to focus solely on developing projects that are honest, concept-oriented, explorations into that which I find intriguing. I think oppose to first asking myself, “What should this looks like?” I now ask myself “What is this about?”

How do you see your style evolving in the future?
From scroll paintings, I’ve moved to multi-media sculpture and producing magic lantern performances.

Next up, I’m messing around with re-configuring an old pinball machine into a human torso, and making an anatomically incorrect monument of an 1812 warrior out of epoxy-casted bones and organs. Oh and also depictions of self-inflicted diseases in the format of epic war paintings.

Check out Howie’s wallet at poketo.com.
Find more of Howie on howietsui.com.
Check out booooooom at booooooom.com

Andrea Wan has seen the world. She was born in Hong Kong, raised in Canada and studied illustration at Designskolen Kolding, Denmark. Her experience in these parts of the world have given her a lot to draw upon (literally!).

She is an illustrator and visual artist in Vancouver. Andrea is one of the four artists featured in our collaboration with Booooooom, so we wanted to get to know her a little bit more. We talked with Andrea to ask how she is able to incorporate all of these divergent experiences in her works of art. Here’s where our conversation went:

Hi, Andrea. How’s your day been going so far?
I just got up and so far I’ve been sleepy.

We heard that you’ve been traveling as well. Could you share what you were up to and where did you go?
I was traveling in Europe for a month by myself. I went to Berlin, Geneva, Antwerp, Brussels, Barcelona and London, visiting friends and exploring the cities. It was an amazing trip and I met a lot of lovely people while I was there. I’m still adjusting to the reality at the moment.

I’ve been looking at your drawings and they seem to flow from one idea to the next. They also usually meld people and landscape together. Why is that?
I’m interested in exploring themes such as memories, the subconscious in my art and I see the drawing process as a way to discover myself.

When it comes to ideas I always try to be as spontaneous as possible, as the drawings have to reflect how I feel at the moment. Sometimes I repeat subjects that means something special to me such as horses, ghosts, and sometimes I switch to new ones. I like putting my characters in an emotional landscapes to set the mood for the piece. Drawing is like having an ongoing diary, where all my deepest feelings and anxieties are recorded down and kept secret.

If you had three words to describe your work, what would those words be?
Intimate, dream-like, subdued

Could you share a bit of your long history with illustration with us?
As a kid I loved hanging out at my parents’ design studio where there were a lot of books for inspiration and art supplies to get me into the habit of creating things. I was encouraged to draw and make crafts instead of buying toys. I remember messing around with the photocopier and Paint program on the old school Mac a lot.

In high school I was just doodling monsters while spacing out in classes that I wasn’t interested in. Does that count? I thought art lessons in my high school were boring because the teachers only wanted to see pretty things, so I ended up skipping most of the classes.

You mentioned that 8 months you spent in school at Europe were like 3 years. Why is that?
Travelling alone and living in a foreign town for some time definitely made me grow up a little faster than usual. It wasn’t only about school, but the whole experience of adapting to unfamiliar environments. I gained a lot than what I’d expect in that 8 months.

Could you share some moments of inspiration that you had in Europe? What things did you see, people did you meet that influence your work today?
During my program in Denmark, I remember walking by the textiles studios in the school and being fascinated by the big weaving machines and the cool patterns they can make. Observing these textile designs made me pay more attention to the patterns in my work. I was also inspired by the landscape and the architecture and stories from northern mythologies that I heard. Most importantly, the people I met played the biggest part in the whole experience especially those who are passionate in what they do and devoted to making their ideas happen.

You balance being a freelance editorial illustration artist with being an artist. Could you share how they’re each different?
Commission work has certain restrictions to be followed – pushing those restrictions to make something exceptional is the challenging (and also fun) part. Art on the other hand can be done at my own pace. Since my work is very personal, its harder to emotionally detach myself from it, but at the same time it can be satisfying when others feel connected to it.

Given the choice, which one would you rather be?
Doing both illustration and art gives me the perfect balance. I can’t really imagine doing only one at this point. Other than editorial I have also worked on other types of project, many of them lies in between the 2 categories. Ideally I’d like to be commissioned as an artist so my art isn’t restricted to the gallery setting.   

What do you think are the biggest challenges for someone in your line of work?
I think the biggest challenges would be maintaining your own unique voice while working for others. its important to take certain risks to push the boundaries given by the clients and yourself.

Where do you find inspiration?
I’m inspired by pretty much everything around me: people, places, moments, and how I relate to these things. For visual inspiration I like to look at works by other artists and textile patterns in clothes.

The series deals with the “After Life.” What does that mean for you visually?
To me it means leaving one’s body and going on a journey, migrating from one world to the next.

What were you inspired by when designing this particular wallet?
Some of my characters fit well into the theme of afterlife, so I wanted to incorporate them into the wallet design. I imagined these creatures from the underworld coming out from the water and then hiding their spirits in shells on a beach. They live in the shells and patiently wait until they’re ready to move onto their next lives.

Do you believe in the After Life?
I believe in it, because its more fun to think about it. In the Chinese culture I grew up with, there are interesting stories about one’s journey in the underworld before his rebirth. After death, the spirit is brought to a court accompanied by cow and horse headed guardians. The judge would tell him all the major things he has done in his life and then decide what he deserves to be next. Lastly, the spirit drinks a soup that makes him forget everything in his previous life, and walk over a bridge that leads him to his next life.

If we did have an Afterlife, what do you think yours would be like?
Maybe I’ll end up working for the government as the underworld court painter.

What’s next for Andrea Wan?
I’m currently preparing for a solo show coming up this October at Catalog Gallery in Vancouver. I’m also working on a couple other projects and a small zine.

Check out Andrea’s Poketo x Booooooom wallet at poketo.com.
More from Andrea at andreawan.com.
More of Booooooom.com here.

Only a few more days until a big announcement between Booooooom and Poketo. We’ve never done something like this before. Watch out for it on Monday, folks!

In the meantime, let’s chat with Toronto-based artist Winnie Truong, whose follicle-filled design is part of our latest collaboration with Booooooom.

When you look through this 22-year-old artist’s work, you’ll find a collection of other similarly detailed works that often remind us of our long-forgotten adolescence (braces, blemishes and all). Despite that, Winnie’s work manages to show us that it really wasn’t so bad after all.

Could you tell us a little about who Winnie is?
A nice city girl with a zeal for art, parks and naptimes.

How did you discover your love for drawing?
Drawing has always been something I’ve done as preliminary work in my sketchbook. When I first started going to art school, I convinced myself that I wanted to be a painter only to later find that drawing was the thing I could handle with ease and that best suited what I wanted to express.

You work always sits at the borderlines of beauty and beastly, awkward and strangely graceful. Why is that?
The fascination comes from that tension between that attraction and repulsion the viewer experiences upon seeing the work… and people tend to have great opinions on one or the other. With every drawing I’m creating new viewpoint on that matter that I also have yet to resolve.

Your drawings look so detailed, how much time to do you spend on each?
The largest drawings take a few weeks to a month to complete. Sometimes I get really obsessive, and even after spraying fixative on the drawing, I am adding little marks and stray hairs here and there.

When drawing to that level of detail, what tip could you share with other people?
Patience. And hand exercises to avoid carpal tunnel.

Why hair as a subject?
Hair continues to fascinate me as a naturally occurring thing on our bodies that can be styled and adorn as expression of class, culture, gender, and even personality, and especially at its extremes. The act of drawing for me also has a direct connection to hair in that every mark translates into a single strand.

What about the gap teeth, braces and freckles?
My attraction to those attributes probably comes from the fact that we associate them with that adolescent stage in life when those things don’t seem beautiful, but rather as awkward and unwelcome features.

Are your drawings based on real people?
They aren’t based on anyone in particular. The faces are based loosely on people seen fashion and hair magazines. I take the models and their blank expressions as a platform and then the exaggerated hair and blemish stand in as extensions of personality and whim. Although I have a good idea of the final work will look like, I do let the hair and the strokes of colour develop intuitively on the way. Ultimately the portraits become anonymous projections of our feelings and notions towards the beautiful and grotesque, rather than of a specific likeness.

Tell us a little bit about your design for the “Afterlife” series.
I wanted to respond to the theme with an ambivalent point of view, in doing so I created the artwork using the changing states of ambiguous “life-forms” to tell a story through their disjointed relationships. I drew some not-quite-persons, and not-quite-creatures that I thought would illustrate both life and death simultaneously, so that the theme of “Life After Death” is open to individual interpretation.

Was it difficult to come up with your final illustration?
The hardest part was mulling over what theme meant to me personally.

When not drawing, what would you be doing?
Gallery hopping, bike riding, and noshing. And also doing the aforementioned with good friends.

What other things are you passionate about?
I’m currently addicted to watching Youtube snippets of ABC’s “What Would You Do?” with John Quinones.

What other things do you find awesome?
My cat, Berlin. The Wire. Midnight cycling.

What’s next for Winnie Truong?
I’m currently in studio working on new pieces for my upcoming solo show at ESP, opening this September in Toronto. I am also planning on releasing my first limited edition print in July, so look out for that!

Check out Winnie’s wallet at poketo.com.
Find more of Winnie on winnietruong.com.
Check out booooooom at booooooom.com

Life is quite a mystery, and so is Dopludό Collective. Their work is a fantastical as it is existential. The collective calls Russia home, but well…you’ll just have to read what they say about the Motherland. If the best works of art are ones that provoke, then Dopludό Collective certainly has that down pat. Here’s Eika writing on behalf of Dopludό:

What’s the story behind the name Dopludό?
Dopludό Collective was founded in St. Petersburg in 2006. “Dopludό” comes from a phonetic transcription of french words “deux plus deux”, which is “two plus two” in English. The name for our creative trio is a play on the absurd mathematical formula “2+2=5,” which has been proven several times and has the potential to reconsider all mathematics from the beginning.

There are only three of us in the collective. Eibatova Karina (Eika), Egor Kraft and Lesha Glakin.

Do you work collaboratively or separately on projects? Who does what?
It depends on a kind of project. When we’re up for a large projects, we put all of our efforts to bring it to fruition. Though we usually work on illustration separately, each of us develops his own style. We believe it makes the whole body of collective’s work that make it way more interesting. All of us do illustration, especially Ei Ka. She found herself in that field. Egor works with ideas and concepts in whichever medium is needed for executing them. Lesha works with product design and different concepts for spaces and interiors.

Dopludό has a wide practice. What things usually interest the collective?
Dopludό teammates enjoy working with the images from magic fairy tales, folk elements, mystical and more or less abstract content, usually taking a position of looking at the world with the eyes of unsophisticated child, whose life is still a constant discovering of new miracles.

What was the inspiration for the Bubble Up design for men and women?
The inspiration for Bubble design was water, and colors. While drawing this piece I (Eika) lived in the countryside in Sweden on the coast of the North sea.

Who/what would you say are your biggest influences?
Our biggest influence is Nature, especially for Eika.

Your typography and illustration work have a great vibe and detail. Could you tell us about your process making these?
Each typography work has it’s own story. The beginning of the whole typography work started with the project “Life in the Alphabet” ( 26 letters, A5 – size of each letter, 2009 )

It took me 4 months to make it, the whole summer of 2009. I had a book (A5 size) which I carried with me all the time, so each letter reminds me of some days. The first one (it was A) I started while at a party, “B” was made on the beach, “G” was made while i was walking the whole night around the streets. I love that alphabet because it is a part of my life. I even lost that book, it was a tragedy, but after 3 months my friend found it, so I hope someday my kids will learn the Alphabet with this book.

We haven’t been to Moscow. What are three words would you have to describe it?
Dirty absurd trash.

Oh wow. What about the art and design community in Moscow? What’s that like?
The art here is mostly political, provocative and social. Design here is hard to describe. It’s mostly just ugly, big and commercial.

Check out Dopludό Collective’s design at poketo.com.
More from Dopludό Collective at Dopludo.com.