If you had to pick three life moments that made you who you are today, what would they be?

The first life moment that really made me who I am today would have to be moving to New York City in 2005. I had just finished high school and was moving to NYC to attend the School of Visual Arts for college, and ended up staying for 18 years. NYC raised me to be an adult and all of the lessons the city taught me shaped me into the person I am today.

The second would be going through a divorce. It pushed me to rethink my life and prioritize my emotional well-being. I had been so focused on constantly working that I hadn’t made space for my mental and emotional health. That period forced me to slow down, do the emotional work, and develop a deeper understanding of myself. It led to significant emotional growth and I’m glad it happened.

My third life moment that made me who I am: ditching the city and heading out into the world. I love to travel, but hadn’t done a lot of it while I was living in NYC. I figured the best way to experience a place is to really spend some time there, so I decided to live nomadically. Seeing new places, meeting new people, and hearing different perspectives has really changed the way I look at life, work, and the world.

What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?

I’m a huge star trek nerd. Qapla’!

Do you have a unique hobby or obsession?

Outside of art, I train Muay Thai and love immersive hobbies like building Gundams and playing video games, especially RPGs.

What is the most interesting thing you’ve seen, heard or experienced recently?

I would say the most interesting thing I’ve experienced recently wasn’t media or an art exhibit—it was getting in touch with nature. It sounds simple, but it’s something that I honestly hadn’t done much of before. I’d gotten caught up in the hustle and grind of NYC, and I blinked and it was almost twenty years later. It took stepping away from all of that and going completely off the deep end. For the past three years, I’ve spent considerable time in all sorts of places around the US and Europe. Exploring, sketching, stopping to smell the roses, connecting with locals, and seeing how other folks live has really changed my overall perspective and outlook on all aspects of my life. You can get endless inspiration from nature, and there are so many beautiful surprises in the natural world that I didn’t even think were possible. Plus nature has the best color palettes!

How would you describe your aesthetic to someone who has never seen your work?

I’m most known for my vector work, and I mainly focus on portraits. Stylistically, my vector work tends to be polished and colorful, with carefully-constructed compositions. I do like to play around with different techniques and looks though, and I am always endeavouring to learn and evolve. In my portrait work, I don’t want to just capture a face or a likeness—I always strive to capture a feeling and communicate a mood.

Can you share a bit about the process of creating your winning image, from the initial seed of the idea to the final version?

I’ve slowly been making my way through Wong Kar-wai’s filmography. I’d seen In the Mood for Love before, but decided to work through WKW’s filmography, since they’re such cinematic classics. In WKW films, every frame feels like a painting, and I thought it would be a great exercise to create a series of studies based off of scenes from his films. I haven’t gotten very far in the series yet, but it is something that I plan to continue whenever I have free time. For this piece specifically, I wanted to portray the mood of the film with one still. Doing studies is great practice because the composition is already sorted out for you, and it allows you to really focus on other aspects, like technique and color. I created the piece entirely in vector using Adobe Illustrator, and chose a cool color palette to help convey the somber emotional setting of the film.

Who is inspiring you these days? Who should more people know about?

Everybody, haha. My friends, my peers online, and all of the great artists who came before us, like Alphonse Mucha. I visited his museum in Prague last year and it was incredible! Seeing his pieces in person is a must if you are a die-hard Mucha fan like me—books and photos of his pieces really don’t do them justice. My philosophy is to keep an open mind, and I feel like you can learn something from everyone. Two artists I discovered while on my travels the past year that inspired me are Harold Sandys Williamson and Frida Hansen. I was also incredibly moved by all of the medieval art in the National Museum in Warsaw. I was very surprised to see some pretty modern looking design choices in artworks that were created during the medieval period!

Can you describe one artwork that you currently have displayed in your home?

Because I live nomadically, I don’t currently have permanent artwork on display, but one piece I always think about is the “Médée” Sarah Bernhardt theatre poster by Alphonse Mucha. No matter where I travel, my mind always goes back to it. I was introduced to Mucha’s work very early in my career, and it left a lasting impression on how I think about composition, portraiture, and the relationship between design and illustration. What I love most about this piece is how Mucha intentionally uses framing devices, composition, and color to guide the viewer’s eye through the image. Everything feels purposeful, telling a complete story within a single frame, and the piece perfectly shows how design and illustration can work together.

What’s one piece of good advice someone gave you, and who said it?

A dear friend told me, “progress is better than perfection,” and it’s taught me to not be so hard on myself in all aspects of life. As they say, you are your harshest critic.

What is one thing you want to accomplish this next year?

This year I’d love to create more personal work alongside client projects. I also plan to keep seeing the world and using all of that visual and cultural input to inspire my work!

What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime?

Someday I’d like to actually learn to draw in perspective. Maybe not this year or this decade, but someday! Haha.

Cryssy Cheung on Instagram