Article reproduced from: Voicer
Lisk Feng, there are very few people in the illustration world who don't know about this girl. She entered high school, and when she became famous in college, the magazine stalls looked at the covers of her paintings, but it was also at that time that she decided to go to New York and experience a life with only two dollars left in The Card. Today, join us in hearing how a girl goes from choice and decision to where she wants to go.
Lisk Feng: "I have a little black cat named Bobo, who likes to play guitar and sing, read detective novels, and recently is trying to make children's picture books. ”
Lisk graduated from the China Academy of Art with a degree in illustration and comics, went to the Maryland School of Art in the United States as a graduate student in the department of illustration, and contributed to The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Apple, the United Nations, and so on.
Last year, he was directly nominated by Forbes of the United States for the art elite under 30, and after teaching illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, he taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York this year.
To be able to do this is something that many illustrators dare not think of.
Lisk describes her paintings as always having a very warm summer afternoon vibe
Of course, the 15-year road to an illustrator is definitely not achieved overnight, behind these pictures full of aura and magic, we see a girl's self-growth, from inferiority to self-confidence.
The daughter of the art teacher, should she draw well?
"Hello Kongzi project"
Lisk was born in Haining, her mother is an art teacher, and her life plot seems to have been written in the trailer, but who said that this is easier?
"The kindergarten teacher felt that it was better for the children of the art teacher to draw, and forced me to draw a lot. There are also teachers who always think that the daughter of the art teacher should participate in the painting competition, so she often goes to the competition inexplicably. ”
"But I always felt that I was not particularly good at painting, not very confident, and then the elementary school teacher told me that my composition was good, I didn't need much guidance in terms of imagination, and I belonged to a child with a more unique idea."
At that time, Lisk would be suspicious, but there was always an inexplicable twist in life, and when she went to high school, she began to draw.
"Cosmic Seed"
Little Lisk with Mom
"The college entrance examination was very important to me for a while, and I established a very unusual mother-daughter relationship with her."
"My mother let me see a lot of painting things, there are a lot of art books at home to read, and the gifts she gave me were always related to art."
"I started illustrating in my sophomore year of high school, and my mother bought me a tablet, Wacom Intuos 3, which was quite expensive at that time, and I remembered that it cost more than two thousand pieces, and I had to sell it in a big city, so I begged her for a long time, and she bought it for me later."
Lisk's homework book doodles
"Before the college entrance examination, I didn't report any painting training classes, I went home from class at night, painted in the garage, painted until 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, and then I had to go to class the next morning, when my spirit was relatively broken, and now I think back on it is still very bitter."
Another surprising thing, "Before the college entrance examination, my mother moved the computer into my room, and during that time other children may have been reading, but I had a computer to draw." Her freeing of me, and her education in my painting, made me have a good result in the college entrance examination, which was the most proud thing I did before I was 18 years old. ”
Lisk's first book, Tong, is a collection of works from her debut at the age of 15 to her sophomore year
In addition to his mother's contribution, Lisk's talent is obvious to all. She appeared in "ManYou" in high school, had a lot of experience in illustration before college, and soon became one of the emerging illustrators in China.
But after becoming famous at a young age, problems followed.
Relationships have never been very smooth
Lisk creates illustrations for Marnie in Memory
We thought Lisk had been going pretty well, but it just looked like it was.
"I don't think I've always been smooth, maybe some luck is good, but I've always been more fighting." I grew up being a very stupid person and was stupid in relationships. ”
"Fat Lady"
"In interpersonal communication, I always have a fantasy that as long as I am good to others, others will definitely give back to me with the same good." 」 The same reward that may not be obtained in people, Lisk found in painting.
"I've never volunteered, and I'm probably more comfortable with the energy of social media, just keep sharing my work." Some people like to slowly find it, the more times they do it, the more works will be posted to the Internet, attracting more customers, which is a virtuous circle. ”
But if you are not careful, it may also become a vicious circle.
After going to college, Lisk had more time to create, cooperating with the popular "Minimal Story" and "Most Comics", not only giving pictures to other people's books, she herself published three books in three consecutive years, held a national signing party...
Lisk's cover for Children's Literature, "Overnight, Everything Grows"
At that time, many illustrators were still students, and many people could change careers in a few years, and it was not easy for Lisk to do this. But the more drawings she took, the more she worked like a robot. She was afraid of missing out on any opportunity in front of her, but she was even more afraid that she would turn into something she hated.
It was time, and she decided to go further afield.
In New York, people don't judge you by your appearance
I can't remember exactly why I went to New York, but Lisk remembers, "When I first entered the China Academy of Fine Arts, I posted a picture of an apple on the wall of my dorm room, and a map of Manhattan in New York, and I was full of fantasies about it." ”
"Later, when I was in graduate school, I was focused on looking for people around New York, because New York was too expensive. In 2012, I went to study at the Maryland College of art, and I didn't buy a ticket to Baltimore directly, but went to New York first. ”
A poster for New York's Harlem district created by Lisk for Airbnb
"When I go to the toilet, I sit on the toilet, and I think, wow, I'm on the toilet in New York, and that's a very subtle feeling."
Lisk still remembers the excitement of the first day in New York, "I was so excited at that time, I wanted a New York mobile phone number, very silly." ”
"The biggest feeling at that time was fear. I went to get a mobile phone number, carrying a box around, feeling very small, that kind of smallness can not be described in words, even if the language is well learned, the first day to a strange country still dare not open my mouth. ”
"I have a certain sense of fear of Manhattan because the condition of its steel forest is particularly complex and thick, and the pace of pedestrians is very fast, but I don't know why, I think it is beautiful from a distance. I often spent time at the Brooklyn Bridge, looking at the people and cars of Manhattan, the lattice of the windows of the building, like the starry sky, a kind of imprisoned and small beauty. ”
"A beer night"
Lisk's eyes on the New York skyline
But it's also her favorite place about New York, a city of danger and freshness, a multicultural city that is incredibly inclusive and makes Lisk feel more secure and belonging than ever before.
"My inferiority has always come from the appearance, and I am not confident in my paintings, many people think that I look very cheerful and confident, but in fact, no, I always feel that I am not very good in my heart, I am just working relatively hard." 」
In New York, Lisk reacquainted himself. When she was a child, she couldn't make friends because of her size, and she always felt that it was her own problem. Until she went to New York, she found that no one would judge her because of her appearance, and she could live more freely.
Everyone here is in a hurry enough to take care of herself, and she can be whatever she wants to be, which means that everything has to start from scratch.
At its poorest, Kari had only two dollars left
Lisk's creation for The New York Times
Compared with standing on the cusp of the domestic illustration world, Lisk went to the United States and fell back to the sea, the pressure of work and reality was turbulent, and he could not swim ashore for a while and a half.
For a moment, her picture became very gray, and the previously happy color was gone.
"The poorest time was in the second half of 2014, just graduated from graduate school, moving to New York rent is particularly expensive, because to apply for a visa to find a lawyer, the cost of five or six thousand dollars, can not give at all, only two dollars left in the card, really not OK, just tell my mother, she gave me ten thousand dollars." 」
Lisk's creation for The New York Times, about "the experiences, pains, and hardships of local self-employed people in New York."
"That was the last time she gave me money, and I still remember it."
"I didn't ask for much money in four years of college because I was always drawing manuscripts and I was able to earn my own money for my daily expenses. But after graduate school, the dollar really went very fast, and there was no time to draw a manuscript in school, so it was back to the stage of needing family support. ”
Later, she could only enter the state of crazy work and full horsepower, constantly accumulating works, uploading them all over all social networks that could be seen, and she did not refuse to accept the work, and the overload operation had to force herself to turn.
Others envy Lisk for getting a job with The New York Times, but few people know that the work model is like this— give a bridge at 11 a.m., read a draft at 2 p.m., and finalize it at 5 p.m. One hour to finish the manuscript, five minutes to color grading, there are also some things.
"There's a lot of hard work in freelancing, especially in terms of work pressure and time rhythm, sometimes busier than people at work, because we don't have holidays, and sometimes we even have that manuscript on Mondays, and we have to work on weekends."
Lisk is used to working at night and can't sleep when he gets busy. "It is also after a lot of twists and turns, a long time, to be able to slowly stabilize and regain economic independence, I think it is really not easy to do illustration."
At that time, there was no desire to survive
Lisk's creation for Buzzfeed, "Science on Schizophrenia"
The unfreedom of freelancing is an old topic, but we were surprised to hear Lisk talk so frankly about his anxiety. But think about it, you have also had this feeling, when the workload is too large, ideas and execution can not catch up, you will be very disgusted with this work, in fact, a kind of self-loathing.
"I have lost my desire to survive, not to say that I am going to die, but I have no desire to change myself." 」
At that time, Lisk was at the low ebb of creation, without inspiration and motivation, and just wanted to lie down and do nothing. "Freelancing is really a profession that requires extra mental attention to yourself, because you always face yourself, there is a lot of pressure, and it is difficult to release it in a social way."
"Space Imagination"
These work-related emotional problems are incomprehensible to people who say, "I really envy that you don't have to go to work." "Some people say' to be grateful for the things around you, but only if you are happy, you will feel the things around you, and you will be grateful for the things around you." 」
"Later, I found that if I want to create happiness, I have to sort out my own sophisticated methods, and I need to test day after day and year after year to achieve it."
Lisk's creation for Buzzfeed, "a manuscript that I really liked in the end that wasn't asked for by the editor."
"It's easy to say, but it's not easy to do. I am also slowly progressing with age and becoming a more organized adult. ”
"I'm starting to use a book or software to keep track of what I'm doing every day, and if I have a plan on my weekend, it's definitely not working, so I have to arrange things in advance for the next week on Fridays, which is a great way for me to relax on the weekend." 」
Lisk's "Oh, Perfect Life" for The Reader
Lisk tried many different ways to adjust her emotions, the coolest one was to throw the furniture over and over again, after clearing the pressure, she painted the above "Oh, Perfect Life", which is her own favorite work.
Bright sunshine, bright green grass, with loved ones, relaxing and contented. After painting this picture, she herself was healed.
How illustrators and illustrators fall in love
Lisk's cover for Children's Literature
Everyone in the circle knows that Lisk and Cen Jun are a pair of immortal couples. But the bittersweet and bittersweet of the two peers living together is known only to them.
When help is needed, of course it's good. "Drawing a draft requires the opinions of others, and he is by his side, which is very convenient, and if the other party is also a good illustrator, it will be even more helpful."
Bad place, it's not good.
Lisk's painting of Cen Jun
Lisk and Cen Jun's illustration for the new scientific magazine Nautilus is also the first time they have worked together
"My boyfriend and I often compete for the same project at the same time, we have experienced two people competing for the same place, and in the end sometimes I get it, sometimes he gets it, which is not a good feeling." 」
"For example, I get a project, and the other person tells me that I can continue to do it, but at the same time it evaporates on his side, and if he doesn't know that I got the project, he may be waiting for someone else's reply." Although there was no real contradiction, I was not happy. ”
But the two illustrators decided to be together, and such problems are also part of the future.
Lisk's creation for The New York Times, "The bubbles created by the current romance novel make people escape from real life."
"Respect is good, respect yourself, but also respect each other's choices, if it is not suitable to leave, suitable to continue, this is a state of natural development." 」
"I am currently in a relatively comfortable state, if there is a next step in the development, I will also need to discuss with each other rationally like a meeting, including all the details of life, and cannot be threatened with anything."
Because of the epidemic, Lisk and her boyfriend have been forced to be away for a while. "This situation may continue, and I can't be discouraged, so I have to clean up the house and wait for him to come back."
I will choose this profession in the next life
Lisk's creation for Buzzfeed about a "freelance website"
Gaining a foothold in New York, she gradually learned to face herself, had a job and a relationship, but Lisk did not like the word "success", the approval of others, or the achievement of illustration, which was not her goal.
"Many people may think that illustration is not difficult, but its content has nothing to do with the art of painting, and illustration is more about what to draw than how to draw."
"The unused half-finished illustration of the two book covers, a bit like my 2019 bar, felt the water falling in 2020"
"Illustrator is a profession like water for me."
"Illustration is in a way applied art, or something between applied art and pure art. It's not exactly what you need, you can have more self-expression and you can do your own creations. ”
"There are some projects that are very meaningful to themselves, and it can have both commercial and artistic value, which is what I think is most interesting about illustration, and it has a lot to explore." If I had the next life, I would probably choose this profession again. ”
Lisk's recent series of popular science picture books on nature, Mount Everest, has been distributed in China, Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Germany and other countries
"I am recently making a set of nature science popular science picture books, which is an independent publishing house that I like very much, this book is not very profitable, it has a large volume, I can do it regardless of the cost, but to do it the best, I hope it is helpful to children, circulation for ten years is no problem."
More than a decade later, Lisk has changed a lot in his painting style. "Drawing people from the beginning was a more cartoonish processing mode, then jumped to geometry, and now I want to be more realistic."
Climber of Everest
"I think the style of painting is very related to the growth experience, and the things I like will change, which is normal." My personality is like that, painting for a while into the bottleneck, and then when I break through, I will definitely make some changes. ”
Of course, her thinking about painting is completely different from the beginning.
Before the age of 27, I didn't think about issues outside of work
Lisk loves illustrator Tatsuro Mune, and when they meet, she asks a question that has been bothering her all along.
"When an illustrator has been painting some similar subjects over and over again for so many years, sometimes taking on the same type of project, after three or four times, I can't paint particularly good works, because I'm tired, very painful, I ask him if he's tired?" 」
"He said, 'Do whatever you want, just do everything well.'" When he answered very calmly, I felt, wow, he can control the sense of distance between personal emotions and the work very well, which is something I admire. ”
Lisk's creation for The Wall Street Journal
Lisk has also been practicing how to grasp the distance between work and life.
"My own inner state has changed a lot, after the age of 27, I start to think about more other things, my life can not only be painting, I need to do other things, painting is only a part of my life, but before the age of 27, I never considered other issues." 」
View from Lisk's apartment window
Waves in the sink
"I now feel that cooking is very important, and I will definitely set aside an hour at noon and in the evening to make a good meal for myself." Can't even save the time to cook and eat a noodle, if you eat for a long time, you will feel guilty, that work mode and conditions are too harsh, live a particularly qualityless, the result of making money at work, is not to live comfortably. ”
Being happier and more satisfied with your state may sound like a big desire, but it can be implemented into a very specific daily life. It is also with such a state that we can give more color to life and pictures.
"Be sure to arrange your own pace of life, sort out the relationship between life and work, what kind of life you want to live, be sure to consider your career sector, do not take painting as the only option." 」
"If being a full-time illustrator is particularly painful, you can actually go to work for a while. There is no absolutely certainty that this is the case, and the definition of success is different for everyone. When I'm a little more relaxed about myself, I think it's easier to do freeancer. ”
"But there will be some difficult time, it may take two or three years of hard times, after surviving, there will be some changes, if you have not seen the improvement, it is possible that you are not suitable, then you can choose other methods." 」
During the pandemic, Lisk wrote for The New York Times
Choosing to teach is also a chance for Lisk to give himself a chance to change the environment.
She is now a senior at the School of Visual Arts in New York, but because of the pandemic, she may not see her students in person again.
"The situation in the United States is very serious, and I am still anxious, but the object of anxiety has changed, because I teach the graduating class, and I will think what will they do?"
"I have a student, the internship was originally to go to Penguin Press, a very good opportunity, but because of the epidemic internship time directly changed to 2021, which is equivalent to a year late in life, and there is no job in this year, and their graduation ceremony has been cancelled."
"So I'm trying very hard to teach online now, and I hope to create some good memories for them."
When we did this interview, Lisk was preparing for his 30th birthday.
On the afternoon of the last day of the 29-year-old, while thinking about what dinner she was going to make for herself, she leaned her head against the cat Bobo, and actually slept for most of the day, and woke up to feel different.
Lisk's dream studio
We asked her what her dream was, and she said, "I have so many dreams, I want to have a home, I want to have a house, the kind of garden, but that's a daydream, it's impossible in New York, but a dream, is to think of anything." ”
Yes, 30 years old, but the life graffiti book has turned a new page, and the road to the next dream has just begun.
Thank you Lisk for coming to PLAY! GROUND play, the future will continue to have fun!