Meet Chuchu Wang | Illustrator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chuchu Wang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chuchu, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I have always believed that risks and opportunities coexist. The brave enjoy the world first. I am an illustrator who switched majors to study illustration. My educational background includes architectural art design at the undergraduate level and a master’s degree in public administration in the direction of urban planning. Learning illustration has always been my dream, and I have worked hard silently. Finally, when I was 23, I took this brave step. I made a portfolio of illustrations and sent them to several United States art schools with MFA illustration programs. When I received the FIT admission offer, I knew I was one step closer to my dream. The different majors I learned before also gave me a broader perspective on the world. I am thankful that I bravely pursued my heart to choose my favorite major.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I want to talk more about my children’s picture book that I wrote and illustrated, “Rus & Moose,” a fictional story inspired by my experience, with an element of exaggeration. My husband Rus was a long-haul truck driver, and before we were married, he had been driving a 70-foot-long semi-truck across the United States. I also lived with him in the truck during summer and winter vacations. I thought life on the truck was interesting. I treated every day as a road trip. Thanks to his unique job, I have been to forty states in the United States and experienced many different cultures.

When I talked to my friends about the new things I saw during the trip, I realized through their reactions that ordinary people have no idea what it looks like inside the truck, even though you see trucks on the road every day. I told my friends that each truck had two large double beds, a refrigerator, a small dining table, and a microwave. Whoever heard about this was quite surprised. I realized it was a good subject for my book, and my unique experience allowed me to focus my perspective on it. After all, not all illustrators are married to truck drivers.

I fabricated the character of Moose. He is like me, who just experienced the truck for the first time. He sees everything with new eyes, smells and touches everywhere, and occupies too much space. But his company made a difference in Rus’s life. The life of a truck driver is very dull. They often have to drive for more than ten hours at a time, and they must strictly abide by the delivery time. But when Rus found Moose, they became friends and shared this journey. This is the story of my book. While Moose helped Rus, Rus also took Moose to see different landscapes. Moose was a teenager, so he was rebellious and mischievous. He always wanted to escape from his family and see the outside world.

I used Procreate on the iPad to complete the entire book. I didn’t use too many fancy brushes and textures. My style is organic and sincere. I want this simple story to express the most profound theme, the relationship between man and animals, nature, and family.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend comes to New York to visit me. I will take her to the museums in New York. If it is my friend, then she must also like art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is the first place to go, we will stay there all day. I will take her to start with European Impressionist art and then go to pavilions in different regions. I want her to see more exciting exhibits in a limited time. We might go to Central Park, the nearby Guggenheim, and the American Society of Illustrators the next day. I will take her to the Museum of Natural History on the third day. I have been there several times, so maybe when she visits, I will find a place with a good view to sit down and draw sketches. On the fourth day, I may take her to the world trade center and the nearby Wall Street, battery park, and I also want to take her to the Brooklyn Bridge and Dumbo. On the fifth day, we can walk in Times Square in Midtown and then go to the Museum of modern arts in the afternoon. We’ll all eat in Manhattan’s Chinatown because the cheapest and best restaurants are there.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I think what I am most grateful for is my family. The support they have given me is beyond words. My grandma was the first person in my family to support me studying art. She is one of the earliest college students in China and has been engaged in education all her life. Her vision has had a lasting impact on my life. When I graduated from junior high school and took the high school examination, my grandma was the first person in my family to support me in applying for the art high school. In China, sometimes, there is some prejudice against art students. Many people think that only those who do not study well would choose to study art, but my situation at the time was that my academic performance could be admitted to a very good high school in my city. After that, I will go to university step by step to study an ordinary major and live an ordinary life with my parents. But my grandma supports me in pursuing my dream. She believes that only by doing what I like can I get lifelong happiness. Ultimately, according to my grandma’s plan, I was admitted to a well-known art academy in the country and then went abroad to study my favorite illustration major. Now I am living as a freelance illustrator in New York with the dream of me and my grandma.

Website: https://chuchuwang.art/

Instagram: @chuchuwang_art