Meet Anna Chen | 3D Designer & Lighter

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

Hi Anna, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I was born and raised in Bangkok. Since I am ethnically Taiwanese, I grew up experiencing different cultures daily, from living in a mandarin speaking household, to eating somtam with my nanny, to attending an international school. As a little kid, I didn’t spend much time reflecting on my identity at all, because it never felt like I needed to belong to a specific culture.

As I entered middle school and high school, however, I found myself slowly drifting away from my Chinese and Thai roots. English phrases wiggled into my conversations with my parents, Thai rolled a little less smoothly off my tongue, and I pinned all my energy to moving to the states for college. I felt like I wasn’t Thai or Taiwanese enough – and I definitely wasn’t American. I didn’t know if I should feel proud or ashamed that english had worked its way up to be my most fluent language. The more distant I felt from being Thai or Taiwanese, the more I latched onto my pursuit to move to America.

Looking back, I wish I had treasured my asian side a little more. I should’ve taken mandarin classes a few more years, been more aware of the Thai media that surrounded me, or asked my mom about that youtube video she was watching while cooking dinner. I realize now that there were many little things I could have done differently. Thankfully, I have a lifetime ahead to rediscover parts of me that I had unintentionally abandoned.

The absence of strong ties to any culture has definitely impacted me as an artist. I have approached art as a medium that can be understood by all, regardless of where or how you grew up. Combined with my soft-spoken disposition, I gravitate towards creating spaces that offer repose from the never-ending haste around us. My art doesn’t usually convey a deep or specific message; rather, it paints a gentle suggestion to stop and smell the flowers.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am only at the start of my professional career, and it feels like there is too much I need to learn. It’s so easy to get weighed down by jobs in the future or by looking at others years ahead in their journey, but I am trying to remind myself that I have come a long way personally. Like every other artist, I’ve had my share of dry spells, rejections, and feeling like I’ll never create work worthy enough. I’ve come to learn that the only way to get out of such uncomfortable situations is by doing uncomfortable things: sitting down and starting a piece even if there isn’t a hint of inspiration, learning a new program when you are perfectly efficient in another, commuting over two hours to an internship, sending emails that you’ll probably never hear back from.

Instead of focusing on the possibility of being rejected by a dream position next month, I try to focus on the fact that next month, I’ll be a better artist than I am today, regardless. I catch myself measuring my artistic growth based on external cues such as Instagram comments or hearing back from a studio when it is solely reflected by the progression of my work. And even if the next piece I create isn’t “better” than the one before, it still brings me a step closer to the artist I want to become.

I try to bring mundane things into a magical light. Through art, I hope to offer a deep breath, a reminder that beauty can be found in the littlest things.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There is too much good food around Orange / LA: burnt butter bourbon bacon donuts from Oliboli, strawberry cream croissants from Cream Pan, basil cheese egg pancakes from Luxweet Bakery, acai from Bluebowl, fried pepper tacos from Str8 up Tacos, burgers from Bunz, papaya salad from Luv2eat Thai Bistro, curry-filled onigiri from Sunny Blue…

I’m quite an avid foodie, so I would definitely plan trips around that. In between meals, I would love to take my friend around indoor gardens, the antique stores of Orange, go strawberry picking, or even just browse through Trader Joe’s. We’d find quiet spots for picnics to pass the afternoon slump and finish the night with a late movie screening.

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?
My foundations are built by the unwavering support from my parents. From day one, they didn’t just offer surface-level “Oh, that’s nice!”‘s to my work; they truly believed that I had something valuable to offer and did all that they could to enable my artistic pursuit. From my mom keeping a spider I painted in 10th grade as her lock screen for years, to my dad setting aside a large chunk of his salary for my art degree – I honestly couldn’t have been blessed with more love.

Website: www.chencanvas.com

Instagram: annaa_chen