Meet Sang Lam | Independent Artist

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

Hi Sang, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
During the gap between animation jobs, I would make art for myself. Small, cute, cozy things that just make me happy. When I put them in front of people at local art fairs, seeing everyone’s genuine positive reaction is what kept me creating more. One person told me they have crippling anxiety but looking at my work calms them and puts them at ease.

Gradually, I realize the work that I am most proud of is not work I do while working for a client or an animation studio, it’s work I’ve done for myself. And when someone else connects with it, it is very rewarding. So I kept going.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As a background painter in animation, I love painting a lot of landscapes during sunset and sceneries from Vietnam, where I grew up. I also make cute origami and cat enamel pins. I tend to draw inspiration from origami for interesting shapes in my work. I love the look of sharp and clean edges.

I graduated in 2020, into a pandemic. I was extremely nervous at first. It was not an easy time, however, more and more studios started to hire remote artists. So I was able to work from my house for studios in other states and countries.

While in between animation projects, I would do local art fairs and conventions. After some successes at those events, I wanted to become an independent artist. 2022 was my first year taking on conventions as my full-time job. Since I can financially sustain myself by creating my own art, I was able to create the work that I want. The pandemic was hard on everyone so I just wanted to create art that makes people feel good and comforted

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?
I would definitely take them to Kinokuniya bookstore in Little Tokyo for some art book shopping. The food is also amazing there. Korea Town has amazing desserts that you can’t skip. I would take them to LACMA and Gallery Nucleus for some awesome art. Bottega Louie for another great dessert place. And I would find night markets and events like 636 Night Market and Unique LA to take them to.

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 drew a lot of inspiration from other animation background artists like Chelsea Blecha and Kat Tsai. I found their work while I was in an art college and it was very different from the traditional illustration styles taught by the institution. It’s very clean, graphic, and stylized, yet still very realistic.

Website: http://sanglam.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanglamart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanglamart