Welcome to Friday Artist Features! On Fridays we often enjoy featuring an artist whose work often includes themes of urbanism and mobility. This Friday we are pleased to feature three artists of Anna Goodson Illustration Agency: Philippines native, Chicago-based Angelo Dolojan, Columbus based Yiffy Gu, and Poland native and Tokyo-based Lina Lark.
ANGELO DOLOJAN
Born and raised in the Philippines and now based in Chicago, Angelo is an editorial and commercial illustrator. He is a storyteller of sorts, exploring identities, their culture, through their environment and how they navigate and occupy it, often celebrating the way food plays into it all, always touching on the textures and peculiarity of ordinary life.
Angelo works with graphite, and conte crayon, watercolor and recently transitioned to digital process, mostly photoshop.”
“I’m inspired by my city’s heartbeat – the combination of people and structure and the way they coexist. I illustrate quick glimpses of this, usually from bike commutes.“
Angelo Dolojan
How does your city or town of residence inspire your work?
Chicago has been home for several years now and the collection of people and the variety of cultures have surely inspired my work. All the different textures, all the brick, all the cement, surrounded by the pace of commuters and city dwellers. The coexistence of people and structures, the stories behind them, I find comfort in. The heart and soul of the city, what keeps everything beating and I love capturing moments of that magic.
“I commute on either public transportation, a combination of buses and trains, or on my bike, sometimes both!”
Angelo Dolojan
What is your favorite street or sidewalk space in your city of residence?
Chicago has many different neighborhoods bordering each other, showcasing the different subcultures and pockets of characteristics throughout the city. My favorite areas are Wicker Park, Printer’s Row, Michigan Avenue, Logan Square and Chinatown, just to name a few. The people that live in these spaces, and how their personalities are reflected on the buildings and structures that they are surrounded in and co-existing within the cluster of the different neighborhoods- I find very interesting.
Are there other pedestrian areas in your city you like to spend time in or appreciate?
The lakefront area was renovated recently with a designated bike route that stretches north to south all along the lake, right on the edge of the downtown area, that’s a solid Saturday right there.
What challenges, as well as opportunities, do you see with issues of walkability in your city??
The transit system of Chicago is a pretty solid system that’s been taking residents, tourists and everyone in between to and from their destinations. There are delays and hiccups of course as there is in any metropolitan area but that’s really the only challenge I can think of. The challenge is a crucial part of the lifestyle. A great opportunity that I can see is when it comes to the renovation of the older areas of the system, and the city is pretty good about taking care of the history and preserving its characteristics.
Visit Anglo online at https://www.agoodson.com/illustrator/angelo-dolojan/, his website https://dolojangelo.com and Instagram @dolojangelo
YIFFY GU
Columbus, Ohio-based Yiffy works with sketches, finalizing her art in Photoshop.
“…the hustle and bustle of the city influence how I use colors on my artworks, which are always busy, bright, and irregular. The diversity of people in the city is reflected a lot in my artworks as well.”
Yiffy Gu
How does your city residence and urbanism influence and inspire your work?
Columbus is a city with a great amount of ethnic and cultural diversity. There are so many places that are very artistic that provoke my thought and inspire me. Urbanism influences me a lot. I am a person who prefers to live in the busy downtown rather than the quiet countryside. I love to watch the crowd on the street through my window. Sometimes noise makes me calm and makes me feel that I am not alone. I guess the hustle and bustle of the city influence how I use colors on my artworks, which are always busy, bright, and irregular. The diversity of people in the city is reflected a lot in my artworks as well.
What is your favorite street or sidewalk space in your city of residence and other pedestrian areas you like to spend time?
Short North. The Short North Arts District is the art and soul of Columbus and also Italian Village, Victorian Village, German Village.
What challenges, as well as opportunities, do you see with issues of walkability in your city?
Maybe more bike returning stations? Some of the stations are not close enough so it takes longer to reach them.
Visit Yiffy online at https://www.agoodson.com/illustrator/yiffy-gu/ , her website https://yiffygu.com and on Instagram at @yiffygu
LINA LARK
Born and raised in Poland, Lina Lark is now a Tokyo-based illustrator and designer. In 2015 she graduated from Camberwell College of Arts in London where she studied Illustration. By using bright colors and bold shapes she likes to draw what surrounds her. She was shortlisted for AOI award, Communication Arts, and was featured in American Illustration 39 award collection.
Lina mostly draws digitally, using Photoshop.
How do you move around the city and what is your favorite mode?
Tokyo’s population is almost 14 million. For that reason, public transport is excellent here. Every train is always on time. So it is very easy to move around by trains or buses. However, personally, I like to use my bike, and I try to use it every day.
How does your city or town of residence inspire your work?
I am based in Tokyo, Japan – a place full of culture, history, and wonderful architecture. Even though I never had any direct inspiration from Japanese culture, I can totally see how unconsciously some part of this place influences me and my work. I live in the city, so urbanism influences but my work is not strictly limited to only urban topics. But I like to take inspiration from observing people, colors, shapes, and energy of the city. When I moved to Japan I made a zine called Tokyo Bits where I was sharing my experiences living in this huge strange place.
What is your favorite street or sidewalk space in your city of residence?
My studio is located in the east part of Tokyo, called Sumida. It is an older part of town, very different from world-famous places like Shibuya or Harajuku. This part of the city still has lots of older buildings since it survived firebombing in 1945. And it is quite rough and authentic, which is what I like the most. It has charming shotengai – traditional market streets with many food stands and small local shops where you can still see people making tatami, Japanese sweets, or any other very authentic things.
“In Tokyo, having a car is not a common thing. First of all, before you get a car you need to prove you have car parking. So, many people walk, use public transport, or bike.“
Lina Lark
Are there other pedestrian areas in your city you like to spend time in or appreciate?
I also really like to walk along the Sumida River. There you can see many nice bridges, you have a view into Tokyo Sky Tree, and in a city as big as Tokyo sometimes it is just nice to be by the water.
What challenges, as well as opportunities, do you see with issues of walkability in your city?
In Tokyo, having a car is not a common thing. First of all, before you get a car you need to prove you have car parking. So, many people walk, use public transport, or bike. To be honest I never had problems with walking around. It is a very safe and clean place. In that respect, I feel Tokyo is a city where walking is super nice.
Visit Lina online at https://www.agoodson.com/illustrator/lina-lark/, her website https://linalark.com and on Instagram at @lark_and_lina
