Interview: Yao Xiao

A new, regularly-appearing (hopefully) feature here at the Ink Puddle Art Blog is going to be exclusive interviews with artists.  First up is Yao Xiao, whom I first discovered through Twitter.  I recently had a chance to sit down with Yao...well, actually, I sat down at my computer and typed out questions.  I am not sure whether she was sitting down or not when she answered them.  Anyway, here is how it went.


Ink Puddle: Yao, thanks for being on Ink Puddle.  I have read some of your bio from an interview online, but could you introduce yourself and maybe say a few things about who you are, what you are doing now, and where you are going.

Yao Xiao: Hi! I am Yao. I'm an artist in New York who draws pictures and comics, and sketches live. Right now my art centers around capturing city nightlife, performances and scatters of erotic fantasy. I am an illustrator for a few fiction journals in China, and I am a caricature/sketch artist for underground parties in Brooklyn and other private parties. I am originally from China-this is my fifth year in the States. Currently I am going onto my third year at the School of Visual Arts as an illustration major. I'd like to keep experimenting with what I'm doing right now and see where my art wants to take me.

Ink: Well, it looks like your art currently takes you to a lot of events.  You have a number of wedding sketches posted on your Tumblr site, and they are great. With people dancing around, having a good time, you seem to capture a moment like a snapshot.  They seem like spontaneous sketches, and yet, they have great composition to them.  Great use of black and white space.  When I am drawing anything, I tend to do small thumbnail sketches first, and then re-do them larger and change them a bit.  Do you do any kind of pre-sketching? Or do you just start drawing?  What is your process like when doing these sketches?  Do you wait around for the "right moment" to present itself or do you keep sketching all the time and pick out the best ones?  And about how many sketches would you say you do at an event like a wedding?

Yao: I just start drawing. It happens very quickly when I sketch these, so a lot of the times it is an intuitive process. To describe it, I guess I usually start with the most interesting curve, or the key of a movement, and start from there. For landscapes and buildings I like to start from the farthest shapes in the background. I start with a single curve/person/shape and then add things around it. As for the "right moment," I do tend to watch and wait around for an interesting "shot," then I start from that moment and add other things/people as I sketch. At an event like a wedding which lasts for 6-8 hours, I can make about 36-40 drawings. Sketching at events is my favorite, especially when there's good drinks and music.

Ink:  That sounds like a very busy yet very fun day.  And speaking of fun, a lot of your "from life" gesture sketches come from Dr. Sketchy sessions.   We have Dr. Sketchy here in Philadelphia as well, but for people who don't know what it is, describe a Dr. Sketchy session for me.  How helpful are these sessions for developing your art and for meeting other artists?

Yao: I found Dr. Sketchy's when I first arrive in New York City. I think coming to Sketchy's was the best decision I've made. Dr. Sketchy's is a life drawing session mixed with cabaret and drinking, founded by New York artist Molly Crabapple (@mollycrabapple) A typical Dr.Sketchy's session include one or more models posing in costumes which fit the theme of the day. The session starts with short one-minute poses and moves onto 5 minutes, 10 minutes and eventually 20 minutes poses. The fun part is the drinking and the contests...there is always a left-handed drawing contest, and the other two are related to the theme. I like Dr. Sketchy's as a place to practice drawing because it is a good mix of art and comedy, drinking and burlesque performance, and the audience is often a fun crowd to meet. I always get good drawings out of it. The atmosphere is way more energetic than a generic life drawing session and something unusual might spark in one's creative mind.

Ink: It certainly looks like a good time to me.  Since I am fan of comics and comic books, I can't resist asking you about them. First, I love the fact that you do short comics, sometimes just 4 panels, to illustrate a single thought or a dream or just one experience. Do you read comics now or in the past?  Any favorites?  Do you feel that drawing comic style art as a balance to the "from life" sketching you do?  On a daily basis what art form do you do the most: from life sketching, illustration, cartooning?  And which do you enjoy the most?  Also, some of your life sketches have a storyboard/comic/graphic novel feel to them with your use of panels.  That is not a question, just an observation.  And as far as Dingleberries! goes, is Coco-Tatas your superhero alter-ego?  Do you truly have magical cleavage?

Yao: I'm glad you asked me about the comics! I've always been in love with comics since I was young--I read a lot of Japanese manga, and wanted to be a manga-ka (comic artist) when I was 12. I didn't grow up with American comics, so I still have a lot to catch up to. My most recent favorites--I just finished reading Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki, and Transmetropolitan by Warren Ellis (@warrenellis) & Derrick Robertson. I think they will be my favorites of all times from now on.

Art has always been a big mix for me. Ever since I was young, I was in love with fine arts, I adored the Renaissance just as much as I adored Yoko Ono, I read a lot of manga, played video games and read alternative graphic novels when I came to the States. I believe that it is natural for an artist to be attracted to everything--not even just art forms, but everything in life that excites and provokes people. I can't decide what I want to do the most--I like drawing comics just as much as I like making paintings. I learned ceramics and I've made fine art sculptures and installations. I like to try everything.

Right now, perhaps on a daily basis I draw from life on the subway, doodle some comics at work then make illustration at home? It is not a routine but I always end up doodling something. My goal is to be drawing all the time-so I'm glad that I have multiple categories I can switch in and out of. I keep an open mind for changes: in style, in content and in disciplines. Sometimes it frustrates me, when my style changes or when I find myself liking my old work better--but I believe it is a process to go through in order to be a good artist. My style has changed so many times, on average it happens every couple months. But i can't hold the urge to change, because I believe every artist is an adventurer, and staying in the same place seem to be counter-intuitive. It's a good sign that I'm still going further, I believe.

On the subject of Dingleberries!...I believe the answer is yes to both. Coco-tatas is what I turn into at times of danger, and my cleavage can stop bullets/breed bunny bombs. Coco-Tatas was created by Foley, the writer of Dingleberries! when we were first doodling jam comics for character ideas. I refused to draw her for the longest time because I believed that showing up in comical undergarments on the Internet is outrageously inappropriate...I have no idea how that belief was undone. :P

Ink: Well, I think the world is safer with Coco-Tatas.  Your Monday's Child book project is really wonderful looking, very bizarre, but not scary.  There is something sweet and funny about the characters. (By the way, this one [below, left] reminded me of Dr. Seuss' 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins) How many did you print for MoCCA and are you going to print up more of them?  Or sell them on Etsy?  Also, I have seen that you have done posters for plays like West Side Story and books like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  And your recent portrait of Allen Ginsberg.  Were these commissioned pieces, or do you make the decision to use stories and literature in your art on your own?

Yao: For Monday's Child, I made about 24 copies for MoCCA. After MoCCA and FreshMeat (comic fest at the School of Visual Arts) I have just a couple of them left. I'll certainly need to print more for future con's and Etsy. I haven't set up my Etsy shop entirely yet, it will be finalized soon. I've also been handing them out like a business card. The little booklets are very handy for that. As for the West Side Story and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde-those pieces (Click HERE to see Yao's West Side Story poster) were mostly practice pieces for possible future commissions. I have to do the pieces that I want to do just in case no one asks me for them. And now I have done them, it sets a good example for people who are looking for works with a similar feel.

Ink: That is great, and great advice for other artists, too.  Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing where your art takes you next!

Here is where you can see Yao's art:

Follow her of Twitter @yaoxiaoart
Illustrated Life Through Sketching http://yaoxiaoart.tumblr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yaoxiaoart
Talking Muffin! http://www.artifolio.com/xiaoyao
Dingleberries! http://www.dinglecomic.com