In this interview, we explore the creative journey of Peggy Yen, a talented illustrator with a unique perspective shaped by her upbringing in Taiwan. Blending Eastern and Western influences, Peggy's vivid work is a reflection of societal and cultural narratives. From her early experiences in a conventional family to her career in Occupational Therapy, Peggy has continuously evolved as an artist, drawing inspiration from daily life, relationships, and the world around her. Read on and discover the meaningful moments and inspirations that defined her artistic journey thus far.

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How has your upbringing and cultural background influenced your artistic journey and creative expression? 

I was born and raised in Taiwan, a moderate open-minded cultural country, I believe, with Western freestyle thoughts, but still a part of conservative Asia. My closest family is ordinary and sweet, but strict in educating children, just like most Asian parents who wish kids to keep good academic grades. Fortunately, I have a younger sister who supports my every lonely moment, so I never felt that when I was a kid. Because we always had a great time inventing unique games and passing notes while we should have soaked in plenty of boring books. 

 

I have practised piano and art-making since I started to have memories. However, unsurprisingly, ‘my family’ chose Occupational Therapy (OT) as my major in college. To be honest, somehow I felt relieved, maybe because I didn’t have to worry about my future too much, or because I had obeyed my parents’ wishes. Either of them was bad for me, I thought. So I had been an Occupational Therapist for around 4 years, which sounded quite a long time, and the best thing I learned to practice was finding a meaningful occupation for myself. Ironically, I didn’t do it well. In the meantime, I was practising drawing, painting and illustration, which has gradually become a valuable occupation. 

 

So, unsurprisingly again, I am a masterpiece, or just a combination from my background. The thing I like about it, is that I can’t make good art if I don't get through lots of stories and my old jobs, which I learned and met various people and stories, and of course, have become part of my creative ideas. I love drawing, sketching humans, and any various illustrations related to people and our culture, which is exactly what I am good at. OT and illustration are somehow similar to me. They are both client-centred and not based on computer calculation, which is humane and closed to human beings. Also, I like to draw things vividly moody in my loose quirky style, instead of tidying and seeing every detail. I like to catch people’s feelings, from clumsy GIFs, innovative posters, loose paintings, quirky drawings, and every creative illustration. 

 

I am still unsure of the future, but I will try to keep practising meaningful occupations for myself. Sometimes things happen to crash me or cheer me luckily, which all bring to my boring life a bit of sweetness and excitement, so I appreciate them. With things happening every moment, I have gained more creativity and ideas for my illustration; I always try not to bore anyone.   

Discuss your strategies for staying motivated and continually finding inspiration in your artistic practice.

My daily life is the biggest source of inspiration, which means what I do every day affects my art-making a lot. From real people I meet, to any digital or online things I see, and even things which are subconscious, in my dreams, they can all become my creative ideas. So I try to take good care of my well-being, listening to myself. Even if part of the world says I am wrong, I will always still try to defend and indulge myself. Because I am the most important one I should care about, isn’t it? I believe that is one of the must-do to make more good art as well. 

 

I like to keep a tiny sketchbook and some pens with me, no matter where I go. I draw everything precious and fun. Sometimes I feel it will be too easy and boring if I just take photos of them. So, I like to sketch beautiful buildings, scenery and interesting people, and their behaviours. Especially when I hang out with friends and family, the times I am most not stressed and more loose, so my drawing goes loose and creative as well. I will just scan them mostly to keep the most original, also great memories in mind. 

 

Also, movies and shows are both my great inspiration, and I can watch how others lead their dramatic lives without too much risk. From movies, the least I choose from unaccountable numbers must come with beautiful scenes, while I can appreciate the beauty of the movies and draw some sketches as it has gone too boring or long. And for the shows to me, they are more like continual culture input but not so intensive in every second. Btw, I somehow like English royalty shows a lot, like The Crown, and the Bridgerton series because of their astonishing gorgeous pictures. I always drew down some interesting ones, although they were too good to be paused midway.

 

For more aspects of inspiration, I also catch some random ideas and some metacognition after I have done some repeating chores, like grocery shopping and showering, which seems repeating and similar but soothing my anxious thoughts, and even hits me with better ideas. Moreover, festivals, activities, and many cultural events are also great for inspiration which I heart a lot. The connection between humans is precious and exists vividly. Sometimes I don’t even think it cool or interesting without that kind of vibe and humanity. All in all, I believe relations between people are the best and never-ending input as my inspiration for drawing more illustrations.  

Could you walk us through the steps of your artistic process, starting from the initial idea to the finished piece? How do you develop your concepts, and what are the key stages in creating your final work? 

First, I usually grasp every random sketch from the multiple ideas popping into my mind. I like to sketch and record them, especially on newsprints. So, I keep sheets of them near me, while I watch the shows or gather with friends or families. Every detail from life is my favourite topic of illustration because they are most relatable, and often resonate deeply with people.

 

Second, I will try to draw them more delicately and maybe on different papers and materials. Yet the shame is, the sketch ones are usually my favourite ones, which are more experimental, imperfect, unpretentious, and most creative. I will try to make them in different media and from various compositions sometimes, which is quite perspectively important and interesting. Pen has always been my favourite tool, either digitally or traditionally. And, watercolour is my recent best painting, which can be more loose, unlimited, and uncontrolled. I will try them in different colours. Even though I prefer just black drawing mostly. I prefer to keep them in a limited colour palette, cause it won’t distract the attention. 

 

Then I will make sure again the purposes of the illustration. Depending on different designs, I will make different choices, to see if my illustration hits the mood and purpose again. If it is a commission, mostly I have to consider this in the first step though. Also, I won’t tell if it good or bad until this step, because that is the interesting part of creating art. To tell the truth, all of my steps are quite subjective and random. However, not every work can be as perfect as I wish. When I draw something that is not good, I see it as practice. I don’t like to fix old works; instead, I mostly choose to draw the topic again directly - only if I want to, to see if there is more possibility and a new stream of creativity. I know each piece of work from all the different moments of my life represents the various versions of me, and is always, at the time, my best work.

Reflect on your favourite creation and the reasons behind your choice. Could you tell us about the most meaningful piece that you have created? What makes this piece particularly significant to you, and what was the inspiration or story behind it?

A reduction print, named Cake, is my favourite work, which I love the process of this art-making, as well as the result. 

 

Every time my adorable friends and families have birthdays, I try to give my best greetings to them by drawing illustrations on cards. Although I am somehow worried about whether they can get it or not. 

 

I remember that was the first time I was doing reduction linoleum print, so I was still learning and trying things new. I sketched my ideas on my favourite newsprint. I wanted it to be a cake card, which would have so many layers and carry lots of wishes. So, I drew a tall strawberry-flavoured cake with the hand-written type saying: Every Layer Is My Best Wish For You. I am still keeping the sketch now cause I love it. 

 

And, I had to consider which parts to be white and carve the first layer out. Interestingly, it couldn’t go back to the previous layer in the reduction, so I was more cautious than I needed to. Then, it came to the second one, then the last one. I didn't make it too complicated at least. It appeared to be great, even cuter than I planned. The unpracticed and impatient carving skills made the shapes of the work more interesting and quirky, which was exactly what I hearted. Also, I didn’t roll the ink well, so the colours were partly loose but also thick in different areas. 

 

All of a sudden, when I was cleaning the waste pieces of the prints, I found something valuable and fantastic about this work. While I was craving the Cake print, I was baking cakes so hard. And the reduction of print-making let the process much more romantic and brave. Just like I piled up every layer of cake onto another one, turning it into a huge cake. And, rolling the ink and putting it through the press, was just like trying to evenly spread the cream onto cakes. Since then, I have been thinking and wishing my friends could get their best wishes more from my tall-cake-card inspiration. Last, I made another Cake GIF from the spirit of the print recently, which is definitely lovely and catches eyes.  

Describe five elements or aspects of your art that you would communicate to someone unable to see it.

People, lines, perspective, mood, and colour will be the five elements to see in my work I believe, which I will definitely try to convey by other means in the meantime, like music to express the feeling vividly, and tacticle material and elements so they can imagine the outline and shape through their own exploration. 

 

People are usually imperative in my work. I like to draw them directly, instead of using complicated metaphors. For example, I would draw people singing or dancing as a big element if I design an illustration for some performance I guess. Also, the expression of the human (or creature) I draw is important to see, I will describe how great I draw their poses and attitudes. How arrogant that person is, how determined the dog’s sight, or how secure the girl looks, are all intended expressions of mine.

 

Lines may sound unquestionable or unnecessary to mention, but they mean a lot to my work. I always hope I can keep my lines as loose and free as I am sketching, even if it is hard. So I must storytell my linework and any details of it to someone who is not able to see it. I may draw the clouds very loosely because they are floating and unlimited. I may illustrate the trees as steady and strong with thicker lines because human needs them to lean on or have shelter to nap. I may draw the boy with many dots and points instead of steady lineworks because he is sweaty after running in the PE class.  

 

Colour is not my first priority in the work, to be honest, but it still matters. I will tell them why I chose the palette, as well as the opacity. Recently I have loved watercolour painting more than I could imagine. I don’t think I am proficient in the materials, but I enjoy and experiment instead. I will tell them why I gave the skirt a bold pink in the work, not an elegant white, maybe because she needs it. She needs a bright and girly pink to protect her commitments in her brave story.

 

Perspective is my other super tool learning from a magical art studio in Taiwan, where the teacher always gave me time to try even though I spent the whole time making wrong decisions. But, after that frustrating time, I have gradually grasped the importance and its visual power. Therefore, I will tell them how I illustrate them from which points of view, and how I make the composition look literally, which both kinds of perspectives matter. I may draw them very teeny from a distanced viewpoint because humans look so small, aimless, and fragile in a catastrophic war. 

 

Last but not least, I will ask them how they feel about the mood of my work, through every element I describe. They may have got some ideas already. And we can discuss and exchange ideas, feel art from different points of view.

What superpower would you choose that aligns with your artistic endeavours and why? 

Feeling every moment I want to feel through some memorable dreams is the superpower I wish I had. First, I like dreaming of something exciting or delightful. It is inspiring and interesting for me somehow. So what if we can get into someone’s shoes and truly empathize because of the dream? I think it will be very useful and powerful. Sometimes I try to imitate and think about what these parties want if I become them. But the truth is, I am not and I never will be, which drives me only to collect information, stuck, puzzle in my mind, and try to realize. 

 

Oppositely, I will get more ideas if I really suffer from some important moments that they have been through. For example, I think I would illustrate the rich merchant better, and truly being in their shoes if I were the one. Ironically, I think I am too poor to imagine their minds maybe. Yet, In my dream, I can understand why he chose to make more money even though he already does. Maybe it is not about money, like my stereotype, maybe they see something I didn’t consider at all. Second, I can know what people are fighting against, knowing opinions from both opposites, and maybe come up with some good ideas to solve the problem, and of course, I can illustrate them from both parties then. 

 

I think it will really be a superpower as an illustrator for me. I can see the worldwide scene, various species, and kinds of cultures in my dream. I can know how birds feel when they fly. Just as my mini-comic illustrates, are crows actually luckier and happier than us, human beings, while we see them as a kind of bad luck? And how the athlete feels when they have run the best of their life and become a habit. How do their body and mind work when they are running through the harsh weather? Will they think nothing, something small, count their breath or just appreciate the beautiful desert they have run through? 

 

Generally, I think I want this superpower, because I may have a higher chance to make more vivid and more interesting work as an illustrator. And if not, at least I still have some good dreams and adventure, which is fun and harmless.   

How would you spend your last 24 hours if you knew they were your last?

I would have delicious creamy spaghetti at Speedy’s with my sister in London first, and go to Tate to see some beautiful and interesting works to be left in my mind forever after. Since London has been my favourite city of mine and my sister Ann’s, also the home of Sherlock, which we love so much. We had the best day there I think, which the day was kind of ordinary but sweet. We went to Borough Market, Ann had some fresh oyster with sour sweet lemonade, and we went to Tate and hung around until it closed. Fortunately, I would always remember the sunset of the day was so beautiful, and the weather was great so there were so many pedestrians walking by Thames. Everything was moving quite slowly at that moment. I was glad we were laughing and walking together, but also a bit of sadness sneaked to me, cause I knew great things wouldn’t continue forever. 

 

Second, I will see my friends and lover, and hug them very tightly to remember and say goodbye. I have so many friends, good ones and bad ones though. Each of them has its pros and cons, some of which I know I should keep quite a distance better, but I usually fail to. I hate saying goodbye, I wish every friend I love would stay forever, please. And, of course, for the good ones, I will hug and thank them for never giving up on me. How could I still be brave if we don’t conquer together? Still, for my sweet lover at the time, I know it will be so hard to say goodbye, just like every sweet. I think I will kiss them and sniff their smell to stick into my mind, I believe I will always keep it. I will tell them how they’ve supported the most real inner me, which has been so important and makes unsecured me more relieved. I always think I can’t live without someone. But just like the song, the sun still goes on shining, even when I am devastated and crashed. 

 

Last, I will stay with my Mom and Ann, lying on our cosiest couch with my Snoopy’s surrounding and taking a super long nap. Awkwardly, they are my closest people in the world, but sometimes I am too clumsy to say how grateful I am to them. Mom, Dad and Ann have supported me forever, while I am usually just a lucky taker. I can’t even remember what I got for them, which is absolutely a shame for me. But what I am sure of is that they have already been a part of me, and I will always be with them too.  

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Yen's story is a prime example of creative commitment and highlights the power of embracing diverse experiences and backgrounds throughout the artistic process. Peggy’s illustrations, rich with emotion and cultural insight, offer a unique point of view of the world. As Peggy continues to explore new dimensions in her art, she remains dedicated to capturing the essence of human experience in her distinctive, expressive style. Keep up to date with Peggy's exciting work by visiting her Artit profile and portfolio.