Featured Artist: Sheng Yi Lee
Sheng Yi Lee is a Malaysian-born artist, designer and teacher who moved to Melbourne in 2009 to pursue her studies in architecture - only to end up pivoting into a career as a part-time, self-taught web designer and developer to help support her dreams of becoming an artist.
Sheng Yi is well known for her high level of technical execution no matter the medium or subject she chooses, but many may know her elegant food portrait series, a lovingly-crafted ode to her passion for eating and cooking that exquisitely highlights the simple beauty and unique forms of fruit, vegetables and spices.
A fundamental part of Sheng Yi's practise is her work as an art teacher at Classe Petit, where she offers regular Joes, art lovers and creative hobbyists a fun and inclusive space to develop their creative talents. In fact, there's a number of new classes opening up with Sheng Yi over the next month, including a spooky Halloween themed class - book your spot here.
Recently, Sheng Yi has embarked on a new direction in her artistic journey in the form of George the Duck, which explores the more narrative-driven, playful side of her work. George is a big hit at Image Science, and we always look forward to seeing where his next adventure will take him!
What are some of your earliest memories of creativity? Was there a pivotal moment where you said to yourself “that’s what I want to do with my life”?
When I was seven I had a best friend named Nicole. I felt like she got me; we were both so imaginative and creative. We had a mutual love of this anime ’Akazukin Cha Cha’ and we started drawing characters and writing stories from the world of that show. We would illustrate them in great detail. Eventually, we co-authored multiple books based on these drawings.
I remember being quite creative in high school and then into adulthood, sometimes drawing and writing stories, but it never crossed my mind to pursue a career as an artist. It was a hobby, though one I was always serious about.
It wasn’t until mid 2021, when I’d left an unfulfilling job, and felt like I really needed to recalibrate what it meant to be me. This coincided with Melbourne’s second big lockdown. So during this time, I began to write and draw a lot more, and creative joy began to return to my heart. This was when I knew I had to restart my life out of lockdown as an artist: I wanted to spend most of my waking hours doing something I loved.
Do you have a traditional education in art, or did you start your professional career on another path?
I spent 5 years in architecture school, worked as a graphic designer after I graduated, and eventually became a freelance web developer, which is what I still do today. One of my early gigs was as a web designer, working at the National Gallery of Victoria. I found it so inspiring being around so much art. I had also started private art tutoring for kids for extra income, and that led me to running my own ‘paint and sip’ business, Classe Petit. Prior to teaching, I was never into painting, so you could say I learnt it on the job. I enrolled in a bunch of workshops at Fitzroy Painting and that took my skills to the next level. I took the long way around to become an artist, but I got here eventually!
Your quirky and surrealistic George the duck series is quite a transition in subject matter, concept and art style to your more traditional fruit and vegetable series. What prompted this change of direction in your creative practice?
George happened by accident. One day I felt an urge to paint a duck. I was trying to step out of my comfort zone (painting from reference images) and instead wanted to paint from images in my mind. But it ended up looking bad, so I decided to play with the leftover paint because I had mentally decided it was garbage anyway. That’s how ‘Identity’ was created: completely spontaneous, improvised, unplanned. Of course, George looks a lot more like a goose than a duck here, but that is besides the point; for the first time I felt like I was creating, instead of copying. This was a nice feeling and I wanted to feel it again. So I created ‘Friendship’ and ‘Desire’, which completed the ‘George Wants A Balloon’ story.
The repeating symbolism of the balloon in your George series hints that there may a running narrative at play. What is George’s story and how does each piece reflect your state of mind?
George is the name I have given to every duck (and seagull) I cross paths with. I don’t know how or when it started, but it just became a thing. I’ve always liked ducks (they’re so round!) and then I met my boyfriend – his favourite animal is also a duck. So the symbolism of a duck to me was just out of pure delight. You don’t see many images of ducks in galleries and I want to change that.
The ‘George Wants A Balloon’ works tell the story of desire. George sees a balloon, yearns for it, chases it, eventually gets it, and is confronted with the existential question: “What next?”. For some people that is a question filled with dread, and for others it is exhilarating. I find myself afraid to desire too much, because I fear being caught in a cycle of perpetual wanting and never being satisfied with what already is.
The series of coloured and graphite drawings, which I have now titled ‘Life According to George’, is again about desire, but it goes deeper in exploring my colliding ideas in many things in life. I constantly find myself overthinking, or not thinking enough; fluctuating between hope, cynicism, and apathy. In ‘George Wants A Holiday’, he looks happy in his snow globe, but it’s desolate outside and there’s a small, ominous crack in the glass. I wanted to explore the idea of holidays being an illusory escape from life’s problems. The things we don’t often (want to) address, and using temporary change to protect ourselves. But watch out for cracks in the glass!
What always manages to inspire you, no matter how uninventive you feel? Is there anything in particular that is inspiring you right now?
Sometimes I’m completely uninspired. I’ve only recently accepted that that’s okay, but it doesn’t stop me from making art. I might just end up making something flat and meaningless, and usually ends up in the bin. It takes boredom to know what inspiration feels like.
I recently visited my family home in Malaysia and found a new appreciation for the local textile art and antique Chinese ornaments hanging on our walls. I was already working on expanding George’s world, and this gave me more tools to work with. I’m really excited with what’s to come because I haven’t played with colour and pattern all that much, and textile art is all about that.
So sometimes it’s just about being out in the world, exposing myself to new things and new art. That is always inspiring.
Your Instagram reveals you have explored a plethora of traditional and contemporary art styles, but you regularly return to photorealism. What draws you to photorealism and why does it best express your artistic intentions?
I enjoy the outcome-driven approach of realism: here’s a photo/scene of something, recreate it in your chosen medium. There’s a right and a wrong in realism, and it involves an understanding of physics of the real world. It’s the same reason I enjoy coding in my freelance work - I’ve got quite a mathematical brain.
In saying that, I’m now trying to find the balance between refinement and playfulness in my style. Most of the George pieces were done in a realistic style because I wanted to exercise my compositional and narrative skills. Photorealism is what I know best and it made expressing my ideas more accessible. But I now feel at a point where I can take off my training wheels and push my process a little further, and try new things. My latest work ‘Llama Haha’ and ‘I Want More Money’ are the opposite of my food and vegetable series, and quite distinct from the George pieces, so I’m curious to see how the styles converge.
Your artworks are a masterclass in technical precision and fine detail, so I imagine it would take many hours to complete each piece. How do you structure the timeline for completing each piece, and how long does the process usually take?
Thank you! Each food portrait was about a day’s work, between 4 to 6 hours, because they are quite small. The graphite George pieces probably took 30 to 50 hours, about a week of fulltime work. My older large scale works, like the horses, burger and portrait of Jay Z, took even longer. I don’t keep track of time or set a timeline for these projects, because I never want to rush the process. I know my touch is less delicate when I’m ‘chasing’ the finish line.
How do you manage the business side of your creative practise? Do you find you have a knack for it, or is it something you struggle with?
I’ve been self-employed for 8 years now, so I know the ‘business side’ is just something that has to be done. I used to live with one of my closest friends, who is naturally entrepreneurial; watching her pursue multiple projects taught me a lot about what’s involved in running a business.
I find that having a structure in place helps make the admin work less tedious. My Dropbox folders are well-organised, I have templates for keeping track of expenses and income, and there is a special spot on my shelf for all the physical receipts that need to be recorded (eventually). I do find joy in organising things, so I think it helps. Also the fear of falling into the stereotype of the chaotic, disorganised artist who is hopeless at business – this is what keeps my spreadsheets alive.
What dream collaboration or project is on your creative wishlist?
I love the idea of a collaboration between art, music and food. I’m blessed to have many talented creatives in my life, and it would be wonderful to be able to showcase all three forms of art in one immersive experience. Imagine viewing art while listening to live jazz, and dining on delicious food and wine. It’s not a novel idea, but I’d love to make that memory with my friends and loved ones.
What does a successful day in the studio look like for you? Do you have any productivity tips for those struggling to stay on track with creative projects?
If I’m creating then it’s a successful day. It doesn’t matter if I like the result or not, whether it turns into a print or not, or how long I’ve spent on it, just as long as I’ve tried to make something. This is a lot harder to do than it sounds, especially when errands, admin work and naps get in the way.
What I learnt quite recently is that I’m more productive when I allow myself to work on multiple pieces at once. For some artists this might not sound like news, but for years I would only start another piece once I had finished the one I was working on. It used to be a space issue, but I don’t have that problem anymore. I often get distracted with new ideas, and instead of resisting I’m just rolling with it now. I’m least productive when I’m bored (which is productive in its own way), so the solution to that would be to be interested in something else. And it works!
‘The Grand Budapeck Hotel’ is a year in the making. I started this very enthusiastically in August 2022, got frustrated with my watercolour skills, put it away for months and finished it this July in coloured pencil.
What can we expect from you for the rest of 2023 (and beyond)? Any sneak peeks of cool upcoming exhibitions or projects?
I took a break from markets over winter, so from October I’m back at my markets with the full suite of George prints. I’m doing The Big Design Market in Sydney and I’m really excited for that too. I’ll be part of a group exhibition at the Brunswick Street Gallery in October, ‘Echoes of A Gaze’; where I’ll be showing a portrait of my grandmother.
I’ve been meaning to commit to a solo exhibition, so I should listen to my own advice and lock that in for 2024. My work is ever-evolving, so follow me on Instagram to be part of the journey!.
Follow Sheng Yi on Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming painting workshops, new print releases and artist news. To contact Sheng Yi or to browse her shop for fine art prints or original work, head to her website shengyilee.com.
