Name and Year: Mabel Luu, C’15

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Major: Communications

Website: www.mabelluu.com

 

Street: How did you first start drawing?

Mabel Luu: My eighth grade teacher included art in our curriculum. She wasn’t an artist, so she made us watch those instructional drawing videos. After completing some assignments and getting good grades on them, I realized that I was pretty decent at drawing. I remember everyone awing at my drawings. Ever since then, I practiced a lot.

 

Street: Do you have a favorite medium?

ML: Generally, I like using watercolor and graphite. Currently, I’ve been using pen a lot. I’m a proponent of not being a perfectionist, especially when it comes to art. You can’t erase with pen, and that is kind of thrilling.

 

Street: How is photorealism different from other styles of art?

ML: Photorealism is a form of art that tries to achieve a photographic look, and it is also my style of choice. When I first started drawing, I would use pictures as references and draw exactly what I would see. Photorealism doesn’t allow room for much creativity, but it trains you to look at details and proportions.

 

Street: How fast can you complete a portrait? 

ML: It depends on what/who/why/when I am drawing. For my very detailed, photorealistic ones, I can take anywhere from three to eight hours. For more casual and random drawings, I take about an hour. The amount of time I spend drawing could be a part-time job… except I’m not getting paid!

 

Street: Who are your favorite people to draw? 

ML: I love watching movie series and epic television shows (like X-Men and Lost), so I tend to draw some of my favorite characters or actors on there. If you look at all the people I’ve drawn, there are definitely a lot of Holly

wood celebrities. Also, I like to say that I can draw a mean Captain Jack Sparrow.

 

Street: How do you approach drawing a face? Walk us through the steps.

ML: What I like to do is to first analyze the proportions of the face and the direction of lighting. Then I start sketching a quick outline of the face, keeping in mind proportions. After that, I start drawing the eyes in detail. If the eyes are off, the whole portrait is going to be off. Then I move onto the eyebrows, mouth, lips, and face. After I got the features down, I do some general shading and blending using a tissue.

 

Street: So you like to give your artwork to your favorite bands… What’s that like?

ML: It’s an awesome feeling! My favorite band back in the day was “This Providence.” I wanted to do something special for them, so I drew a portrait of all of them. They were on a lot of tours that came through Philly, so I got to give my drawings to them. I would line up early with my friend before the show, and I would usually catch them setting up their merchandise. I gave them 3 drawings in total, and they loved all of them! They even mentioned me in an interview once—it was great!

 

Street: What do you do to fuel your creative spirit?

ML: Artist’s Block sucks, and it is real. I find inspiration from song lyrics, quotes from Tumblr, my own emotions, and watching TV. Also, getting paid helps!

 

Street: What are your next plans for art in your life?

ML: I think it’ll be really cool working at an advertising agency. I’d love to use my creativity and aesthetic eye to create ads that break through the clutter.