Volume 6, Issue 11 – November, 2003

Stephanie Pui-Mun Law: Strength in Whimsy

In the art of Stephanie Pui-Mun Law, crisply defined trails of light carry the patterns of a dancer’s movement from the past into the future. Minute goblins munch figs like greedy children under the gaze of three-eyed mushrooms. Foxes live their dreams of flight, and magic manifests itself in a variety of forms — weird, wonderful and often quite alien — frequently at the same time in the same picture.

Fascinated by mythology, legends and folklore from an early age, Law seeks to capture the sense of the fantastic that lies at the root of all fantasy art. Part of her success in achieving this goal derives from the inherent contrast between the strong, dynamic lines of her compositions; the perceived delicacy of her preferred medium (watercolor) and her wicked sense of visual humor. But part of it must be attributed to the contrasting strengths of the artist herself. After all, how many people can combine computer programming and fine art — and make them play nicely together?

Crescent Blues: What do you find most satisfying about working with watercolor?

Stephanie Pui-Mun Law: I love being able to build up the color intensity with many washes. It makes the colors really glow.

Do you use any special techniques to achieve the level of detail seen in images such as Charmed Destinies or Midnight Run?

Well, my usual answer to that question is, “Very small brushes!!!” I take my time sketching out the piece before I begin painting, and even after that, many details are added as I work. My inability to just leave a blank space be!

How has your choice of media helped or hindered your sales to art directors?

Before watercolors, I was doing a lot of digital work. I had done acrylics and oils in the past as well but hadn’t touched them in a while. Anyway, I started submitting my art to various companies and art directors. At first I did not get many responses, but at last one art director told me he had a bias against digital art. I found several others feel this way too.

Now, many years later, most art directors are fairly open to digital art. At any rate, I decided then to switch. It had been a while since I had done much with a real medium, so I chose watercolor, having just returned from a visit to a gallery of Daniel Merriam‘s work (beautiful vibrant watercolors).

At first my choice of medium didn’t do much either way, but now I find that most art directors seek me out specifically for my style, which I think is directly tied to my medium of choice.

Who determines the media you use for a given commission?

That’s usually in the hands of the art director. But as I said, at this time I’ve built up a portfolio that focuses so much on my watercolor work, that that is usually what they ask for.

Do different markets (e.g., book publishers, magazines, game companies) have different preferences?

It depends on the purpose. If it is for print, sometimes they will have preferences, sometimes not. If it is for the Web, or for computer game companies, they seem to lean more towards digital.

Your cover for the anthology Charmed Destinies is something of a departure in cover art for Silhouette. Is the image linked to a specific story in the anthology, or was the art director looking for a certain feel?

Actually, I’m not really familiar with what the art for Silhouette is like! But Shelley [Cinnamon, the art director] came to me and told me the concept they had, and mentioned that much of my other work had similar elements to what they wanted. The general feel was to be romantic fantasy.

Harlequin/Silhouette runs its art shop out of its Canadian Office. You’ve also worked for Harper Collins Australia and other overseas publishers. What is the submission process for an overseas publisher or game maker?

It’s pretty much the same as it would be for a publisher here. The only difference is what currency the check comes in and what hoops you’ll have to jump through at the bank to get it deposited! The Internet makes the interactions a lot easier.

What inspired you to venture so far afield?

Well, HarperCollins fell into my lap because the author happened to be a friend of my friend, and somehow we managed to connect up and make it work out. As for Harlequin, they dropped me an email out of the blue one day. It was a surprise to me because I had never before considered that market, focusing entirely on the strict fantasy genre, and not realizing there were other venues.

What role did your early family life play in your desire to become an artist?

I started drawing as early as I can remember. My first answer when asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?” was, “An artist.” I used to draw whenever I had any spare moment. I didn’t ever get bored because all I needed was some paper and a pencil to keep entertained.

When did you first realize you wanted to create art for a living?

By the time I got to college, I thoroughly believed what everyone had told me — that it was impossible to make a living at art. All I would succeed at would be in becoming yet another starving artist. I thought to keep it as a hobby, and meanwhile pursue something practical — and with the tech boom nothing was more practical than programming. I couldn’t cut art out of my life completely, and wanted to take art classes, perhaps minor in it.

However [University of California] Berkeley’s lack of a budget for that department worked in my favor in this aspect. They didn’t want to support both a major and minor degree of art, and so there was only the option to major in it. I decided to go ahead with that then, and doubled along with computer science.

At some point during those years I was on a long road trip with a friend, and he asked me what my dream in life was. I didn’t answer at first because I was rather embarrassed, but eventually he managed to pry it out, and I told him I used to dream of being a fantasy artist but that it was a very silly dream. Instead of laughing, he asked me seriously what was stopping me.

That was the first time someone didn’t tell me to just put the thought out of my head and continue with practical living. It gave me pause, but conversations held during twilight hours along empty stretches of road belong in a time and place outside the normal flow of things. With everything else happening I forgot the conversation until midway through my last year in college. I was running around to various career fairs, seeking a software programmer position. One day as I came home after attending a fair I realized I was very depressed. It took a moment to understand why.

Handing out my resume left and right I finally realized that though I liked programming and found it satisfying and challenging, the thought of doing it for the rest of my life and leaving my art unrealized was unbearable. To create art is a need within me. That road trip conversation came back, and it was then that I resolved to begin work on a portfolio.

What was your family’s reaction to your career choice?

For three and a half years after graduating from college I worked as a programmer at a startup software company, meanwhile moonlighting with my artwork. I don’t think anyone truly understood how serious I was about it. Even my manager and coworkers teased that I would one day desert them to be a full time artist, but they didn’t believe it would happen anytime soon. It was just “that side thing that Stephanie did.”

Anyway, when I quit my job, the tech bubble was just beginning to burst. Dot-coms were starting to evaporate. When I told my family that I was leaving the nice, secure job at a software company that was still strong amidst all the uncertainty and market turmoil everywhere else; that I was voluntarily quitting a job when others were being laid off and unable to find work — well, they were understandably confused and unhappy about it. Within half a year they changed their minds as I proved move than capable of supporting myself solely on art, and in fact my family are my biggest fans.

Did you discover digital art at UC Berkeley, or did you pursue a double major in order to accommodate your interest in using your computer to create?

Yes and no. I did discover digital art while at Berkeley, by virtue of the Internet and seeing the art of others. No, in that illustration and digital art were anathema to the art department there.

It was an art program more focused on modern abstract expressionism. Performance art happenings. Splashes and drips. Dropping sandbags from third story windows onto metal plates to be etched. They were about process, rather than results; and digital art easily skips to the results.

So what I did with digital art was on my own time. The computer science and art departments wanted absolutely nothing to do with each other, and advisors in both departments gave rather scathing retorts at the prospect of any kind of combination.

What are the most rewarding and most challenging aspects of creating a digital image?

What I like best about working digitally is to be able to get such vibrant colors. The most challenging part of it is breathing life into it. It’s hard to get spontaneity or randomness to a digital painting because it is so controlled. You don’t get what one art teacher of mine used to call “happy surprises” because the medium acts as you make it.

What programs and applications do you prefer?

I use Photoshop^™, and a Wacom^™ tablet.

How do the skills associated with traditional media play in the development of digital art?

Really, they are the same skills. No matter what media you use, it is still about rendering, color, and composition. Without the basics, a computer will not make the art for you. I use a pressure sensitive tablet to draw, and so it is much the same as drawing with a pencil.

What are some of the ways that digital techniques can be used to enhance a traditional painting — or its delivery to the publisher?

I actually do not like to combine the two. I keep my paintings done with traditional media in that pure form, and only scan it in order to make prints and to send to the publishers. In that respect however, computers have made things much easier. Rather than packing up very fragile paintings and entrusting them to the mail couriers, the only thing that needs to be mailed is a CD-Rom. Sometimes not even that, and publishers can set up FTP sites to electronically transmit the files.

When and how did you make your first professional sales?

When I came to the decision in 1998 to start doing fantasy illustration, I sent out my portfolio to a number of publishers. Honestly now, I don’t remember which company was the first I worked for, but I do know the first I got excited about was Wizards of the Coast. When I initially sent them my portfolio I didn’t get any response, but a month later I received a random email from the Magic art director. It was very brief and amounted to: “Nice work, keep it up.”

I wrote back and asked if the email was in response to my portfolio and he replied that he had not seen my portfolio — he had just randomly come across my website. I then asked if I could perhaps have some work and he told me that regretfully, he didn’t really use digital art for Magic, but come back when I had a portfolio with traditional media. I spent the next few months painting in watercolor, and when I felt I had enough, I emailed him again, only to find he was no longer with Wizards of the Coast. He gave me the phone number of the new art director, Dana Knutson. I sent in my portfolio once again, and was ecstatic when I finally got a positive response.

Were your professional sales what prompted you to attend your first SF/Fantasy con, or did your participation in con art shows contribute to your first sales?

The small local cons came first. I heard from someone about them and decided to give it a try. I started with a very small one — about 700 people called Silicon. I had a wonderful experience, and the other artists were very helpful and welcoming. They told me about other conventions in the area, and from there I started going to bigger cons and straying further afield.

How important are cons to you at this stage in your career?

I think the first time I went to Gencon was the most important con for my career. It gave me the chance to get out and talk to art directors. Now, it’s still important for me to go because there are always new and interesting contacts to be made, but it’s not vital. Many art directors find me through my Web site now, or through the various gallery sites I display my art in.

What represents an ideal commission for you?

The ideal commission is first of all of a subject matter I am interested in, and secondly that gives me freedom once the specifics are set down. I don’t mind the client getting very detailed, but I like to be able to give it my interpretation from there and not have to make dozens of changes that kill the spirit of the piece.

Does music play a role in your painting rituals?

Not a direct role. I get asked this all the time, but really I don’t associate the music I listen to in any way to the art. It’s just that when I work, I need to have something going in the background. I’ll listen to any music at all!

How did you get interested in flamenco dancing?

One day a friend of mine asked me, “Would you like to take a flamenco class with me at the YWCA?”

My response was, “Flamenco? What’s THAT?”

When I found out it was dancing, my instinct was to say “no”, because I had had an absolutely terrible time with ballet as a child and was convinced I had two left feet. Somehow, I let her drag me to the class, and since then I have been addicted. It is so different from any other dance I had ever been exposed to, and was so forceful and full of emotion.

I became friends with the student guitarist, and together with my other dancer friend, the three of us used to practice in the unused house at the back of the property where he was living. He would play, and we danced improvisationally, sometimes until 4 a.m., barefoot so as to not wake the neighbors, and with candles lining the windowsills because there was no electricity. That time was all rather surreal.

How has the study of movement influenced your art? I was particularly struck by the sweeping, sometimes explosive curves that characterize so many of your pieces. Is there a connection?

Not consciously, but I suppose you’re right in that observation!

Could you give our readers an idea of your current projects?

The project I’m most excited about right now is a book that Elmore Productions will be publishing. It is ostensibly a gaming book, but the focus really is the artwork, and stories to accompany the art. The gaming aspect comes in that the characters are all useable in a campaign. It is ostensibly a gaming book, but the focus really is the artwork, and the stories accompany the art. The gaming aspect comes from the fact that the characters can all be used in a campaign.

What was the genesis of Midnight Run?

Midnight Run is actually the cover piece for a novel that will be published by Tachyon Publications. Dinosaurs aren’t what I would usually paint, but I thought it might be an interesting challenge to try something new.

These days, do you get much chance to paint for pleasure?

The last few months have been extremely hectic, so during that time, not really. Usually I like to spend about half my time painting for pleasure. Because I sell prints from my website, I can afford this luxury, and not have to constantly fill my pipeline with commissioned work. Actually though, I’ve been attempting some sculpture in my spare time lately. It’s still a new thing, so it waits to be seen if the results are fit to see the light of day!

How much does your writing influence your painting and vice versa?

I think of them less as influencing or inspiring one another, so much as stemming from the same source. The both seek to find some mundane detail or observation or some random whimsical phrase, and draw out a fantastical world for that to exist in.

Do you nourish a secret (or not so secret) desire to publish a book that combines your words and your art?

I suppose I do, but I have yet to find that subject that I would be able to devote so much of myself to.

What prompted your involvement with the Gypsy Silk and Elfwood tarot decks?

The Elfwood tarot was just a fun project among artists with no serious intent. The Gypsy Silk tarot I initially discussed as a collaborative project with writer ElizaBeth Gilligan, author of Magic’s Silken Snare (DAW) to be a companion to her novel. I met her at a local convention (Baycon) about five years ago, and since then we mention it briefly each year but have yet to proceed further! I would love to produce that deck someday, but until then it is a project on the backburners.

Jean Marie Ward

In addition to editing Crescent Blues, Jean Marie Ward writes for a number of Web-based and print magazines, including Science Fiction Weekly. She is the author of Illumina: the Art of Jean Pierre Targete (Paper Tiger) and several short stories, including “Most Dead Bodies in a Confined Space” in Strange Pleasures 2 (Prime Books). Her first novel, With Nine You Get Vanyr, written with Teri Smith, is scheduled to be released by Samhain Publishing in late 2006..