interview: pingszoo

I've recently had the great pleasure to chat with a very talented L.A.-based illustrator and she agreed to answer a few questions for a short interview on Jellyfish Tales. She has started Pingszoo in 2009 as an online portfolio and, more recently, Pingshop, where one can not only view but also buy her prints. The name Pingszoo comes from her own name, Ping Zhu: "It's a fun way to give my illustrations a place to live, very similar to a zoo environment, some sort of plethora of different types of animals."

Ping likes to paint in gouache on BFK Rives print paper and she does it beautifully and with a great sense of humour. One of her major sources of inspiration is Charly Harper's work. Other things Ping loves are the animal kingdom, food, enthusiastic people, Katamari Damacy and Futura. See below for a short interview with Ping and some choice pieces:

Please tell us something about yourself and your background!

I am based in L.A., and my parents came here from China in the 80s to go to school in America. I grew up with mostly Chinese traditions, but had to learn about cultural differences just by living and interacting in America, where I was born. It was strange as a kid to straddle two different cultures, but I think it has helped in being more open in terms of perspective.

Do you have any formal art training? Where did you go to school?

I took art classes when I was in high school, and also the Saturday High classes from Art Center College of Design. After graduating from high school I came to Art Center for my Bachelor's degree in Illustration, and I'm graduating in a month!

When and how did you start illustrating/painting? What attracted you to this medium?

Trying not to sound like every person on earth...but I've drawn since I was young, and my motivation back then was just trying to be able to draw better than other kids. Eventually, in my Junior year in high school I seriously started considering pursuing art or design as a career, and I was introduced to the possibilities of what that job market could do. Plus I was terrible in all the academic subjects in school, so I was pushing to almost prove to those professions that art and design is just as important as being a lawyer or doctor. I am really attracted to inventions, whether they're physical or visual. Being about to tell a story or draw something silly, the freedom in being about to create something new is extremely attractive to me.

You mainly paint in guache. Do you also work in other mediums?

I've been working with sculpture recently, but the forms are still decorated with paper painted with gouache. There is something really appealing about gouache because it retains really vibrant pigments, but dries flat enough to look almost like a silkscreen. I really love painted textures such as dry brushing, which shows great gestures on a flat graphic surface. I painted with brush pens which look very graphic novel-y because it's just in black on white paper. For now gouache seems to be floating my boat really well, so if I do ever mosey away from it, I'm sure it will still be related to painting....but for now that doesn't seem likely!