ISETAN MEN'S net has launched a new series called "ART UP by International Creators." This series focuses on "fashion" and "art," two fields that have long been closely related, and will curate and introduce a variety of artists.

The fourth artist featured is Ly, who paints urban yet fantastical landscapes in black, white, and gray, as well as distinctive monsters that are highly recognizable. We spoke with her at "COFFEE STAND IN THE PAINTING," located on the first floor of the Colorworks Higashi-Kanda showroom, which carries her favorite paint, "HIP," saying, "I like that it doesn't smell, the way the colors come out, and the matte texture. And the can design is cute too."

Event Information

Ly Live Painting

□September 12th (Wednesday) 17:00-19:00

□Main building, 6th floor = Event space / inside anea cafe

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Ly

A painter born in Tokyo, he uses black, white, and gray to depict cityscapes he has visited abroad and landscapes he has fantasized about since childhood. He has created murals for places such as THE NORTH FACE STANDARD in Harajuku, PORTAL Apartment & Art POINT in Shibuya, and anea cafe in Shirokane, and has also worked internationally in the United States, Paris, Bangkok, Malaysia, and other countries, earning high acclaim.

I don't like using colors that don't have any meaning.

Ly says she attended a local art school from the age of seven until she was in college. She attributes her current preference for black, white, and gray (incidentally, she only wears black clothes) largely to her parents' influence. Her childhood room wallpaper was black, and her schoolbag and swimming gear were all black. "My mother disliked red, so she bought me boys' items instead of girls'. But I never disliked it; I just accepted it naturally."

She says that from a young age, she was known by herself and others as "a slightly unusual child." Furthermore, at the art school she started attending "because she had good friends there," she experienced her first setback at the age of 11.

"In my first year, I would draw circles, triangles, and squares with crayons and then fill them in. After doing that for a while, I got tired of thinking about colors (laughs). Gradually, I started using only about two colors. After that, I moved on to watercolors and then, in the fifth grade of elementary school (age 11), I started drawing with pencils. At first, I would draw cabbage, but my friend who was taking lessons with me was so good. Her drawings were really like photographs. Seeing that, I realized I couldn't compete with her, and at the same time, I realized that I couldn't draw things exactly as I saw them."

Afterward, Ly, who was originally supposed to take oil painting lessons, directly asked her teacher for permission to paint whatever she liked, however she liked. At first, she simply drew line art and other designs with a black marker pen.

"I became interested in street art when I was in high school, and by the time I was in college, I had a clear vision of the world I wanted to depict. However, my skills weren't up to par with my imagination, so I couldn't draw it. I was just drawing single black monsters. Back then, I couldn't even draw backgrounds. It was only about five or six years ago that I started to be able to depict the world in which the monsters live. I feel like I've only recently started to be able to do that."

Furthermore, the appearance of "gray," which could be considered a third color other than black and white, in her paintings occurred during a period when she felt limited by her own art and was struggling with it.

"I happened to go to a skate park with a friend, and at that moment, I felt like my feelings and the gray concrete of the skate park were linked. I don't like using meaningless colors, but at that time, I had a strong feeling that I had 'acquired a new color.' From then on, my paintings expanded."

The monsters she draws are given names like "HATE-kun," "SHIT-chan," and "SAD-kun." Perhaps these negative emotions are the driving force behind her creative work.

"The harder painting is for me, the more fun it is. The bigger the wall, the harder it is, and the more detailed I make the painting, the harder it is. Sometimes I paint while getting frustrated with my own lack of skill. Maybe those emotions are coming through. I'm never satisfied with my own paintings. On the contrary, if I become satisfied, I feel like, 'I'm done with paintings like this.'" "I actually have a lot of monsters in my head that I haven't released to the world yet. I don't know why, but sometimes I suddenly feel like I can paint them. And once I've painted one, I end up painting that one monster over and over. I don't even know why that is myself."

Ly is not good at trying new things and has always stuck to the same routine. Finally, we asked her about her future plans.

"I want to continue creating works that will last a long time. Like murals, for example. Ever since I was little, I've been bad at drawing the landscapes and monsters I imagine in my head in a smaller size. I like having a wall-sized area because I can draw them at actual size. Also, when I go back to paint on a street wall that I painted a few years ago, elementary school kids will say things like, 'I always pass by this on my way to school,' and elderly people who live nearby will say things like, 'Did you paint this?' or 'What does this painting mean?' I think that means my art has taken root in that community, and it's the greatest form of communication I can have with other people."

NEXT> Towards the live painting at 'SOUL CAMP 2018 at ISETAN'