Pictured above is “Hide and Seek,” an artwork from You Byun’s first children’s book, Dream Friends.
Do You See What I See? Take a peek into the fantastically detailed world of artist You Byun.
by JULIE HA
For award-winning illustrator You Byun, a picture is not only worth a thousands words, but also a thousand emotions. A spare, simple drawing of hers—showing a girl looking into what one expects to be cotton candy, but is instead a nondescript face on a stick—is meant to convey complicated feelings of love, longing, perhaps obsession or loss. Its title: “I See You Everywhere.” Meanwhile, the artist also creates more elaborate drawings, such as “The Swing,” full of detailed lines, rich colors and lushly imaginative landscapes, which is one in a series of visual essays meant to communicate all those feelings that are too difficult to articulate in words. “How you feel when you see the image is the emotion I am trying to capture,” she explains.
Yoo Byun. Photo courtesy of Alan Amato
Born in Queens, New York, Byun grew up in the United States, Korea and Japan—all three cultures have influenced her artistic style, she says. After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Hongik University in Korea, she returned to New York and earned her master’s degree in fine arts from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Her work has been featured in magazines, on albums covers (such as indie band My Favourite Things’ Tomorrow’s Far Away), as well as in children’s books. She is the author and illustrator of Dream Friends (Nancy Paulsen Books, a division of Penguin Random House), her first children’s book that tells the story of a girl who wants her imaginary friend, a giant cat she adventures with in her dreams, to follow her to the real world. The book features drawings full of her signature style of weaving rich colors and decorative patterns that give off a feeling of dreamy playfulness.
But Byun, recognized with accolades from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Society of Illustrators, will show she has other sides to her artistic style, with her two forthcoming children’s books from the same publisher. The Brooklyn-based Byun, who loves to watch pigeons battle over stale bagels, took a break from imagining and drawing to share these thoughts about her artwork.
What inspired the story of Dream Friends?
The storyline itself was inspired by my own experience of moving around a lot when I was little. I had to make new friends all the time and always wanted to go back to the old place—until I eventually loved the new place and made new friends. I drew or read alone in the corner of the classroom. When I moved to a new place, in a way, I was living in a different world from what I knew before, and maybe because of that, I have been fascinated by stories about different worlds. I spent a lot of time imagining fantasy worlds.
When I wrote Dream Friends, I wanted the book to be about the magic of friendship, imagination and dreams, which I care about dearly. I also love bedtime story books, too, so naturally the story was set in dreams. I made the dream world come true and the real world become magical, just like I hoped when I was little.
What is your artistic process like? Do you have certain rituals when you’re working on an illustration? Do you prefer working during a particular time of day?
When I make stories or when I am working on my personal illustration projects, I do many sketches and notes until I find a seed that I can develop into a story or a picture. Most of my day is filled with drawing little scribbles on my sketchpad or collecting inspirations. I need to keep in mind not to worry about what other people may think of it and make what I really like. Once I know what to make, I am pretty fast in the actual process of painting. When I have commissioned works, the deadline rules everything in my creative process! I work while the sun is out because it fits better to a freelancer’s work schedule.
You said that your work has been influenced by your upbringing in America, Korea and Japan. Could you explain how each culture finds its way into your illustration and storytelling style?
I think the emotion and mood in my illustrations and storytelling are from my Korean side, which I think is the base and the spirit of the body. The technical drawing side and composition of my storytelling are influenced by the Japanese culture I grew up in. Finally, my artwork is polished by the American culture, where I studied more about illustration in my adulthood.
In recent years, I have rediscovered brilliant European storytellers/illustrators, such as Tove Jansson, Jean-Jacques Sempé and Tomi Ungerer, who have been huge inspirations to me as an artist. I hope I will have my own unique style, like they do.
“The Swing”
Your piece, “The Swing,” is such an intriguing illustration—a girl on a swing surrounded by jellyfish.
It’s a painting from a series interested in certain emotions that are difficult to describe or capture. I wanted to draw the lonely yet fulfilled moment we all have sometimes—the feeling that’s a bit strange, speechlessly beautiful and perhaps scary, too. The feeling of complete freedom while feeling sad because you know it is just an illusion. I don’t know how to describe it precisely, but I hope the feeling you get when you see the image is the feeling I wanted to share with the viewer.
Could you tell us about your two forthcoming children’s books?
The book coming out in January 2015 is called Little Baby Buttercup, a “delightful love letter to a growing child.” It’s written by Linda Ashman, and I illustrated the book. It’s such a lovely read-aloud book, perfect for the younger ones and parents who’d like to share and remember the tender childhood moments. I got to draw so many adorable and adventurous moments of a toddler and a mom. My first book, Dream Friends, is filled with imaginary scenes, and Little Baby Buttercup was the opposite—a park, a garden, streets and cafe … It was fun. I also made sure that Little Baby Buttercup is magical, even thought there’s no magic. Now I’m working on my third book, which I will write and illustrate with the same publisher, Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and the world is set somewhere between a real and a surreal one.
___
To check out more of You Byun’s work, visit youbyun.com.
This article was published in the December 2014/January 2015 issue of KoreAm. Subscribe today! To purchase a single issue copy of the December/January issue, click the “Buy Now” button below. (U.S. customers only. Expect delivery in 5-7 business days).
