We recently connected with Maggie Wu and have shared our conversation below.

Maggie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I will finish my Bachelors degree in Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) in May 2023. I would have never thought of graduating as an artist when I was younger. Being a first generation college student in the traditional Asian family, my parents would expect their children to take on big name careers like computer science, engineering, or doctorate fields. In high school, my original plan was to become a software engineer. I have never coded before, but I was a fast learner, great with computers, and just wanted school to be over with. I did start college as a Software Engineering major and continued studying it for a year an a half. Among one of the electives was an art class, which is what started the huge risk I was about to take. I started taking more art classes as electives and soon found out that I wanted to finish college as an artist.
To me, this is a huge risk because my parents do not support the field that I am in. They believe that I won’t make any money with this career and compare me with successful artists in the family. Sometimes it ticks my motivation that I don’t get a lot of support from my family. Even though I am trying my best to make my name, it is still difficult. I have to make as much connections as I can, get my work to show in galleries and exhibitions, and find collectors to buy my art. I am still working hard to overcome this huge risk that I took. I don’t know how long it will take or how it will go, but I know in the future everything will turn out fine.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Maggie. I also go by my artist name lalun and gamer alias pandeenub. I am a self-taught artist who decided to continue my passions with studying in college. I guess that doesn’t make me self-taught anymore, right? I love using all types of medium, such as oil paints, watercolor, and charcoal. I also make digital illustrations. I’m pretty much a jack of all trades.
I love making art, especially expressing my thoughts through art. Currently, I sell commission services and physical products. I believe that my clients choose me because I have a fun and colorful art style. I love to paint in styles such as realism and anime-inspired. As a full-time student, I enjoy playing video games with my friends and random hobbies during my free time. I have many interests, including window shopping, collecting stuffed animals, and organizing.

“An artist who stops making art is committing emotional suicide. Get off the couch and start painting again.”

This quote is relevant to me because art basically made my life. If I don’t do any “arting,” I would probably not know what I would want to do. My parents are really strict with grades, since I come from a Chinese ancestry. I am not a student with bright grades. However, I do believe that my hard work will help me in the future.
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Admiring other artist’s work is something that I enjoy, and it helps me take inspiration for my artworks. My interest in art started when I was young. I thought I was only going to make art a hobby of mine, however I decided to go forward and make it my career. My interest of making art a career was game art and other striving artists. I learned that being passionate about what you want to do is the key to being a great artist.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being an artist is finishing a piece. I know it may sound corny, but there is something about completing an artwork that is super satisfying. To me, it’s the feeling of relief that there is another piece finished in my closet. I can show others what I have done through social media. Because I have finished artworks, I can learn from mistakes and struggles I have gone through to finish a specific piece.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I am an artist, and I have been drawing for many years. The main struggles I had growing as an artist is motivation and committment; I still have these struggles today. There were a lot of times when I was beaten down on my artwork because they weren’t “good enough” in my brain. I always compared myself to other great artists and copied their styles in hopes I could become better like them. I got the comparing trait from my parents and I think it’s a toxic trait. Everyone has a different style and it could be seen as unique. If you have the passion to be an aspiring artist, keep doing what you’re doing and time will tell.

Contact Info:

• Website: lalalun.weebly.com
• Instagram: pandeenub
• Twitter: pandeenub
• Youtube: pandeenub