We were lucky to catch up with Chuchu Wang recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chuchu, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I want to talk more about my children’s picture book that I wrote and illustrated, “Rus & Moose,” is a fictional story inspired by my experience, with an element of exaggeration. My husband Rus was a long-haul truck driver, and before we were married, he had been driving a 70-foot-long semi-truck across the United States. I also lived with him in the truck during summer and winter vacations. I thought life on the truck was interesting. I treated every day as a road trip. Thanks to his unique job, I have been to forty states in the United States and experienced many different cultures.

When I talked to my friends about the new things I saw during the trip, I realized through their reactions, that ordinary people have no idea what it looks like inside the truck, even though you see trucks on the road every day. I told my friends that there were two large double beds, a refrigerator, a small dining table, and a microwave inside each truck. Whoever heard about this was quite surprised. I realized it was a good subject for my book, and my unique experience allowed me to focus my perspective on it. After all, not all illustrators are married to truck drivers.

I fabricated the character of Moose. He is like me, who just experienced the truck for the first time. He sees everything with new eyes, smells and touches everywhere, and occupies too much space. But his company made a difference in Rus’s life. The life of a truck driver is very dull. They often have to drive for more than ten hours at a time, and they must strictly abide by the delivery time. But when Rus found Moose, they became friends and shared this journey. This is the story of my book. While Moose helped Rus, Rus also took Moose to see different landscapes. Moose was a teenager, so he was rebellious and mischievous. He always wanted to escape from his family and see the outside world.

I used Procreate on the iPad to complete the entire book. I didn’t use too many fancy brushes and textures. My style is organic, and sincere. I want this simple story to express the most profound theme, the relationship between man and animals, nature, and family.

Chuchu, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am from China and am now a New York-based freelance illustrator. I started to learn illustration three years ago when I came to the MFA Illustration Program at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). I came to the United States five years ago and got one Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago at first. My background includes an Architectural art design degree from the Luxun Academy of Fine Arts. I think different Education backgrounds give me a different perspective on this world. I graduated from FIT this summer. “Rus and Moose” is my visual thesis which is now exhibited at Fashion Institute Gallery, on 7th Ave & 27th St.

Since I made my decision, I want to become an illustrator. I work really hard to make it happen. The universe is helping me too. I am lucky that I almost won all the awards in my first year of study. My “Collecting Love” picture book made me win my first grand slam! I got into the long list of World illustration awards, Jury selection of the Society of Illustrators 65. I even got a silver medal from the 3×3 illustration show and another gold award from the China illustration biannual. All these awards make me more confident and show me that I chose the correct path. “Collecting Love” made more people know about me. my work has been selected for a couple of exhibitions. Two of my book, Flower with seven colors and Krylov’s Fables were published in China last year.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I am a very social person. I am lucky to live in New York because there are many Illustration related activities every month. For example, the AIAP Party at the end of each year and the MOCCA Art Fairs every summer. I think being a freelance illustrator is very important to promote yourself. Don’t close yourself off by drawing at home, because if no one knows you, how can anyone ask you to cooperate? Many of my current friends met through attending these events. These activities really provide us illustrators with a good platform to make friends. A large part of the people who will go to these activities are art practitioners. Whether you know some artists who have the same experience as you, everyone can exchange and learn from each other. On the other hand, it is also a good opportunity to know some Art Directors who can provide you with future work opportunities. I strongly recommend everyone to participate in more activities.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think what I am most proud of as an artist is that I have the ability to paint what I imagine in my head for everyone to see. I am able to visually present my ideas in the form of images, and I really feel lucky to be able to do that. But I want to say that this ability is not due to how talented I am, but because of my continuous training every day. I have loved painting since I was a child, but I never thought that I could take painting as my lifelong career. During my undergraduate period, I chose to major in architectural design, which is related to drawing but not all drawing. I think I was not so confident at that time, and I could only practice drawing clumsily in my spare time. When I graduated from university, I didn’t choose to major in illustration again but chose to study public management and urban planning for a master’s degree. After another two years of hard work and continuous improvement of my portfolio, I dared to apply to the school of my choice.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chuchuwang.art/
• Instagram: @chuchuwang_art