We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kyla Phakhailathavong a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kyla, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Well, like most artists, I’ve been drawing since I was super little, but I never thought about being a professional artist till I was in High School. I originally thought about going into other creative fields like Graphic Design and Photography, but after long internal debates, I just knew I wanted to draw every day.

As far as the current path I’m on as a convention/market artist, I chose that path after I had my son. I wanted to make my path and make him proud, as well as show him what he can be capable of growing up. I’ve been doing this for a little over 8 years now, and we travel to different shows as a family.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I would describe my art as horror, spooky, and folklore-themed anime-style art. I’ve always loved drawing fantasy and anime-themed works, but decided to pursue my love of the spooky stuff while in art school. I had been drawing works that wouldn’t look like anything that people know me for. Brighter colors, cute stuff, and more simpler style. I wasn’t really satisfied with it, felt like I was just trying to follow a path that was more popular at the time. After some experimenting in my final year, I felt like I connected more with darker themes and working in pen and ink. I’m pleased to say I am happier with my work now and feel more connected to it. I still draw fan art, but have been working on more original works recently.

After school, I found it hard to find traditional employment drawing the things I wanted to. Unless you have a specific portfolio and skill set, it’s a very competitive environment. Most jobs available are in graphic design, and while I did work in this field for the last 7 or so years, I knew this wasn’t what I wanted to do long-term. So for the last 8+ years, I have been working on building my own business as an independent artist, working at conventions and art markets. My mother owned her own business, and as a child, I used to go to work with her. I wanted to follow that path of being my own boss.

In my practice, I offer printed works as well as freelance commissions, and I am currently working on creating short story comics. If you visit me at a show, you can get products like prints, original works, stationery, apparel, and home goods. Looking back at where I started and how far I’ve come, I’m proud of the journey I’ve made and staying true to who I am with my work. I make what I love and hope to attract others who love the same, this builds a community I feel connected to.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, it’s being able to travel to different places and connect with different people. I’ve met a lot of different people in my artist alley career. It’s helped me come out of my shell and grow as a person as well as an artist. Some of the coolest people I know who have helped shape my career, I met at different shows. I feel honored to be able to continue going to all these different conventions and markets, and hope to continue going for years to come.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

There is one book that I would recommend to any artist, of any kind, to help you work through inspiration issues and setbacks. It’s called Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon.
Another great resource is a podcast called Creative Pep Talk by Andy J. Pizza. This resource has helped me to work through creative blocks and focus my thinking.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kvongart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kvong_art
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kvongart/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kphakhailathavong/

Image Credits

All pictures taken and created by me.