藝術和創作是Hf team的精神食糧（不誇張），我們每天都碰見那些讓人讚嘆的插圖、讓人尖叫的雕塑、讓人發笑的畫作。每週四的Awesome Art專欄，Hf都會為大家推介我們覺得有意思的artwork。如果大家有什麼藝術作品想要介紹給我們，記得發電郵到[email protected]！

每個人生命裡總有一位能夠與你同喜同泣的好同伴，藝術家亦然。對於年輕插畫家Jeannie Phan，藝術是一條不易走的路，就算是在做自己喜歡的事情，人也可能會感到迷失和怠倦，但她在過程中發現了一個重要的道理：工作以外，女生是需要有自己的生活和同伴的。今次，讓我們一起來認識Jeannie Phan與她的藝術，還有那為她提供生活燃料的兩件事情：貓和植物。

我以為自己每天24小時都在畫畫才稱得上是一位真正的藝術家。但在現實中，我發現藝術家是需要有自己的生活的

──Jeannie Phan

HOKK fabrica：HF | Jeannie Phan: J
中：中文翻譯

HF：Nice to meet you, Jeannie. Please tell us more about yourself.
中：Jeannie你好！可以介紹一下你自己嗎？
J：I’m a freelance illustrator based in Toronto but also a cat lady and plant enthusiast, which is why you see these as reoccurring themes in my work.
中：我是一位居於多倫多的自由插畫家，我亦是一位貓奴和植物發燒友，因此你經常能夠在我的作品中發現相關主題。

HF：Please tell us more about the place you live in. What’s the artistic atmosphere/creative community in Toronto like?
中：可以告訴我們更多關於你所住的地方嗎？多倫多的藝術氣氛又是怎樣的？
J：Toronto is a diverse place to live in because each area has a different vibe. I currently laid my roots in the West end of downtown Toronto and I love it here. It’s chill, but full of bustling events depending on the mood you’re in.
中：多倫多是一個多樣化的地方，每區都有屬於自己的色彩。我住在多倫多市中心西區，那裡悠閒，但你仍然能夠找到很多不同的節目。

J：In terms of artistic community, you can visit an art show opening every week if you wanted to. There are more and more collective working spaces that are kicking off where you can find throngs of creatives, which is great because despite how vibrant the city is, a lot of artists still are working isolated and independently. But we’re hoping to change that.
中：藝術氣氛方面，基本上每個星期你都能夠找到新開幕的藝術展。多倫多出現越來越多共享工作空間，那裡是文青結集的地方。雖然多倫多十分多樣化，但仍然有許多藝術家是被孤立和獨立工作的，我們很希望改善這個現況。

HF：What’s your workspace like?
中：你的工作空間是怎樣的？
J：My workspace is what I considered “condensed to its basic necessities” so I have more room for houseplants. I’m an avid gardener and love plants so I try to pack my space with as much greenery as I can. You can see more of my love of plants at here.
中：我會用「極簡」來形容我的工作環境，這樣我才有足夠空間擺放我的家居植物。我是植物發燒友，家中每一吋都被綠色植物佔據。只要看我的Instagram就知道我對植物有多狂熱。

HF：How would you describe your artwork? If you were to choose, which is your favourite piece of artwork so far?
中：你會怎樣形容你的作品？如果要你選擇，哪一個又是你最喜歡的作品？
J：When I approach my art, I reduce it to its basic shapes and then build upon it with carefully chosen detail. I try to find a fine balance between simplicity and complexity and love to find ways to bring a sense of personality into the scene, whether that’s the people, the place or objects.
中：談到我的藝術，我會將它簡化至最基礎的形狀，然後再在其上添加經過細心挑選的細節。我嘗試在簡單與複雜之間找一個平衡點，無論畫人、地方還是物件，我都喜愛在畫中注入一點個性。
J：My favourite piece (though hard to chose!) is the piece I did for Corporate Knights about Cuban science fiction because I really pushed my colour palette and sense of fantasy.
中：如果要我選擇最喜歡的作品（這是一件十分困難的事情！），我會選擇早前為加拿大雜誌Corporate Knights所繪畫，關於古巴科幻小說的畫作，因為在那次創作中我挑戰了自己的慣常色調和幻想力。

HF：Share with us one important lesson you learnt while pursuing your career/dream.
中：請跟我們分享一個在追隨事業或夢想過程中的學習。
J：It’s okay to take breaks. It’s taken me a while to figure out my creative pace so I’m able to enjoy working without burning out constantly. When I was starting off, I thought I had to be drawing 24/7 in order to be considered a real artist. In actuality, I realized that it’s totally okay to take a breath and focus on other things such as new hobbies and personal relationships. I found it important to figure out a life-work balance. It helped fuel my artistic practice by ten fold.
中：你是可以休息的。我用了好一段時間才真正了解自己的創作步伐，這樣我才能真正享受我的工作，不至於怠倦。剛剛開始的時候，我以為自己每天24小時都在畫畫才稱得上是一位真正的藝術家。但在現實中，我發現藝術家是需要有自己的生活的，他們是需要有喘息的空間、自己的興趣和社交生活的。我發現，建立一個平衡的生活十分重要，能有助於我的創作。

HF：I see that you’re a cat fanatic. Do your cats also serve as your daily / art / life inspiration?
中：我從作品中看得出你是貓奴一名。貓也是你生活和藝術中一個重要靈感嗎？
J：Yes! My cat Odin is my muse! In both life and as a pick-me-up while I draw. Ever since we brought Odin to live with us, he’s instilled the exact lesson that I mentioned before: it’s okay to pause work, lay in the sun and enjoy doing perfectly nothing. He’s taught me the art of relaxation, and with a job that’s prone to getting very stressful, I couldn’t ask for a better teacher.
中：是的！我的貓咪Odin是我生活的繆思，亦是我畫畫時的好同伴。自從Odin來了我家住之後，祂在陽光中慵懶的姿態給了我一個重要的提醒：偶爾暫停工作是沒問題的呢。做插畫師的壓力也挺大，祂教曉我放鬆的重要性，而且由祂教是最適合不過呢。

HF：What are some of your influences? Do you have favourite woman artist(s)?
中：有喜歡的女性藝術家嗎？
J：Ping Zoo, Jillian Tamaki, Eleanor Davis, Lisa Hanawalt
HF：What project(s) are you working on right now?
中：最近在忙著做甚麼？
J：I’m currently working on a secret project all about, you guessed it: cats.
中：目前我正在創作一個秘密項目，相信你也能夠猜到那是關於甚麼，對，就是貓。