Big Orange - The Big Blue Cat and the Little Boy

Illustrator

Interview by email on July 20th

AL: I think the first question anyone who’s seen your work is likely to ask is, 'why cats?' Why not dogs, or horses, or even fish? What do cats mean to you?

BO: A while ago I saw a ‘one drawing a day' trending topic on Weibo called: another drawing pops up in the universe every day. I didn’t have a specific theme or character in mind until the day my cat passed away. Due to the loss I felt I couldn’t stop drawing that big cat, and gradually I became the little boy next to him in the drawings. They keep each other company in the fictional world of this medium.

AL: 我想可能所有人都会想问的第一个问题是，为什么画猫，而不是狗，或者马，再或者鱼呢？猫对你来说有什么样的意义？

BO: 之前我在微博上有一个每天一画的话题：每天宇宙里多一张小画儿。本来没有固定的形象及主题，直到突然有一天我的猫去世了，由于想念便不停地在画那只大猫，我自己就幻化成了那个他身边的小男孩，他们俩在画这个虚拟的载体上互相陪伴。

AL: What is your artistic background? Have you always been an illustrator?

BO: I’ve worked at a few A4 advertising firms such as Ogilvy in Beijing. Illustration was a hobby that I’ve never stopped pursuing, so naturally I was over the moon to have the opportunity to become a professional illustrator. Even though there are problems that come with mixing my hobby and work, I’m just ecstatic to be able to keep drawing.

AL: 你的艺术背景是什么呢？一直都在做插画吗？

BO: 我之前在北京奥美等几家4A广告公司工作，插画是兴趣，一直没有停下画画这件事情，很高兴后来有机会成为了一个职业插画师，虽然有时候兴趣和工作混在一起会带来一些困扰，但是能一直画画就是件非常开心的事儿。

AL: I found and bought your book of illustrations, “宇宙再大大不过我和你” (The Universe is No Bigger than You and I) at the Loreli Affordable Art Market! Although it’s labeled as a book of illustrations, it is not so much a book as it is a collection of illustrations stacked together. Is there a reason for choosing this form of presentation?

BO: I’m also a collector of illustrations. Most of these collection are bound into book form for the reader to flip through. Even when I see a drawing that I love, I can’t bring myself to cut that drawing out of the book. This is very painful for someone like me who enjoys hanging paintings and drawings. So when I had the chance to publish a collection of illustrations, I chose to present them in the form of unbound pages. I really hope that whoever purchases them can use my drawings to decorate their spaces and lives. I once gave a little kid a drawing, and afterwards she told me that when she gets sad, she’d take a look at the drawing on her table, the heartfelt warmth of its content, and feel a bit better.

AL: 你的插画集《宇宙再大大不过我和你》我在 ’Loreli 买得起的艺术市集’ 买到了！虽说是插画集，可这本却不是装订在一起的，而是一副副叠在一起的画。你选择这种方式有什么原因吗？

BO: 我也是一个插画书的收集者，大多数的插画书都是装订成册的，只能翻阅，即使有特别喜欢的画面也不舍得裁切下来，这对喜欢挂画的我来说就很痛苦，所以在我有机会做插画书的时候就选择了这种散页的形式，特别希望买它们回家的人可以用我的画来装饰自己的空间和生活。曾经送过一位朋友一张小画，她后来跟我说，每次不开心了看看摆在桌子上画面里温暖的内容心里会好过一些。这件事儿对我可能也有些触动吧。

AL: Your book of illustrations depicts the life of a human and a cat and their day-to-day interactions. Sometimes their roles seem to reverse, giving us the sense that the cat is observing the human, joking and playing with the human as if we’re looking at life through the perspective of a cat, unlike our usual attitude towards cats. How did this idea come to you and why did you decide to show it in your drawings? Or, maybe you had a totally different origin of thought?

BO: The original relationship between he Big Blue Cat and the Little Boy is simply that of me and my cat who passed away. As time went on, I gradually projected a lot of my emotions onto these two characters. Their perspectives on life and their way of companionship are dynamic and complex. Sometimes the cat bullies the little boy, and other times he provides comfort for the boy, and once in a while they simultaneously fall deep into an emotion, unable to escape. I want the reader to see the drawing, read the caption, and recall their own lives - a familiar place or emotion. Whether it’s the cat or the reader might’ve experienced the same characters and emotions as they have.

AL: 在你的插画集里能看到猫与人一起生活，做生活中平凡的事情。有时候甚至猫咪跟人的角色交换了 - 给我们一种猫在观察人，在笑人，或者跟人玩儿的一种感觉，好像我们再通过猫的角度看生活，而不是像生活中我们对猫的态度。你是怎么有这个想法并且把它展示在画里的呢？或者你根本不这么觉得，有其他的初衷？

BO: 大蓝猫和小男孩最初的关系是单纯我和我那只去世的猫。后来随着时间的推移，我生活上很多的情感都会放置在这个两个人物身上，他们的生活视角和陪伴方式都越来越多变。有时大猫欺负小男孩，有时安慰照顾小男孩，还有时他们俩同时陷入一个情绪里无法自拔。我想让读者看到画读完那句话的时候会想到自己的生活内容，某个场景和情绪让他／她觉得熟悉，不管是大猫还是小男孩也许都是他们曾经经历过的角色和感受。

AL: In your book, every illustration comes with a caption. What’s your creative process for this? Do you have a phrase in mind before making a drawing or do you supplement your illustrations with a caption afterwards?

BO: It’s similar to creating music. Sometimes the melody comes first, sometimes the process is reversed. This depends on the state I’m in at the time. This form of putting a phrase next to an illustration might have something to do with my experience with working in the advertising industry. A complete print ad is just graphics plus a few words of copy, so I always think an illustration with an added layer of meaning is more fun and interesting.

AL: 你的插画集里的每一副作品都有caption。创作是怎么来的？是想到一句话并为之画画还是先画，然后填充一句话？

BO: 这有点像做音乐的过程，有时候会先有曲子再填词，有时候反过来，这都要看当时创作时的状态了。对于这种画面配字的形式，也许和常年的广告公司工作经历有关，一张完整的平面广告稿子就是画面来配一段文字，所以总感觉的画面之外再又一层意义会更值得玩味。

AL: Apart from illustrating kitties, have you done any other work? Tell us!

BO: Because of my advertising background, I do a few commercial projects. The one everyone’s most familiar with is probably the dog from Sogou, the cartoon character on the Mirinda soda packaging, etc. I’ve also done illustration collaborations with JD.com and Kindle. Publishing wise, Dongdongqiang (writer) and I came out with an illustrated poetry book called “拿不动的世界” (Immovable World) in 2014; last year, I did all of the illustration for actor Chen Kun’s book “鬼水瓶录” (Record of a Quaint Aquarius).

AL: 除了猫猫插画，你有曾做过其他的作品吗？给我们讲讲吧！

BO: 因为广告公司的工作背景，平时会接一些商业的项目，相对大家可能会比较熟悉的是搜狗的那只狗，美年达包装上的卡通形象等。我也和一些品牌比如天猫和kindle中国都推出了插画师合作款产品，在出版方面2014年我和作家东东枪出版过一本绘本诗集《拿不动的世界》，去年我帮陈坤的新书《鬼水瓶录》做了整本的插画。

AL: What's your next project? Any upcoming plans? Do you have anything else you’d like to tell us?

BO: Right now I’m working on some commercial collaborations while continuing to illustrate the story of the Big Blue Cat and the Little Boy. I plan on doing some art accessible to the general public. Lately I’ve been doing some illustration workshops both online and offline. A lot of people are interested and passionate about drawing but are always plagued by the concept of “knowing how to draw and not knowing how to draw”. Mainstream opinion suggest that only sketches or paintings can be considered drawing; this attitude continues to affect a lot of people’s opinion of drawing and appreciation of art. I want to loosen this rigid standard for art and the methods and attitudes through which people see art by hosting a series of exhibitions, planning some books, and opening art workshops.

AL: 下一个project会是啥？你有什么新的计划吗？还有什么其他想说的？

BO: 现在正在做一些商业的合作，也在继续画大蓝猫和小男孩的故事。还计划要做一些普及画小画儿的项目。近期无论是线上还是线下我一直在做一些插画的培训班讲座，很多人对画画有兴趣有热情，但是被一直被一种“会画画和不会画画”的概念吓唬着，主流意见当然是觉得会画写实素描才叫会画画，这种观念影响着很多人画画和看画的审美，我想通过一系列的展览，策划一些图书再加上开一些培训的课程来推广放松来画画，看画的方法和意识。

Big Orange worked in the advertising industry and is now an independent illustrator. He’s had exhibitions of his illustration in Beijing, Tianjin, and other areas. In 2014 he collaborated with Dondongqiang on an illustrated book of poetry, “拿不动的世界” (Immovable World). In 2016 his book of illustrations, “宇宙再大大不过我和你” (The Universe is No Bigger than You and Me) was published. He illustrated actor Chen Kun’s new book, “鬼水瓶录” (Record of a Quaint Aquarius).

Follow him on WeChat at: veryverybigorange or Weibo at: @大橘子嘿嘿 

大橘子

广告行业从业者，独立插画师

在北京，天津等地举办过一系列插画展

2014年曾和东东枪合作出版绘本诗集《拿不动的世界》

2016年出版插画集《宇宙再大大不过我和你》

为影视明星陈坤的新书《鬼水瓶录》绘制插画

微信公众号：veryverybigorange

微博：@大橘子嘿嘿

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