Chinatown was part of her exhibition last year at WTF Gallery.
With cartoons, it’s her recreation of incidents — with simple drawings and snappy dialogue — which draw our attention to the significance that lies hidden in the mundane. With her illustrations — oftentimes incredibly detailed and reminiscent of Martin Handford’s Where’s Wally? series — there is an in-depth knowledge about Thai society and characters of people that is colourfully imbued.
For several years now, the Thai-American artist Kathy MacLeod has cemented herself in the industry as a cartoonist and illustrator. Her comic-strip That’s What She Said appears weekly in BK Magazine. She released an illustrated guide to the people of Bangkok titled A Field Guide To Bangkok after a solo art show “Build Your Own Bangkok” at WTF Gallery last year.
As part of the Bangkok Edge Festival this weekend, MacLeod will conduct a workshop “Recording Your Life In Pictures: How To Keep A Comic Diary?” on Saturday. Life recently caught up with the artist and asked more about her love of art, her career and what the workshop will be like.
How did you fall in love with art?
I loved reading comic books as a kid. My favourite was Calvin And Hobbes by Bill Watterson — they were cute and funny, but also powerfully emotional and philosophical. Even though I didn’t fully understand that as a kid, I could sense that comics could also be used to ask the big questions. I was also obsessed with Martin Handford’s Where’s Wally? books which I could spend hours staring at. I really like artwork and illustrations that have an obsessive quality and I think I now have that quality in my own work.
When did dialogue become part of your art?
Kathy MacLeod.
I’ve always added words to my drawings, ever since I was a kid. As soon as I learned to write I was adding captions to my drawings. I think drawings and words can be powerful on their own, but for me it always made more sense to put them together. It’s my way of bringing the drawings to life and telling stories with them and adding my voice to them.
There’s you as a cartoonist and you as an illustrator. Do you work with different mindsets?
When I’m hired as an illustrator it is definitely a different mindset than when I’m working on my own personal cartoons. But it’s similar in that I’m being asked to bring a new dimension to words or ideas using drawings — the difference is that it’s someone else’s words. But more people are recognising that drawings have the power to transform communication. When looking at cartoons, people automatically become more receptive because it appeals to their inner child. Working on my own stuff is almost more stressful because I have to look inside of myself to find the right story and there’s a more vulnerable aspect to it because I’m presenting my inner thoughts to the world.
Whether it’s your comic strip in BK Magazine or exhibition at WTF Gallery last year, an in-depth knowledge and insight of people and society is important. How do you manage it?
Documentation is really important for me to get the right level of specificity and accuracy in the details. So when it comes to my comics I’m always taking notes on my phone and for the exhibition I took literally thousands of photos to use as a reference. When I’m out in public I make a conscious effort to look around me and observe rather than stare at my phone. Bangkok is a city that attracts so many types of people and it’s always an interesting place to people watch.
What will the workshop this Saturday be about?
In my workshop I’ll be talking about various exercises and techniques to awaken your creativity and have fun with it. I think keeping a sketchbook is really important, whether you are an artist or not. I read a lot about the creative process and overcoming the creative block and an essential part of it is maintaining a regular flow of output. If you write your observations down on a regular basis (and try to draw, even if you don’t know how), not to mention keep a record of your emotions, thoughts and fears, it clears up room in your brain for powerful ideas to come in. For me I tend to have a fear of the blank page, feeling pressure to come up with something perfect and when I’m keeping a regular sketchbook, that blank page isn’t so scary. It’s all about having fun, rather than being afraid.
One of MacLeod’s comic strips.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.