Meet the Artist: Felicia Liang
Felicia Liang, a Bay Area-based artist and illustrator, began her creative journey in 2015, drawing for fun after her day job. Much of her work today celebrates her Taiwanese American identity, with cityscapes and food illustrations highlighting her cultural roots in the Chinatown neighborhoods she grew up in. Felicia now balances her time between client projects, selling her prints at markets and online, and building her wholesale business.
Inspiration Behind the Artwork
"I wanted to create a modern tablescape of favorite snacks and treats from spending time with family and friends over the years both in the US and Taiwan. When I think of the holidays, my mind naturally goes to all the food I enjoy. I’ve always loved how still life pieces capture just a moment in time so I used this particular one to illustrate different feelings and stories from my memories, while adding fun Taiwanese elements with the fruits, pineapple cakes, and window grating patterns in the background."
Shop the limited edition lens cloth here.
Holidays and Favorite Traditions
"The holidays mean spending time with my family and friends, eating more than humanly possible, and playing rounds of mahjong, which has always felt more than enough for me. Truthfully, I didn’t grow up with many annual traditions, and how I celebrate and who I celebrate with continues to morph as I get older, but time off during the holidays always allows me to be more present with those around me. I am just happy I get to spend the holidays with people I love."
Heritage and Creative Process
"My sense of self, and by extension, my art, are both a reflection of the people and places I’m around. My Taiwanese work pulls inspiration from the warmth and generosity from the Taiwanese community I’ve gotten to know and collaborate with in the past few years. My cityscapes and Chinatown storefront drawings are direct homages to places I love and places I call home. Where I live, the places I get to travel to, the food I get to eat all inform who I am and I try channeling the love for those things into my art."
Describing Her Art Style in Three Words
"I would say my current artwork is colorful, maximalist, and chaotically meticulous (so technically, four words). I love fitting in as many things as possible into a piece of work to create an “I Spy” element, as well as using as many colors as possible without hopefully going overboard. And lastly, I like to think that my work is meticulous (with a dash of chaos) since I actually do a lot of writing and research as part of my process, and then cobble them together so that every step of the process somehow translates into the final artwork."
Supporting Oakland Bloom as a Charity Partner
"Oakland Bloom is a local nonprofit that supports poor and working-class refuge, immigrant, and BIPOC chefs to launch their own food businesses. Small businesses and restaurants are the very fabric of the communities we live in and I want to support organizations like Oakland Bloom that are doing invaluable work uplifting those looking to make their mark in their community with their own unique cultural legacies through food. This is my way of giving back to the Oakland community that has given me so much while growing up and now as an adult."
Personal Style and Favorite Covry Frames
"My personal style involves working off a pretty simple base (a simple t-shirt or sweater with jeans always works for me), and playing with different shapes and accessories to zhuzh things up. I was immediately drawn to the blush colored Mago Cosmos frames since they automatically add some warmth to my look. I love wearing them with a cozy sweater, jeans, sneakers, and a fun bag with my notebook in tow."
Watch the interview here