Meet Heather Hua

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Heather Hua. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Heather below.

Heather, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

I first became aware of and began to develop my art style during a period when I was emotionally the most repressed. The inability to accept myself led to a great deal of regret, pain, and deep despair, while a fragile yet resilient vitality within me continuously struggled to break free from this state. This consistent struggle caused me to experience some of the most emotionally intense times of my life. With no mental outlet, my thoughts eventually turned into paintings. My initial creativity came from ruminating on pain. Starting from that time, I also read books, which connected me to a broader mental world. With more input and accumulation, I had more ideas and a greater desire to express them. Additionally, some intriguing dreams under pressure provided me with unexpected inspiration. Now, I continue to get inspiration from external sources such as reading and short trips (life drawing), as well as from dreams and fragments of thoughts.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As a freelance illustrator, I contribute to newspapers and magazines. Typically, art directors assign me projects that match my style. Sometimes, I receive articles that are more opinion-based and contain very few visual elements. After reading these articles, images start to form in my mind, almost as if emerging from my subconscious. I focus on capturing the natural, fluid imagery that arises spontaneously, rather than forcefully fitting symbols into the artwork. I am quite pleased with my ability to depict these inner visions.

I also create some self-promotion work, which allows me to base my creations more directly on personal inspiration. Recently, during the rests in work, I’ve been developing comics. I currently have several short comic ideas that I feel quite good about.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Art skill, cultural enrichment, and intrinsic motivation.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

I want to recommend the book “The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl” by Tomihiko Morimi. It is a collection of short stories that impressed me with its imaginative, brisk-paced, and well-structured narrative. After reading it, I realized that emotions and storytelling can be visually represented through a series of fantastical events. Additionally, these whimsical imaginations and storylines fit together very naturally. This reminded me that my visual imagination needs to be natural and fluent, and it inspired me on how to connect the visual fragments.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heatherhua.art
• Instagram: heatherhua_art