My name is Yan Wei.

I was born on 26th March,1981.

Drawing and painting has been an enjoyable hobby of mine ever since I was a small child and because of this I had always wanted to further my artistic skills and knowledge at an academic institution. When the time came I decided to study Graphic Design at Tsing Hua University in Beijing and graduating with my Bachelor Degree in 2003.

In the years following my graduation from University I worked as full time as a illustrator in an Advertising company. Here my work included storyboarding and the drawing and painting of cartoon characters. I was also trained in the more corporate aspects of illustration with my work appearing in magazines, on posters, postcards and various types of labelling/packaging. My illustrations are used by Johnson & Johnson, Shishedo, Aupres, Contac, Pedigree, China Mobile, Lining, KSF, Yoshinoya, DQ, Dalian Sun Asia, and Fenbid. I am also an art director for the Gzoby digital magazine.

After 2 years working in this field I found it was different from what I really wanted to do. I wanted to be more creative and find my own style rather than be restricted by the requisitions of clients; I also needed more free time in which to do this. With this in mind I decided to resign from my full-time position in order to work on a freelance basis and thus be in a better position to concentrate on my true artistic desires.

I belong to a generation that grew up in a culture often affected by manga/anime, comics, street art, flat paintings and so on. I read lots of comics as a child and because of this my imagination and some of my artwork has been influenced by this. I like to paint in my own particular style, with my own ideas; sometimes cute and childish yet often incorporating a darker more sinister edge.. Most of my subjects are about the childhood, memory, games, and toys. I like to paint harsh reality under a lovely disguise. That series of little girls which I use is inspired by the 80’s Chinese pop style. Fairy tales have special meaning to me. The feeling of helplessness in many of the stories is masked with innocence, which creates a world of contrasts, contradictions, and shows the reality of the world as it really is.

In the past year I have completed a lot of black and white paintings. I wanted to find a wispy balance between black, white and grey. I also completed some colour paintings. In the near future I hope to paint more and more. I want to try new ideas, explore new avenues and try different types of media.

I am spending more time now and painting more on my current subject. It has been very interesting and exciting. I create what I know and feel, and this experience has left me with a great feeling. I enjoy traveling, especially in different countries and cultures. New feelings of the world and the way I perceive the world to be always arising from my journeys, like my trip in euro. New ideas are always being shaped and reshaped. Reading is another method that really inspires me. It’s a good way to understand the world and myself. Many times one simple sentence inspires a whole collection of ideas and paintings.