Szeyan sees her artistic outlet as a highly emotional one. For example, if she thinks she’s done a “bad illustration” then this will consequently have an effect on how well her day will go. But, she’s still an early riser and will make sure to draw straight after breakfast. “I am not a full-time artist, I do not feel the need to draw during the weekend because I want to recharge my body as well,” she adds. “Someone told me that I should do something different with my working days during the weekends, so that I have the motivation to work again.” However, the lockdown has of course affected this daily routine. Not only has she become more active in drawing, she’s also not putting pen to paper every single day. Instead, she views it more like a hobby and can only make work in a disjointed manner, for it not to become too tiring. “I find it hard to finish one illustration by sitting there for a very long time; normally I will watch a drama or walk away after every one hour of drawing. This is to keep my mind fresh on creating art.”
Alongside the slight shift in her process, the lockdown has seen Szeyan’s subject matter direct her towards still lives and character-focused pieces. “I quite like this because it has resonance with the audience,” she says, pointing out how the elephant illustration (that comments on when “people put a firecracker in a pineapple to feed the elephant and killed it”), has a clear and intended purpose. “I like it as it brings out a message to people and I hope that, through illustration, it can influence people about the awareness of loving animals.” Elsewhere, there’s commentary on scheduled workouts, at-home hair cuts, a lack of makeup and going bra-free during lockdown – pieces that we can all relate to in some form or another.
What also really caught our attention was her delectably composed still life drawings, where familiar utensils are paired with pastel-coloured fruits and vegetables before being laid out on an appetising array of crockery and tableware. A pie that looks too delicious to eat; a fried breakfast strangely resting on a bed of leaves; and a green superfood assortment of fruit and vegetables; everything that Szeyan creates looks like it’s been brushed with a coat of taste and style. Upon the reasoning of her themes, she says: “I never plan any themes and I just hope that the audience finds something beautiful in my illustrations. I just do whatever makes myself feel comfortable.” Modest in her approach and with plans to collaborate with artists and brands, she concludes; “I am not the best but I will do my best; recognition from the audience will be my best gift.”
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