AN Lujia
An Lujia is an illustrator who is well-versed in using watercolour and coloured pencils as her medium. She creates children’s illustrations in vibrant colours as well as commercial illustrations. In recent years, she has been focusing on creating children’s picture books about Hong Kong, hoping that her children’s illustrations will help children increase their knowledge and understanding. She has always been passionate about art and creativity and is inspired by her observations in life.
Gouache, watercolour, and coloured pencils
Book size: 21cm x 25cm
Drawing size: 42cm x 25cm
不透明水彩，水彩，木顏色。
書本尺寸：21厘米x 25厘米
畫作尺寸：42厘米 x 25厘米
Hong Kong Adventure is a children’s picture book designed to introduce children to Hong Kong’s landmarks and spark their interest in Hong Kong’s buildings through a fun story. The picture book is made up entirely of hand-drawn illustrations to show the beautiful landmarks of Hong Kong and at the same time demonstrate people's activity. The picture book takes children on a tour of Hong Kong’s landmarks with my little brother and me as the main characters. In the story, Evan loses his belongings carelessly and readers can help him find the lost items at various locations. The history and characteristics of each landmark building are introduced in each illustration. This picture book aims to stimulate children’s interest in Hong Kong’s buildings through the dual appeal of visuals and interactive game. It is hoped that this picture book will bring readers the pleasure of reading and at the same time increase their knowledge of local culture and landmark buildings. Whether as an entertaining read or an educational tool, this picture book will be a window for children to explore Hong Kong and inspire their curiosity and imagination.
2022
Digital paintings, picture book
25cm x 21cm
A series of teaching kits about Hong Kong’s strange plants, including poster design for promotional purposes, as well as a picture book, alphabet book design, and stickers and other extension products, with the aim of introducing Hong Kong’s plants to Hong Kong’s children, and to increase children’s knowledge and understanding of nature.
2022
Watercolour
420cm x 297cm
I take the housewives living in public housing or Sub-divided flats in Hong Kong as the protagonists of my works, they have heavy housework, they have to take care of children, do housework, and their living environment is very small, so for them, having a bathtub in a small space, they can have leisure time to relax themselves is already a very luxurious thing. For them, the bathtub is a luxury, and time is also a luxury. In my paintings, dark blue is used as the main colour to create a dim effect, and only near the bathtub is there a yellow shimmer lit by candlelight. This way of painting is also used to create a sense of contrast, expressing this little luxury that is only lit by candlelight, it is incompatible with the surrounding environment, and wine glasses and candlelight are trying their best to create a luxurious environment, but they still can’t escape reality. In the darker space, full of debris, suggesting the narrow living environment, unwashed dishes, and chopsticks are also piled in the toilet sink. The corners were piled high with unwashed clothes, all hinting at the busy housework of housewives. The inability of a housewife to stretch her legs also hints at the narrowness of space. However, from another point of view, society is often mixed with another voice, such as housewives do not have to work, they stay at home every day, take care of children, do housework has become a matter of course, and the poorer families should be more frugal. So, has it become a luxury for housewives to open a bottle of red wine and enjoy a bath, a moment that belongs only to themselves? I chose to use watercolour to complete the painting because I felt that watercolour could create a hazy feeling, and painting candlelight to illuminate the part of the bathtub could create a feeling of being out of reality. And watercolour is more likely to paint the effect of water stains, to add some details in the painting, such as some mouldy water stains on the wall. So, watercolour is a good fit for this picture.
2022
Digital Painting
14cm x 9cm
The Big Buddha. This set of illustrations also features a cat as the main character of the tour, so that you can follow the cat’s perspective to experience Hong Kong’s beauty and characteristics.