Overview

Splitting her time between Chicago and Los Angeles, Sunny Gu is an artist who’s curious about culture. She loves to look for beauty in everything around her and then recreate it in her art. It certainly shows through in her work, which is full of colour, glamour, fashion and ornamentation.

Sunny was born in China but emigrated to the US when she was 13. She’s loved drawing for as long as she can remember. Her nickname is ‘Bee’ because she’s obsessed with flowers and if you look inside her wardrobe you’ll be overwhelmed by the colourful floral prints and patterns inside. She has plenty of accessories to go with the garments - again, they form important elements in her illustration work.

Her overall aim is to preserve the beauty she sees around her.

Training

Sunny studied illustration at the Otis College of Art and Design in LA, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Approach

Each illustration begins with a series of rough sketches, which Sunny uses to develop the composition. Once she’s decided on the composition, she works on the details and then starts painting. Her favourite medium is watercolour – she loves their vibrant and unpredictable nature. Occasionally, she uses graphite or acrylic paints for some of the textures. Sunny will use a computer to create surface designs and textile patterns.

Style

When she’s painting, Sunny says she’s bathed in happiness and she puts that across in bright colour and rich detail. The focus on beauty and feeling is clear in her work and she wants to bring joy to whoever looks at it.

Client List

• Vogue
• Teen Vogue
• ELLE
• InStyle
• Bloomingdales
• Macy's
• Nordstrom
• Versace
• Carolina Herrera
• Brian Atwood
• Express
• Shiseido
• FANCL
• Neutrogena
• HBO