My proudest accomplishment to date:
Creating 18 portraits of LGBTQ+ Icons for the SF LGBT Center in 2023!
In April 2023, Montana Republicans barred transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the House floor wielding "decorum" rules, after she rebuked colleagues supporting a ban on gender affirming care for children and protested their efforts to silence her.
Orinda Artist, Joy Chew, the founder and owner of JoyousJoyfulJoyness, was shocked by these events. She had planned on traveling to San Francisco to pass out samples of work to local businesses. In the hours before leaving for this errand, Joy felt compelled to use her artistic skills of making fine art foiled prints to show up for the LGBTQ+ community as an ally and amplify the voice and message of Rep. Zooey Zephyr. With this act of allyship, Joy spontaneously created a foiled print of Rep. Zooey Zephyr entitled Let Her Speak.
A few hours later while Joy was in San Francisco, she donated the artwork Let Her Speak to the SF LGBT Center, passing on the voice that she wanted to amplify with the artwork she created.
After accepting the foiled print of Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the Center decided to meet with Joy. During the meeting, Joy expressed that she wanted to donate more foiled prints of past and present Queer ICONS from San Francisco, as well as from around the world. In collaboration with the SF LGBT Center, Joy drew 17 Queer ICONS and hand foiled each portrait to celebrate these amazing people.
My work seeks to capture the core essence of the subject, breathing life into them.
Each portrait is drawn by hand digitally, usually starting with the eyes to capture the subject's presence. The style of the line work rides between realism and artifice, and pragmatically maximizes the ability of the foil to release cleanly.
Using foil as a medium gives the portrait a dimensional effect that is subject to the influence of ambient lighting, the surrounding space, and the viewer. It also brings the subject to life in a way a two dimensional drawing alone could not.
It is a living and breathing representation.
Art is an important tool of expression, but also can be a profound instrument of change. Zooey Zephyr's powerful message inspired me to show through my art that we stand with her and the entire community as allies. With this series of portraits of LGBTQ Icons, I hope to continue amplifying and shining a spotlight on this wonderful community, and spark more positive actions from allies worldwide.
