Karen Aruba Art
Karen Cheung loves to sketch and paint. Karen Aruba Art is her new brand where people find amazing artworks and many home deco products with creative drawing and photo-taking features. Karen is a self-taught artist based in Hong Kong. We have conducted an interview with her.
Where do you draw inspirations from for your artwork?
I love to draw anything related to travel theme. My drawing of artwork is inspired by any creative things which can bring people with happiness. So far there are two main collections in my artwork: 'Travel with Pencil' & 'Travel with Color'.
‘Art is a process of creation. We create happiness with heART’ – that is the reason why Karen Aruba Art is setup.
Why did you name your shop Aruba?
Aruba is a very popular resort place located in the Caribbean Sea, also well known as ‘One Happy Island’. It sounds not familiar in Asia because it is far away, however, this is a very famous tourist location among the Americans because of its colorful, energetic, peaceful and harmonious culture in such a small but beautiful island.
When I was a little kid, I got a rare chance to spend one year in Aruba with my family. After 25 years, i.e. in 2014, I returned to this happy island for a simple but beautiful wedding. Since then, this travel journey had motivated me to build a new art brand ‘Karen Aruba ’. My wish is to bring people happy faces through my creative artwork – ‘Draw life to happiness. Paint life in colors.’
Besides throw pillow, wallclock, tote bag & travel mug, what will your new collections consist of?
The above items are popular products but in fact, there are more lovely items in ‘Karen Aruba’ online store at society6 such as towels, carry-all-pouches, rectangular pillows, phone cases and laptop sleeves, etc.
More interesting products are coming and they are made and delivered worldwide from the United States, for example, t-shirt, food serving tray, paper bag, luggage tag, passport holder or even skateboard and shoes, etc. All these are in planning progress which will be available later in the year. But they will be printed in very limited quantities only hoping buyers will feel special of owning my art products.
How do you describe your style of sketches and paintings?
I am passionate about art since childhood and I develop my drawing techniques through a self-taught process. It really took many years to share my artwork to the people until ‘Karen Aruba Art’ was set up. My style of drawing combines photography, painting, sketching elements with creativity. It’s the idea of mixing drawing with photography. Some are amazing travel photos combined with imaginative sketch objects while some are colorful creatures added to the sketching features of architecture like Paris Eiffel Tower, Rome Architecture.
Are there any pieces that are inspired by Hong Kong where you're based?
There are a new ‘Boat Journey’ sketch and painting artwork combined with photo taking at the popular island Cheung Chau in Hong Kong. Those little boats are special features in Hong Kong outlying’s island. For the rest of my art pieces, some of them are inspired by Aruba – an amazing place to bring people happy travel journey.
Which is/are the most sellable product in your society6 online store?
The most popular ones are ‘Travel with Umbrella’ and ‘Travel with Air Balloon’. But I’ve found that people love the different artwork. Some people love beautiful travel scenes while some people love animals.
Apart from society.com/karenaruba, there is a new online store at etsy.com (named Karen Aruba) with people who appreciate lifestyle home deco products. In Asia, Karen Aruba Art’s products are also available at the platform ‘Pinkoi’ as Taiwan also puts a high value on art and culture.
Any current plan with creativity artwork?
Well, I am now drawing something special on a wall in my new home! Doodle is in fact, a very funny artwork. I used some special paint material on the wall and it is a product of Finland. The ink pens are environmental protection ones. The doodle wall will become part of my new ‘Art Corner’ and a comfortable area for brainstorming ideas and products’ photo shooting. I very much look forward to it. Meanwhile, I keep sketching and drawing related to travel themes.
What’s your wish?
I do look forward to any collaborated art project with fun! I am open to any new ideas and look for cooperative opportunities which can spread my value of artwork to people who appreciate art in lives.
Facebook @Karen Aruba Art
Twitter @karen_aruba
If you are interested in Karen Aruba’s products, pls visit www.society6.com/karenaruba
