As I was reading through the last edition of Gaze Magazine (features works of many talented women, definitely recommend), I came across the work of Beya Panicha, an illustrator and painter from Thailand.
Vibrant colors and grainy textures, Beya's universe feels like she managed to re-appropriate herself the codes of comic style and add her own elements and vision to it. "I like reading comic books. Maybe I absorb some elements from it."
Recommending: Beya Panicha
written by Lou Touyarou
What is particularly striking in Beya's illustrations is her focus on the representation of movement. Her artwork is most often still life representation of food, flowers, objects, and yet looking at her work truly gives you the feeling that the elements are moving, as if they had agency of their own. From the wind flowing through flower petals, a fork moving or a ball bouncing on a wall, there is a truly dynamic representation of the still life elements she illustrates.
"The movement in my artwork is inspired by what I could see when I was riding home while listening to some music. It's really fun to add the effect of movement in my works, I think the movement can make the viewer understand more about the stories and direction of my artwork."
"The movement in my artwork is inspired by what I could see when I was riding home while listening to some music. It's really fun to add the effect of movement in my works, I think the movement can make the viewer understand more about the stories and direction of my artwork."
Beya's love for illustration is not new and was a passion of hers since she was a kid. "I have loved drawing since I was young, so after I graduated I tried to find a job relating to it. I also think I can communicate my imagination and feelings through my illustrations."
Evolving in her field, she has also collaborated with other artists such as Pomme Chan, another illustrator based in Bangkok. "The collaboration in which I joined Pomme Chan was named “Hybrid” exhibition. There were paintings and drawings in this exhibition, so it mixed various objects together. I think it is fun to collaborate with other artists because we can share ideas with each other." Asking her about the Thai painting and illustration scene she tells me "In Thailand, art and illustration are kind of contemporary and there are various styles. However, in my opinion Thai teenagers prefer the minimal style of the illustration."
Evolving in her field, she has also collaborated with other artists such as Pomme Chan, another illustrator based in Bangkok. "The collaboration in which I joined Pomme Chan was named “Hybrid” exhibition. There were paintings and drawings in this exhibition, so it mixed various objects together. I think it is fun to collaborate with other artists because we can share ideas with each other." Asking her about the Thai painting and illustration scene she tells me "In Thailand, art and illustration are kind of contemporary and there are various styles. However, in my opinion Thai teenagers prefer the minimal style of the illustration."
Her work has been through an impressive evolution in the past couple of years. Going from more floral artwork, with a softer and more delicate atmosphere to it, she has more recently evolved towards her current style that we like so much, with grainy looks and vibrant gradients. "I think my style has changed because I changed the method to create it. I enjoy exploring various styles and more recently I try to use an iPad to do it. So that is the reason that it looks really different from the previous style. In the future, I’m not sure about my style because I want to have fun and do new things every day. I would consider my art style as a gradual evolution linked to the new environment I have experienced."