Alvina Kwong Professional Children's Book Illustrator

Alvina Kwong is a talented illustrator with a fun and playful art style much like her personality! Her images are beautiful, full of color and her silhouette, cut out images have wonderful shape and design.  She loves painting and drawing light hearted and whimsical images, children's books and illustrations for the Friend. Read below for a treat!


 
Kim: Hi Alvina, its been a long time! Hope you are doing well. I would love to ask you some questions about your work for my students.

Alvina: Hi Kim!~

Thanks for inviting me to do this for you!  I am very honored that you chose me out of all the wonderful illustrators out there.  I hope my answers are helpful to you and your students.  It's just wonderful you're teaching the little ones! Thanks again for including me! 

Kim: What inspires you as an artist?

Alvina: Lots of things inspire me as an artist.  From everyday things, life, family, friends, my dog, to other artists.  Living in Big Bear, CA inspires me a lot too.  Lots of trees, wildlife, and a big blue lake. Some of the artists that have always inspired me are Norman Rockwell and Mark Buehner.  I still remember the field trip we took at BYU to his house.  That field trip is a reminder of why I love his work. Just being in his studio and seeing his work in real life is amazing.  I draw a lot of animals in my past projects, so animals really inspire me- especially my dog!  I love looking through Pinterest because it has lots of beautiful images.  Often times I look to Pinterest to get ideas for my projects and on what to sketch in my sketchbook.  It's also where I keep my visual references. 

Kim: What makes a good teacher? 

Alvina: I think patience makes a great teacher.  Working with students, you have to have a lot of patience.  Sometimes students are impatient with themselves and don't want to practice or learn the basics/fundamentals; and sometimes they get frustrated because it doesn't look like your picture.  It's important to calm them down and teach them to be patient with their work and themselves.  I always tell my students that it took me years and years of practice and schooling to get to this level.  Drawing and painting teaches them to have patience and be more observant.  

Kim:What is your favorite thing to paint/draw?

Alvina: Horses!! I know it doesn't show in my portfolio/website, but they really are my favorite things to draw and paint.  It's what got me into BYU, a portfolio full of horses.  the funny thing is that it's the least drawn animal I have to show as far as work and projects go.  And I really like to draw them in realistic form, without them being stylized.  The last time I painted a horse was a few years ago..sadly!

Kim: Do you have anything you are working on at the moment you are excited about?

Alvina: I'm currently working on a book about a mouse who lives in Hawaii.  Its a story about learning to share and help each other out.  I'm really excited about it!  I just finished the paintings and am digitally getting them ready to be sent to the publisher.  

Kim: Alvina, thank you so much for you time, great advice and insight. You are a gem!

Alvina lives in big Bear Lake CA with her family and 3 dogs. You can enjoy her art at her blog ling below. She has always felt doing art was where she felt at home.
www.alvinakwong.blogspot.com
http://www.bigbeargrizzly.net/outlook/fantastical-world-at-her-fingertips/article_03d75d5e-dd78-11e4-b3b1-f3976d73cbde.html