Chinese-born artist Hoi Chan has transformed his creative practice since relocating to New Orleans, developing a distinctive illustration style that combines vibrant colors, ethereal luminescence, and organic forms inspired by marine life. The School of Visual Arts graduate has gained recognition for his unique approach to digital illustration, which seamlessly blends natural textures with glowing, translucent elements that appear to float off the screen.
Chan moved to New Orleans during the COVID-19 pandemic after graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2016. The city's humid climate and abundant rainfall have significantly influenced his artistic evolution. "After moving to New Orleans, with its abundant rainfall and vibrant natural landscapes, I started exploring fuller, rounder shapes, inspired by the humid environment where even the breeze feels heavy," Chan explains. This environmental shift marked a departure from his earlier work focusing on human connections to a more nature-centric approach.
Marine creatures serve as a primary source of inspiration for Chan's current body of work. He draws from the fascinating color combinations found in underwater life, which he describes as both vibrant and delicate. His piece "Symbiotic Relationship," which began as an editorial sketch but evolved into a personal artwork, exemplifies this approach. The illustration features vibrant aquatic colors and uses the relationship between a clownfish and sea anemone as a metaphor for human mutual reliance. "I used natural forms as metaphors for ourselves," Chan notes about the piece.
Chan's creative process often involves repurposing ideas from commercial projects that don't materialize, transforming them into opportunities for stylistic experimentation. His artwork "Night Breeze" emerged from this approach, exploring new color palettes while addressing human emotions through wave-like forms that embrace a central figure. Initially attempting warm colors like pinks and peaches, Chan ultimately found inspiration in the iridescence of seashells to create the final palette, demonstrating his commitment to finding the right visual language for each emotional concept.
Authenticity remains central to Chan's artistic philosophy, as he aims to capture and share genuine feelings through his illustrations. "My work often revolves around the relationship between individuals and the world – how we position ourselves within it, how we seek peace within ourselves and how we keep moving forward," he explains. This focus on individual experience is reflected in his frequent depiction of solitary figures, as seen in works like "Bioluminescence," which was inspired by the death of someone he knew and uses deep-sea creatures as metaphors for human existence under pressure.
The artist's technical approach combines traditional texture-gathering methods with digital refinement. Chan scans and photographs natural textures from rocks, wood, and other found surfaces, incorporating them subtly into his work to ground the more ethereal elements. All color work is fine-tuned in Photoshop, allowing him to achieve the distinctive luminous quality that characterizes his illustrations. This blend of organic textures with digital precision has attracted clients who appreciate his ability to bring natural elements into contemporary visual communication.
Chan's client work includes high-profile assignments for The New York Times and Figma, where he applies his organic aesthetic to technological concepts. When creating imagery related to artificial intelligence for The New York Times and its magazine insert, he enjoys using organic forms to define technological concepts, bridging the gap between natural and digital worlds. This approach has proven particularly effective in making complex technological subjects more accessible and visually engaging.
For his personal website, Chan drew inspiration from his Hong Kong upbringing, collaborating with a feng shui consultant to organize content under the concept of "Auspicious Elements." This unique approach treats different sections of the website like rooms in a home, with the landing page serving as the entrance and the info page as the bedroom. Following traditional feng shui principles, he created spot illustrations with auspicious meanings placed throughout the site to create harmony, much like symbolic objects in a physical home.
Looking toward the future, Chan has ambitious plans to expand his creative practice. He hopes to bring more of his static works to life through animation, exploring how movement might enhance the floating, ethereal quality of his illustrations. Additionally, he's interested in creating a zine or book that would draw from his extensive collection of sketchbooks, developing earlier ideas into finished concepts. These projects would allow him to explore his artistic themes in new formats while maintaining the distinctive luminous quality that has become his signature.
Chan's evolution from focusing on human connections to exploring natural luminescence and organic forms represents a significant artistic development shaped by geographic relocation and environmental influence. His work demonstrates how personal circumstances and natural surroundings can profoundly impact creative expression, resulting in a distinctive visual language that resonates with both commercial clients and personal artistic goals.
