Sunny Gu, Los Angeles and Chicago based fashion artist and illustrator, has a fierce amount of talent.  Moreover, she has an ability to bring together themes of nature, beauty, and fashion and allows the viewer to enjoy how these coincide together.  I came across her artwork after seeing her recent partnership with Disney x Zales, where she fantastically painted the Disney Princesses in watercolor.  I am so delighted to feature her art on Rosy BVM and an interview with Sunny where she discusses her life as an artist and her artistic inspirations. Some of her clients have included Vogue magazine, ELLE magazine, Conde Nast, Versace, Bloomingdale’s, and Shiseido.  Please be sure to visit her website: www.sunnygu.com and follow her on Instagram: www.instagram.com/happysunnygu. If you are interested in purchasing her art as high quality canvas prints, please visit the following: https://www.icanvas.com/canvas-art-prints/artist/sunny-gu

Bianca: I saw your recent watercolor series for Zales where the Disney Princess jewelry collection was highlighted.  I was amazed at how steady you are while painting. Was there a Princess that you enjoyed painting the most or were they all fun to paint?

Sunny: So happy you saw the collaboration! It was truly an honor to be part of it! They are all very fun to paint! It’s such a dream to recreate Disney princesses in fashion illustration form!

Bianca: Your artwork is incredible; how did you realize that watercolor is your main medium?

Sunny: Thank you! I love the vibrancy and unpredictable nature of watercolor. I also appreciate the fast drying nature of watercolor, it allows me to focus on precision and trains me to work efficiently.

Bianca: What inspires you artistically?  Are there environments in nature that inspire you more than others?

Sunny: I get most of my inspirations from the smallest things in daily life, I love paying attention to details: roadside wildflowers, clothing textiles of a passerby, a fun color combination on the streets. Yes, I LOVE wandering in parks, conservatories, gardens, I can’t resist being surrounded by flowers and plants.

Bianca: How long have you been painting?

Sunny: I fell in love with doodling since I was two, it’s been a long time. 🙂

Bianca: There are themes of fashion, femininity, flowers throughout your work. I especially enjoy the vivid colors!  Do you have any designers who particularly inspire your work? I could see how Dolce & Gabbana and Versace could have an influence on your work.

Sunny: Yes, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace are absolutely among my favorites, I also love the designs by Marchesa, Valentino, and Elie Saab.

Bianca: Where is your main residence / studio located?  Are you a native of LA or Chicago?

Sunny: Currently I live and work between Chicago and Los Angeles. I was born and raised in China, I moved to Los Angeles when I was 13. I started split half of my year in Chicago ever since I got married two years ago (my husband works in Chicago).

Bianca: I saw that you recently did a partnership with Sugarfina and live painted at the recent opening of a store in LA, that is great!  Were you painting candy themed paintings for that event?

Sunny: We were celebrating the launch of Sugarfina x Barbie limited collection, so all the customers who came are all Barbie + sweets lovers.  They all dressed in candy tones and many of them wore clothing with the Barbie logo. I was creating their custom portraits, they were adorable, like real life Barbies!