Christina Chen’s Charitable Commissions
In kindergarten, senior Christina Chen began learning pencil sketching techniques from her older brother, and was captivated by watching him bring ordinary items to life through his drawings. Chen was inspired to buy an instructional drawing book to explore her interest in art, and through the book’s instruction, she learned how to draw human anatomy and characters. Chen has never taken an art class, so in order to develop her skills further she seeks advice from fellow artists whose work she admires.
“[Even though] art classes [would provide me with] an environment where [an instructor could] help me learn faster, I get more satisfaction from experimenting and seeing my progress,” Chen said. “My biggest takeaway [from being self-taught] is to be patient, to be able to critique [my] own work and to not be afraid to redo things.”
In December of 2017, Chen began posting her original characters to the Instagram account @unpeeled_orange_ and started accepting commissions in August of 2020. It was her charitable disposition that led to this, as she did not have enough money of her own to donate to causes like the Black Lives Matter movement. She clarifies that all profits are to be donated in the biographical description of the account. The first step in Chen’s commissioning process is receiving the order from her client via direct messages to the previously mentioned Instagram account. After that, Chen sends the customer a sketch of the piece to get their approval. From there, she transfers the sketch to the app FireAlpaca on her Microsoft Surface Pro computer, where she proceeds to finish the artwork and receive payment afterward.
Since opening up for commissions, Chen’s most difficult obstacle has been pricing. She sets prices for her work based on the complexity of the order and the time it takes to complete it, which ranges from 30 minutes to four hours. Despite spending a considerable amount of time on her customers’ requests, Chen always finds time to work on projects for her family, primarily her brother, Chen Chen. He was one of her first commissioners who purchased designs for his band Ultraviolet Catastrophe. Chen Chen encourages his sister’s creativity in any way he can and challenges her to broaden her artistic repertoire.
“She still has things she can learn about line work, and I think black and white [drawings] would force her to focus on perfecting that skill,” Chen Chen said. “[It is especially important] because I have commissioned her for tattoo ideas in the past and will most likely again in the future. Currently, she is working on [a few art pieces] for our next release.”
Christina Chen’s father, James Chen, supports all of her ambitions with art. He finds his daughter’s art to be very expressive of the idealistic dream she has for the world. James Chen is proud of the artist his daughter has become and looks forward to seeing how it propels her growth in other aspects of her life.
“I am an engineer, [which is] far from the visual arts,” James Chen said. “[However, because of] my daughter, I [have] felt the power of art. Christina’s visual arts are filled with a sense of humor, or a kind of childishness, which makes you want to laugh. You can easily understand what statements she wanted to express.”
In the future, Christina Chen hopes to create a story. She has been considering whether she should illustrate a series on Webtoon, an online comic platform, or partner with an author to publish a children’s picture book. Regardless of what she decides, Christina Chen aims to continue drawing and helping her art inspire others, whether that be through a small business of hers, as a career or simply a joyful hobby.
