I recently stumbled across the incredibly talented (and mega babe) Vy Vu AKA @vyvuart and was blown away by her automotive artworks.

We got to talking on IG and I soon discovered how down to earth she is.

Intrigued to find out what motivates her and what her design process is like, I decided to feature her in the 'What Drives You?' series below.

Enjoy! ♡

1 | What drives/motivates you?

I've given some thought on this question for quite a while now, and strangely enough, there isn't really a one-worded answer for me. The passion and motivation comes from within, where I constantly strive to create awesome shit and become a better artist than I was yesterday. I always find it odd that I've always gravitated towards the Arts when I was going through school. It was something I've always genuinely and thoroughly enjoyed no matter where I was in life. I find it hilarious that I actually signed up to become a Chemistry major in college (who was I fooling?).

One thing that makes painting cars worth it is seeing the joy that car enthusiasts exudes when they look at the car painting hanging on their wall. I mean, their car is their pride and joy and having it custom painted shows another whole level of love they have towards their car.

As far as what drives me, I wish I had a badass automobile that I can flaunt to you guys – but nope I'm still driving one of those mini-SUVs that my parents got for me since I was a teen (thanks mom and dad!) because they cared about my safety. I'll suck it up and make that big impulse purchase one day in the near future!

2 | Where do you draw your inspiration from?

My inspiration for these paintings come from the details in the subjects (as odd as that sounds)! Whether it's through cars, people, landscapes, etc. They all come in different shapes and sizes. Every car is an art form itself, and being able to capture it on canvas highlights that unique part of the structure that one might not have realized before. This applies with portraits of people, architecture and nature as well. I guess this also stems from my design background – where I'm so detail-orientated about my typography and design layout compositions, that it also translates onto the canvas as well.

I'm also engaged to a car enthusiast, so he was actually my first 'client' that introduced me to painting cars as a subject. After that, I was hooked on it's built as an art form.

Fun fact: My first car painting was done in 2013, and it was an E30 M3. Don't laugh. (pictured below)

3 | What is your design process like, and how long does it take for you to create an artwork from start to finish?

My painting process always starts with selecting an image or a location that is different and unique to the human eye. I would then compose and crop it to accentuate its form. Depending on the type of colors I would like to bring out, my first step is to tone the canvas with a thin layer of either a warm or cool acrylic color. After that, I would let that dry and draw a light proportional grid so I can start sketching out the subject. When I get most of the sketch down, I would finally start the actual oil painting process.

Painting with oil is a pain, but it has always been my go-to medium. It dries super slow compared to acrylic, however it blends so well. I work in layers when I paint, so I would start off with a pretty rough/loose layer and then hone into the details later down the road.

One huge tip: Never focus on just one part of the painting but move around the surface to get an even distribution of layers and consistency.

Since oil dries pretty slow, there is so much I can do to the surface before it becomes a huge messy blob, so I would be forced to pause my work and wait until the next day to start again. This process continues for about 3-5 weeks before a painting is complete. After that, I would have to wait for the oil to completely dry before applying a varnish on top to seal the painting in. This drying process advisably takes around a few weeks or month, depending on the thickness of the painting.

I also enjoy watercolor paintings as well because it provokes a different texture/lightness/airiness to the piece that you don't get from oil paint.