Faces on the Subway: Not just pretty handwriting, but brush lettering is the ‘ideal’ work this illustrator wants to do

Every day, hundreds of thousands of passengers take the MRT, traversing across the island for work, school and leisure. The spate of disruptions and incidents, which the operators and authorities are looking to resolve, and the inconvenience caused to commuters, have brought into focus how the rail network has become a big part of our lives. So, too, are the countless faces we meet on the subway, some growing familiar over time and each with a story to tell.

In our Faces on the Subway weekly series, we speak to commuters who start their day while it is still dark, or call it a night when others are already fast asleep — people on the first or last train.

SINGAPORE — Whenever Chinese New Year comes around, Julia Liu would slightly dread questions from relatives asking about her job because she will have a hard time trying to explain it to them.

The 27-year-old, who specialises in hand- or brush-lettering, finally “settled” on being a freelance illustrator after spending a number of years shuttling between jobs.

“It just ends up being quite a lengthy explanation, but they genuinely want to try to understand what (I’m) doing as a freelancer,” Ms Liu said.

Brush lettering may sound ancient, but among the younger creative set, the romance of putting pen to paper with texts using cursive and ornate fonts has caught on to such an extent that Ms Liu described the business of selling such handmade artwork as “competitive”.

Using simple tools such as a pencil, pen, brush and paper, Ms Liu creates mostly black-and-white illustrations of botanical specimens and animals, and does brush lettering for a wide range of buyers, from couples preparing for their weddings to corporate clients.

She designs wedding invitation cards, greeting cards, place cards and portraits, and some of these works can be seen on her Instagram account @julialiuhx.

Some of the artwork and cards made by Ms Julia Liu, which features hand-lettering and illustrations. Photo: Julia Liu 

A polytechnic graduate with a diploma in visual communications, Ms Liu said that the “default” route for students in the course was to work in graphic design or advertising companies. However, after an internship with a small graphic design firm, she realised that she was not that much “into the digital aspect” of the design and art industry.

“At the end of the day, I still like to work with pen, paint or ink on paper,” she added.

After graduating in 2011 and curious about work in other fields, she spent the next three years working as a service crew member in the food-and-beverage line and as an assistant florist in a traditional flower shop. She was also employed as an allied educator assisting teachers at a secondary school.

Later, she found work as a retail assistant at another florist, where she had the chance to do some design work. She resigned from that job in 2014 to focus fully on freelance work as an illustrator.

There was no particular incident that made her take the plunge, she said. “I just felt like I still wanted to try and make it happen and work on a full-time basis. I don’t know if I’m trying to indulge in my love for drawing and writing by trying to turn it into a full career, but I wanted to try to see how far it can take me.”

IRREGULAR INCOME

The initial transition to doing freelance work was not easy, and “things didn’t pick up the way you want it to”, Ms Liu said.

“But I was just going to try to keep doing whatever job I could get. Every job was a blessing,” she said of the times when people wanted to buy her artwork.

One of the major adjustments was the irregular income. While she declined to reveal how much she earns now, Ms Liu said that when she first started freelance work, she was earning half the salary she used to draw at her last fulltime job at the florist.

This means she had to watch her spending, and stopping, say, her regular visits to the hair salon every two to three months to colour her hair, which can cost from S$300 to S$400. These days, she goes to QB House, for example, which offers cheaper and express haircut services.

Gone, too, are the green tea and soy lattes at Starbucks, which are replaced by “teh-c” (tea with evaporated milk) at neighbourhood coffee shops.

“Most of my money goes into food, so I had to cut back a bit and exercise self-control,” she added with a laugh.

While her parents were initially concerned about the sustainability of freelance work, they have been very supportive. Both her mother and older brother are teachers, while her father is a senior director at a communication design and production company.

After almost four years, her monthly income became more stable last year and her income is almost matching her last drawn pay as a full-timer. Part was it was also because she has been working part-time twice a week at her last employer since last March, helping the florist with design and marketing materials, as well as social media.

Photo: Najeer Yusof/TODAY

BRUSHING UP ON HER SKILLS

Another aspect of being a freelancer is that she does not get the paid training opportunities that comes with a full-time job, so Ms Liu brushes up on her skills by consistently drawing, writing and creating art pieces even during the lull periods, which can last from two weeks to a month.

“There are many styles in hand-lettering and I will just keep trying different styles — sometimes ink, sometimes paint — just have to keep practising,” she said.

“I focus on brush-lettering instead of using the calligraphy pen because I think there are a lot of people who can do (the latter) and do it well.”

On other artists offering similar services and whose work can also be easily viewed on social media platforms such as Instagram, Ms Liu said: “You can’t be too discouraged when you see that this person’s (work) is so good. I just take it as motivation to keep pushing myself and keep getting better,” she added.

It is a good thing that people always need a helping of romance. One of the cards made by Ms Liu carries the text, “Love is heart work”.

“When friends get married, Julia gets busy,” she wrote on an Instagram post, accentuating how she is sought after by couples on their special day.

One of her most memorable works was to fill an 8m-long scroll with a handwritten quote that was later used to pave an aisle for the march-in at a wedding.

As for handling job requests, Ms Liu said that at times, it can be difficult to produce commissioned work for clients whose preferences may not always be aligned with her style.

Eventually, she hopes to be able to establish herself as an artist in this scene. There have been artists in other countries who have developed their own style and people go to them for their work, she noted.

Despite the challenges, Ms Liu enjoys the freedom that comes with being a freelance worker, such as the flexibility it offers. Two to three times a week, she spends time with her boyfriend, who works as a tattoo artist in Chinatown, and she then catches the last train home to Tanah Merah station on the East-West Line after that.

In his work, he has used some of her designs as tattoo art. “Once in a while, I’ve done some designs and he has tattooed them, but we’ve not collaborated on a design before specifically,” she said.

In between work and time for loved ones, Ms Liu also takes Muay Thai classes.

“If I were to be super idealistic, I would continue doing this and this would be sustainable enough,” she said.