Simji Park creates soft, dreamy and tonal illustrations inspired by nature

A horse gallops throughout a patchwork of small scenes, its hair spotting upwards like a flame, its body is attracted loose, milky pencil that turns pale where it crosses a panel of blue reeds. Around it, the grid shifts from square to square, detailing a black storm sky, a flock of birds over yellow fields, a kid running and another kid resting on a gingham blanket. This is The Red Horse by Simji Parkand amongst her signature combination of soft greens and dirty blues, it’s possibly among her loudest illustrations.

Simji matured in South Korea and now resides in Rotterdam. She studied animation at the Royal College of Art in London, and after finishing in 2017 she went freelance, making illustration and animation jobs on her own terms. In 2019 she won very first reward for kids’s illustration at the Faber Adlyn Prize. Today she divides her week in between her own studio and the class, mentor animation at Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam. “So at the moment, I’m kind of splitting my time between my own practice and teaching.”

Similar to her colour combinations, her topic is subtle, soft and tonal, drawn from the environment around her. “It took me a while to notice, but much of my inspiration comes from the quiet of nature. I’ve always loved being somewhere in nature because it’s one of the few places where I feel like I can fully rest mentally.” Strolling through the forest, feeling the breeze on her face, or enjoying the seasons alter leaf by leaf is what provides her a “quiet excitement” — “it helps me feel present and grounded in the moment.” She bears in mind of these little sensory information– “the feeling of the air, the temperature, moving leaves or the mood of a particular day” — and turns them into dreamy, hazy illustrations in the future.

Have a look through her portfolio and you can see precisely where they appear– as willows and dark trees standing in a row above a pond, shown in blue water close lily pads. Or as a young boy in a white T-shirt leaning on a bike in front of an ivy-covered brick wall, with a lot of leaves in the basket. Or as 2 yellow animals grazing next to a still grey-blue lake while white birds slide overhead. There’s one of a small pet dog walker walking below a big earthy mountain, and among a bare tree loaded with birds with a little red pet sketched at the bottom. And in her panel illustrations, you’ll see a poodle, a female resting on a stool and a roadway curving through hills and a snowy peak– which seems like you’re skimming a buddy’s picture album.

When making one of these delicious art work, Simji’s procedure begins with a repair for a typical issue. “When my perfectionism takes over, I sometimes get stuck and can’t create because I worry it won’t be good enough.” She began drawing little things every day, with no pressure about the result. “The drawings don’t have to be perfect or even especially good. Doing this helps me keep moving.” In some cases absolutely nothing originates from it, however other times a casual sketch ends up being a larger piece. “I think my process is less about having a clear idea from the beginning, and more about making things first and discovering where they can go.”

The Red Horse and Living Things are her current favourites, since they state what she can’t in the real life. “I’ve realised that I actually have a lot I want to say, but I don’t always know how to express it verbally,” she discusses. As an outcome, she gathers images, colours and motions as pointers of what she’s attempting to interact. “With these two pieces, I felt the images could carry the feeling and intention behind the work without me having to explain everything too clearly.”

With this in mind, Simji does not attempt to guide what audiences feel and how they read her pieces. “It’s always hard to know how people will react to my work, and I don’t want to control that too much. Mostly, I hope to share feelings or impressions that are hard for me to put into words. It doesn’t need to be complicated. If someone looks at my work and feels a bit calmer or finds a small moment of rest, that makes me happy.”