Woodchuck 30th Anniversary Artist Spotlight – Justin Wu

October 22, 2021

BIO:
-Name: Justin Wu
-Age: 28
-Location: Queens, New York
-Profession or specified field: Illustrator
-How long have you been participating in your specified field: I have been illustrating since I was 5 years old, but I started @hungryartistny in March 2021.

Welcome to our Woodchuck 30th Anniversary blog series where we will be highlighting hand-selected creatives every week through the Fall. This year marks our 30th Anniversary and we have asked 25 creatives from across the country to help celebrate 30 years of creativity and innovation by sharing with us what creativity means to them. We sat down with each creative to hear more about how they use creativity on a daily basis and what influences their work. See below for our conversation with Max!

W- Justin! Thanks for hanging out with us today. You seem to have paired your artistic talent with New York’s culinary scene. How did that all culminate for you?

J- I have been illustrating since I was a kid! I grew up drawing/painting with more traditional mediums like oil paint, pastel, charcoal, pencil, ink, and watercolor. During the pandemic, I decided to start illustrating foods from NYC to spotlight local food businesses and raise money for NYC restaurant relief. As a result – @hungryartistny was born! Currently, I share my digital illustrations on my Instagram page and I also find creative ways to share content about businesses in NYC and beyond!

W- Wow! That’s really cool how you were able to combine the two spaces and execute your creative ideas with some sort of cause backing them. What tends to influence your creativity?

J- The work I create and share on @hungryartistny is influenced by my love for trying and eating new kinds of foods and drinks. NYC is truly a melting pot of different cultures and I fell in love with the diverse cuisines that the city has to offer. Thus, I aim to combine two of my passions in life: food and art. Ultimately, my creativity is influenced by the emotions, feelings, and senses that I feel from the food that I eat. My art is also influenced by the stories that the local business owners and staff share with me.

W-  Living in NYC, you certainly have a number of different cultural pockets to pull inspiration from. What does creativity mean to you?

J- To me, Creativity focuses on the ability to express something that is important to me. I feel very free when I create my illustrations and video content and I have always appreciated the fact that all artists and creatives offer a different perspective and style.

W-It’s interesting to hear how you find creativity or your creative outlets to provide you with a sense of liberation and freedom. It’s almost like creating your art allows you to escape for just a little bit, which is surely something a lot of people feel as well, especially in cases similar to yours living in one of the busiest cities in the country! 

W- Prior to joining us for our 30th anniversary, what was your connection to Woodchuck, if ay at all? Was there something that you learned about us along the way that you found special?

J- Prior to working on this project, I was not very familiar with Woodchuck Hard Cider. However, I have always loved hard cider and I specifically really enjoyed the blueberry cider from Woodchuck! I also appreciate Woodchuck’s legacy and story, and I think it is amazing that Woodchuck originated the category of hard cider.

W- Well, thanks for the kind words Justin! We certainly take a lot of pride and enjoyment in being both an originator and an innovator in the Cider world. Thanks again for hanging out with us today. We will be sure to keep following you on your NYC food journey! Cheers!

Staying true to his creative roots, Justin took a shot at illustrating one of our commemorative 30th anniversary cans in the form of our Blueberry Cider. It’s probably as realistic as an illustration can get relative to the real thing.

Head over to our Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to check out Justin’s illustration!

Be sure to check out our online cider store and online merch store. There, you’ll be able to stock yourself up with your favorite cider and purchase some all-new Woodchuck swag like t-shirts, Glassware, hats and more!

Cheers, and happy cider sippin’!

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