Woodchuck 30th Anniversary Artist Spotlight – Lucy Phung
November 19, 2021
BIO:
Name: Lucy Phung / @1ucysushi
Age: 28
Location: Charlotte, NC
Profession: Painter & digital/traditional illustrator, with a focus in creating custom artwork and color pencil portraitures
Length: Almost 10 years
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 Lucy!
W- Hey Lucy! Thanks for taking a bit of time out of your day to have a bit of a chat and let us dive in to what drives your creative spark. How did you get your start in the realm of painting and portraiture, and what inspired you to take that creative path over another artistic style?
L- Kind of by accident. I started selling my art in high school with hand sculpted clay jewelry and pendants. It was just a hobby at that point. I probably gave away more of my work to friends and classmates than I actually sold. I never really thought I could make it as a professional artist back then. While in college, I decided to try portrait drawing just for fun. I wasn’t very good at it at first but that encouraged me to try harder. After a few portraits, I was really proud of my progress and decided to post the picture online. To my surprise, the drawing went viral and was reposted on several different social media platforms. From there I got my first drawing commission, and the encouragement I needed to pursue a career in art.
W- Wow, what a crazy turn of events! That must have been quite a shock, seeing a a piece of art you didn’t think to highly of go viral. If that wasn’t a sign, we’re not sure what else would have been! Portraiture might often be seen as a relatively concrete form of art in the sense that you are drawing or replicating an actual person. Where do you draw your inspiration from? Is it an internal source or are you influenced by external factors more heavily?
L- It’s definitely a mixture of both internal and external factors. At times it’s kind of hard to draw a line between the two. My culture, interests, life experiences, and relationships shape who I am as a person and that influences my art.
W- We’ll there’s no question that you tend to bring a lot of creativity to realistic scenarios through your art. That’s very evident in the piece you provided us with! On that note, what exactly is your interpretation of the word, “creativity”?
L- To me, true creativity is expressing something in a way that has never been done before. It’s the process of experimentation, pushing boundaries, and innovation.
W- We feel very similarly, especially in the realm of cider making. We will always be rooted in our more traditional offerings, but we feel it’s our duty to innovate and push the cider category past what has already been created or experimented with already. We take pride in our ability to innovate while not alienating the traditions that got us to where we are now.
W- Before you joined us in our 30th anniversary celebration, did you have any knowledge of Woodchuck. Was there anything you learned throughout your involvement that you’d like to share?
L- Before this collaboration I honestly had no idea Woodchuck Cider was the brand that started the hard cider revolution in the US. Not only is it proof that creativity really is the key to innovation, it shows that going against the grain and doing what you truly believe in, can change the world. Even now, 30 years later, it’s clear that Woodchuck is still driven by creativity and passion. I respect that as an artist and I’m incredibly honored to be a part of Woodchuck Cider’s 30th Anniversary Celebration!
W- I’m not blushing, you’re blushing! Seriously though, you nailed it right on the head! Thanks for the kind words and thanks again for your time. We’re pumped to share your illustration with our fans!
Check out Lucy’s art piece over on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter . Not only is it just a great piece of art but it embodies a quintessential Woodchuck experience
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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