Brooklyn illustrator Ping Zhu and her breezy brushstrokes full of energy

Brooklyn-based illustrator Ping Zhu’s portfolio is bursting with colour and movement as her works have a breezy and elegant quality about them. Creating illustrations for Stella Artois, The New York Times, and Wall Street Journal, Ping’s brushstrokes are light but full of intent as bright swathes of colour seep into the page. 

From sunny landscapes that capture the fun and frolics of the season, to less tangible ideas like ageism, Ping manages to encapsulate a real sense of energy and atmosphere in her works. To avoid a chaotic mix of colour and shapes, Ping cleverly holds back on heavy detail for her characters and environments, simply giving an impression of their figures and forms. 

Alongside her finished works, Ping also includes sketches of her original ideas. It’s something the illustrator has done in the past and it gives a wonderful insight into her process, as the rough outlines of her fragmented scenes are realised in the next image.