Artist Spotlight w/ Tevy Khou
Jun 16, 2023
First, can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Tevy Khou, I am a proud Cambodian-Chinese queer person from Long Beach, CA but currently living in the Bay Area. Like most artists, I've been drawing all my life but started to work professionally in 2014 when I graduated from Art Center College of Design.
I come from the school of thought of drawing everything and anything, meaning that no subject or genre is out of bounds for me. What I gravitate towards however are uplifting the voices of marginalized groups whether it be Black and Brown, AAPI, or the LGBTQIA community. I like strange and unusual things, dark and moody, and just wildly different things and people who are often misunderstood. I always root for the underdogs.
Outside of making art, I love weightlifting as a way to relax if you can imagine that! Having a mind-body connection in this way, I believe, makes me a better artist. I also like to collect knives.
There is this stereotype that artists are disorganized, lack business acumen, and are notoriously bad with money. It's strange because we are running our own business. This narrow-minded thinking undermines us as creatives, especially in traditional job settings. If we believe it, we become it…
Can you tell us about your experience and the role you are primarily filling?
I am primarily an illustrator and sometimes I lightly animate them as well. I've worked with Apple, The Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed, Mic, Yes!, and Hazlitt Mag. I love working directly with clients or as a team with other creatives who are passionate about the work.
If you could speak directly to the resourcing gods and powers that be, what would be your ideal project?
My ideal project would be illustrating Asian American punks! I love drawing badass people of color who are super gay. Anything that would involve leather and cool hair. Someday,
I would love to create my own graphic novel.
Do you have any dream clients?
I'd love to draw for HBO someday. In particular for The Last of Us. That show makes me feel emotions.
I also loved Hedi Slimane as the creative director for Saint Laurent era. Fashion illustration is something I've never done professionally, but I feel like the 2012-2016 collection very much inspired me to draw more fashion.
Lastly, do you have any memorable stories, life lessons, or tall tales you can share from your adventures as a freelancer?
There is this stereotype that artists are disorganized, lack business acumen, and are notoriously bad with money. It's strange because we are running our own business. This narrow-minded thinking undermines us as creatives, especially in traditional job settings. If we believe it, we become it. It sets us up for failure when for example; a manager thinks you can't speak to a client, so they don't really see you as a leader; other racial, gender, and sexual orientation stereotypes notwithstanding. All of those things you don't know, you can learn on your own or you can ask for help.
We're a community after all, and talking about money shouldn't be taboo. Another lesson I learned early on is that if you get bad feedback from a person who you wouldn't ask for in the first place, don't buy into it. Your skills and passion will be appreciated by many other people.
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