Time keeps flowing, leaving deep or shallow traces on different people’s faces. So we try to capture the most beautiful contours with images or pictures. Portraits begin with the capture of light and shadow, and excel in depicting every texture. However, beneath the construction of facial features, what kind of story does a face reveal? Local artist Alex Chan is a true film enthusiast, and his love for movies has inspired him to use his brush to capture the light and shadow impressions of iconic movie characters. Like most Hong Kong people, he has experienced an entire era through decades of local film history.
Having been in the film and design industry for most of his life, Alex has never received formal art education. With a passion for movies and painting, he picked up his long-abandoned paintbrush in 2017 and started the “塵阿力映畫” social media platform. As his later works gained more exposure, he not only received invitations from film companies to create promotional posters, but also had the opportunity to participate in the painting work for the Hong Kong Film Awards and publish his own art book “星塵画报”. His works have even made their way onto the prestigious stage, and his portraits always leave a lasting impression.
Whether it’s movie characters, singer groups, athletes, or ordinary people, Alex focuses on capturing the unique stories of different individuals in a sculptural way. Unlike creative compositions, portrait art has a pursuit of “similarity”. What unique charm does a person’s face have for Alex, which makes him obsessed with telling stories through portraits? In this episode of “Art City Travelogue,” we follow Alex back to his hometown – Sai Wan, to see how the former movie holy land inspires him to embark on the path of painting.
“Movies have never been separated from me.”
Starting with drawing movie characters, when it comes to Alex’s connection with movies, it might be necessary to start from his childhood memories. Alex grew up in the Shek Tong Tsui area of Sai Wan, and also spent some time living on a boat. He didn’t have many childhood entertainments, so reading comic books and drawing figurines became his greatest joy. Alex recalls that because his father loved watching movies, whenever they had free time, the whole family would go to nearby theaters to watch movies.
During the heyday of Sai Wan in the past, there were two or three cinemas. Influenced by his father, he also developed a love for watching movies. His life experience on the ship made him grow up quickly, and later he traveled around Hong Kong Island by tram, but he couldn’t stay away from the movie theater. Even though he later moved away from this place where he had lived for many years, a part of him still remains in Sai Wan, and unknowingly, he took away some memories of this community.
Alex shared with us: “In the past, I wanted to record what this community has brought me in a different way. If I were to do it with my best skill, it would probably be to paint the scenery of Sai Wan. But painting landscapes is not my strong suit. Later on, I realized that I don’t have to force myself to think of something related to this place. However, I eventually discovered that the thing I am most involved in now, such as movies, is actually closely connected to Sai Wan. Some of the movie knowledge I have now, or the things that movies have brought me, are all thanks to the cinemas in Sai Wan.”
Later, Alex published “Stardust Magazine”, in which he not only recorded many of his favorite Hong Kong films from the 70s to the present, but also wrote about his life experiences while watching movies at that time. He said, “During that era, when those films came out, I was in Sai Wan. At the same time, this memory reminded me of my life experiences here and how I was during that era.” It turns out that there is no need to deliberately record with pen and ink, everything has already merged into his life journey in the depths of his mind, and unconsciously carried through in the form of painting. And the nourishment he gained from movies in Sai Wan has also become the main theme of Alex’s creations today.
“I hope that others can understand what kind of person the character is from my portrait works.”
In the accumulated experience of watching movies, Alex has also started collecting his favorite directors and films. He hopes that everyone’s attention should not only be focused on current movies, as many past film works are also worth paying attention to. It is with the earnest desire to share good movies that Alex puts all his feelings about movies into his drawings, depicting many classic movie characters.
From the characters Miu Qianren in “A City of Sadness” (1984), Zhong Chuhong in “A Autumn’s Tale” (1987), Maggie Cheung in “Comrades: Almost a Love Story” (1996), to Shu Qi in “City of Glass” (1997) and Cai Siyun in “Love After Love” (2019), different characters from different eras have also had an impact on him.
Alex’s portrait works are so lifelike that it’s no wonder. Among them, the use of static images to present a cinematic feel in his paintings makes us even more curious about how movies have opened up his aesthetic sense in composition. It turns out that Alex intentionally set the proportion of the illustrations in the book to 2.35:1, a format commonly used in movie screens. He hopes that when readers open the book to read, they will feel as if they are watching a widescreen movie, showing his thoughtful design.
In addition, Alex said, “For me, movies are not about explicitly showing me the composition or color of a scene that is considered beautiful, but rather about the ‘expression’ within a work. It’s about how the director uses the environment, characters, and dialogue to advance the plot, allowing me to focus more on the actor’s interpretation.” It is precisely because Alex pays close attention to the actors’ expressions that he has also opened the door to exploring facial features.
Among many subjects, why do I have a special love for portraits? He openly states, “The greatest pleasure for me in painting portraits is that every facial or bodily structure has its own unique characteristics. You need to understand how the structure is formed, and then slowly extend from there, in order to understand how a person is constructed.” Portraits in the public’s perception may only be a representation of reality, but in fact, to paint well, the artist needs to observe from the smallest details.
Alex said that the part he spent the most time drawing is the eyes. He said, “How you use the facial features to construct a person is a vast universe.” Instead of being praised for his work being “like” something, Alex hopes to bring the inner aspects of the characters in his paintings to the viewers with his unique style, truly achieving both form and spirit.
“I spend a lot of time choosing the best moment.”
Unlike general image creation, portrait painting requires the artist to depict realism, which limits the freedom of creation. However, constantly painting faces that do not belong to oneself, Alex has often pondered how much of “himself” he has put into his works.
Alex shared his creative process with us, and he found that capturing the essence of each person is not only about the moment of drawing, but also about the preparation beforehand. Therefore, he puts a lot of effort into collecting information about the characters. He said, “For example, when I published ‘Stardust Magazine’ before, there were 90 characters that needed to be drawn, and these 90 characters were actually spread across eighty to ninety films. How can I find the best moment of that character in that film, just relying on Google is not enough. I usually rewatch the film or find more related clips to watch, and then from these clips, I capture the ideal half-second or even frame of the image.”
After selecting the perfect composition, one must also consider factors such as color, lighting, and facial angles to ensure that each scene is captured as a timeless masterpiece. Therefore, every portrait created by Alex is a labor of love, and he describes this process as both “painful yet immensely enjoyable.” The artist seeks to find “himself” within his works, and this discovery begins even before he puts pen to paper.
The joy in it is not just in the careful selection, but even the artist himself constantly encounters new surprises in the process of painting. Alex jokingly said, “I usually have a concept of a person before I paint them, but it’s strange that after I finish drawing, I find that this feeling may not be the same as before, and my understanding keeps increasing. One of the reasons I love painting portraits is that even I have the opportunity to reacquaint myself with the character being painted.”
“Creating allows me the opportunity to personally connect with the characters I have drawn, which is something I didn’t expect to gain.”
After reading “Star Dust Magazine” and listening to Alex’s enthusiastic description, we realized that creativity has brought him more than just an understanding of different characters on screen or stage. It also reflects his own life through his works. In addition to various paintings, the book also includes a paragraph of text for each artwork, where he shares his thoughts on the movie or his connection to it.
He shared, “Actually, many people who have read this book know that it is about myself, which is quite self-indulgent. In addition to trying to understand more about the 90 movie female characters I have drawn and the movies they appeared in, readers are also interested in knowing what kind of person I am.” This somewhat “autobiographical” picture book has become an important mark of his love for movies and drawing, and has also made him reexamine a small part of his life journey, even bringing some unexpected opportunities.
Tracing back to the origins, initially, it was through the movie “Unbeatable” that I met director Dante Lam. Later on, I had the opportunity to be nominated for “Best Actress” at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and then I was invited by a publishing company to publish my own illustrations. I also had the chance to collaborate with the magazine “Ming Pao” for illustrations. No one could have predicted that my creations would lead to so many opportunities, allowing more people to become acquainted with Alex’s works.
However, when it comes to the biggest gain, it can be said that it starts with drawing movie characters and really meets those characters in real life in the later stage. In the past year, Alex participated in the painting work of the TV program “Director’s Door”. This project, which spanned three months, required him to paint 21 works to give to 21 local directors. In addition to allowing him to indulge in painting, it also gave him the opportunity to personally meet those idol directors.
In addition, by sharing his works on social platforms, Alex has even gotten to know some of the artists he has painted, which he says is an unexpected coincidence. Drawing is like a long thread, with the creator holding one end of the thread, connecting with more people and events that were once thought to be out of reach. This may be the magical power of creation that Alex talks about.
However, in the end, what Alex cares most about is not how many people see his work, but whether the audience can see those characters in his work and recall some resonance of the era, whether it is in music, film and television, or cultural aspects. Alex feels, “If my work can generate interest in a certain drama or song, that would also be a good thing.”
In the past two or three years, due to the impact of the pandemic, people have had more time and opportunities to focus on some local emerging actors, directors, singers, or groups. It is precisely because they feel that there are still many future stars in the local music and film industry that Alex, with the original intention of spreading popular and classic culture through artistic creation, hopes to contribute to promoting that cause and let more people get to know those individuals in that field.
When it comes to young singers and artists, Alex generously expresses his admiration, saying, “I always feel that they will be even better in the future, and more people will recognize them. Although I may not be able to help them practically, I can at least tell the people around me who watch my work to listen to them together and pay attention to these artists.” When the collective efforts of everyone focus on Hong Kong’s creators, it actually contributes to the establishment of some cultural value in this place. As an artist, Alex also hopes to continue presenting this development process through painting, allowing the pen to intertwine between various brows and continue to explore the universe in each person’s eyes.
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Producer: Mimi Kong
Interview & text: Ruby Yiu
Videographer: Andy Lee, Alvin Kong
Photographer: Ken Yeung
Video Editor: Andy Lee
Designer: Michael Choi
Location: 3birds Coworking Space
Special Thanks: Alex Chan
Executive Producer: Angus Mok
Producer: Mimi Kong
Interview & text: Ruby Yiu
Videographer: Andy Lee, Alvin Kong
Photographer: Ken Yeung
Video Editor: Andy Lee
Designer: Michael Choi
Location: 3birds Coworking Space
Special Thanks: Alex Chan
