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Tao Lin's MS Paint & Photoshop Drawings

Tao Lin's MS Paint & Photoshop Drawings

Tao Lin is both a writer and an artist, and I find his visual work as intriguing as his writing, especially his early drawings created in Microsoft Paint and later in Adobe Photoshop between 2006 and 2014. Here is a great video where he talks about these pieces, which I found equally inspiring and funny at the same time. Below, I’ve gathered some of his drawings from his Flickr account. His execution on facial expressions is really impressive, they’re simple yet capture so much feeling.

gas-powered ocean sunfish-alligator hybrid
gas-powered ocean sunfish-alligator hybrid
happy bear standing up
happy bear standing up
network card's raft ride to freedom realizing it's fucked
network card's raft ride to freedom realizing it's fucked

What I like, strangely enough, is how most of them look a bit sad as if they’re having some kind of existential crisis. It probably reflects how Tao Lin was feeling at that time, considering that his novel Taipei came out around the same period. I think I’m drawn to these drawings because there’s something deeper than just cuteness here, a mix of melancholy and cute humor that somehow feels oddly comforting.

emotional cat on the moon
emotional cat on the moon
sasquatch sitting at bench at night experiencing the full effect of the loneliness of existence
sasquatch sitting at bench at night experiencing the full effect of the loneliness of existence
buddhist tyrannasaurus rex
buddhist tyrannasaurus rex
homeless moose
homeless moose
jellyfish
jellyfish
organic tomato
organic tomato
panda crying for 'no concrete reason'
panda crying for 'no concrete reason'
pigeon w trust issues
pigeon w trust issues
Tao Lin himself. An old photo of him, but I just really like it.
Tao Lin himself. An old photo of him, but I just really like it.

Last but not least, I want to share my favorite book from Tao Lin, Leave Society. It has a more healing and even cheerful tone compare to Taipei. It almost feels like a long-awaited happy ending in Tao Lin’s universe, his melancholic creatures finally stepping into the light and finding a bit of peace.