Born halfway across the world, Yann Lee is bound to have a
different perspective than most people
– an especially useful perspective for a fledgling artist. But
you won’t find any landscapes of his childhood home in Lee’s
portfolio.
Hollister – Born halfway across the world, Yann Lee is bound to have a different perspective than most people – an especially useful perspective for a fledgling artist. But you won’t find any landscapes of his childhood home in Lee’s portfolio. Rather, this budding Van Gogh deals in space cowboys and caped heroes.
Lee, 20, was born in Brussels, Belgium, to an American father and Belgian mother who met through an international Christian mobilization campaign.
“I only remember a little bit about Belgium,” he said. “I know there was snow, and it was very gray all the time. Apartments are stacked on top of one another, instead of sprawled out, and during daylight saving time the sun would still be out at 10 or 11 at night. But you learn to appreciate the sun.”
When Lee was 6 years old, his American grandfather became gravely ill. Lee’s parents and two younger brothers left Belgium to stay with him, and after he passed away decided to stay in Hollister – both to help Lee’s grandmother and to take advantage of the children’s dual citizenship.
“I was here before there was ever a Target,” Lee said. “Nob Hill was where the Goodwill store is now, and Safeway was K&S Market… I’m not very old, but a lot has changed since we moved here.”
Coming from an almost entirely French-speaking country, Lee spoke very little English when he started attending public school in Hollister, though he speaks with only a slight trace of an accent today.
“Learning a language is easy when you’re small,” he said. “I don’t remember the transition to speaking English, it’s one big blur… Some of the teachers thought I was Asian because of my name, though.”
Throughout his education as a child, one persistent theme appeared: Lee’s love of art and cartoons.
“As a kid, I watched a lot of Batman and Spiderman, that sort of stuff,” he said. “I thought it was the greatest thing in the world that you can build stories around a character and make him completely bad-ass.”
In high school, Lee started taking formal art classes and modeling his pencil drawings after Japanese cartoons. He began to seriously entertain the idea of pursuing his art as a career.
“Ever since I was 5, I watched my dad draw and wanted to be like him,” he said. “But I got a lot more serious about it in high school. People started telling me my work was good, and I thought it was good, too.”
Lee took a job with a local window painter, who not only helped him improve his technique as an artist but tried to teach Lee about the competitive nature of the art field.
“He told me that out of an entire class of talented art students, only one or two would be able to make it,” Lee said. “And I guess he’s right. But it’s what I like to do. I can make images where a blank piece of paper used to be and make other people look at my stuff.”
Lee currently attends Gavilan College, and is getting ready to transfer either to California State University at San Jose or at Monterey to pursue a degree in animation.
“I’m really proud of the fact that I’m getting my degree,” he said. “I’m the first in my family to go through that, and I’m the oldest, so it means a lot to me.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or
ds****@fr***********.com
.
