Swan street
How swans became an unexpected source of inspiration for my art
My love for swans is very connected to my passion for ballet. When I was a child, my dream was to be a ballerina. I just wanted to feel like the Swan Lake dancers. Ballet wasn’t an easy hobby, especially for a kid. It was harsh at times. I had so much fun learning steps, choreographies, and the contrasts between being strong and delicate. I still remember my teacher showing us how to jump, stretch, and move. Even though I had a very strict teacher, I enjoyed the class so much that I took it too seriously. I feel like it was my little artist heart starting to grow, learning to focus and take the art practice seriously.
My real obsession with swans started when I met them in person on a trip to Zurich in 2022.
I like swans for their strong personality. They are elegant and graceful, but also silly and fearless.
Have you seen them eat?
They pop their booty up while balancing with their paddling feet. It’s such a funny pose! ♫⋆｡♪ All you ladies pop your p𝓋ssy like this ₊˚♬ ﾟ.
Scroll down to watch a mini clip I made of them swimming, eating, and being a source of inspiration I never expected!
They’re also moody and territorial. They can be very vigilant.
Long necks, long legs, big booty, black eyeliner.
I have so many videos from that trip. I think documenting is so important. Real-life reference and experiences are what build my art. It’s one of those things I’m so grateful for my past self to have that impulse of recording, writing notes, even if it’s just writing a quick word or a doodle to describe a moment.
It’s like a creative process loop: I got to contemplate beautiful swans in the city. I bumped into them by surprise. It wasn’t something I was expecting. I didn’t sketch them in person, but I drew at home. I would watch the video clips over and over again. When I got back to my art studio, I was so inspired by that trip that I painted lots of swans, turned them into a series, and made an exhibition, sold a few, and gifted others. Time passed, and it evolved into a new character for wuwu! I named her Valentina because it’s one of my favorite names.
Video is my favorite format, and I want to give it more space in my creative practice this year. I got tired of going back to the infinite photo album on my phone where I would get lost in other things that would distract me while trying to find pictures or clips I could use for reference or inspiration.
This video is part of my personal archive. It belongs to the wuwu library.
How a life experience turned into inspiration, turned into paintings, turned into a new wuwu character. Enjoy these beautiful city swans!!!
Meet Valentina: a Wuwu dressed as a swan who lives in her own showgirl fantasy.
★ She moves gracefully through life
★ You'll never see her lose her poise
★ Needs to be around friends to help her loosen up
★ Never takes her swan costume off
★ She daydreams about her life being a musical
★ She doesn’t walk, she glides
★ Her best friend is wuwu, a chaotic, cloud-shaped bunny
★ She gets irritated easily
★ She’s a winter girlie, not sure what her zodiac sign is yet. Capricorn? Aquarius? Sagittarius????
wuwu updates!
We had our first online wuwu club!!! I started hosting this club a few months ago in Vancouver at a local coffee shop and decided to open up the invitation for an online version for my paid subscribers. It’s a relaxed art session where we create using wuwu as a starting point. For this online session, we created our 2026 wuwu, styling them with our goals for this new year. We chatted about makeup, hobbies we want to try out, and the fun things we want to focus on. We’re meeting every month! You can join us by upgrading to a paid subscription.
Our next date: Saturday, February 28th 10 am (PST)
Alsooo! I’m opening up a few spots for commissions for Valentine’s! This might be the last year I take personal commissions. It was lovely to draw so many personalized illustrations for the past 10 years. I’m so grateful I got to draw so many personal stories, especially surrounding love and friendship. Now I want to focus on other plans for wuwu and bet on places where this project can grow.
❤︎ Discount code for you: ILOVEWUWU
Thank you for reading!!! I hope you enjoyed this swan journey.
With love,
wuwu girl
Oh, she’s definitely a Sagittarius 🦢💅🏻 that or an Aquarious