Artist Accurately Portrays The Joys of Living Alone

If you’ve ever tried living alone, you know it comes with several pros and cons – just like when you’re living with family members or others. There is, however, a common misconception that being alone always means being lonely.

This is what artist Yaoyao Ma Van As has been trying to dispel through her colorful illustrations. A self-confessed vegan and animal lover, Yaoyao’s gorgeous artworks recently went viral on social media after it caught the attention of netizens and media sources.

35-year-old artist Yaoyao Ma Van As lives with her dog Parker.

In a BuzzFeed interview, Yaoyao shared she initially didn’t intend to focus on “loneliness” as a theme for her drawings.

According to her:

“The ‘solitude’ part wasn’t my goal. However, once in a while I would get some comments on my painting like, ‘Why is she always alone?’

“And I started thinking, ‘Just because someone is alone doesn’t mean they’re lonely.'”

Yaoyao took inspiration from that and so she began documenting her solo adventures – with her beloved pet!

She said:

“I started doing these because I wanted to tell stories with my drawings, especially stories about my dog Parker.”

Living alone sure has its sad moments but it’s not always like that.

“Life has its ups and downs, and I hope people can see from the stories I tell in my illustrations that they’re not alone in going through certain experiences in life.”

“I do go through different emotions, but I’m also not crying in the staircase every time I draw something sad or biking through nature when I’m happy.”

Indeed, Yaoyao’s ‘daily sketches’ manages to show us the many different emotions she experiences. Not surprisingly, she began having fans who expressed how much they personally related to her drawings.

Here are some of the illustrations she uploaded on Instagram:

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