Rain Szeto（@rainfsh）插畫中的細節多不勝數，猶如一幅由碎片組成的智力拼圖，又終究使其觀者看到更廣闊的空間。她的作品不但色彩鮮艷奪目，還在背景中經常出現貓貓的身影，自然訴說着畫面外的故事，引人入勝。
Rain Szeto’s (@rainfsh) illustrations are jam-packed with details — like a jigsaw puzzle of fragmented pieces which must enable its viewers to see the bigger picture at last. Coupled with vibrant colours and a prominent presence of cats in the background, her artworks easily tell stories beyond their surfaces.
Any Issues?
兩隻貓貓對望，彷彿在互想質問：「有問題嗎？」店員從旁看着，以微笑回應。
Two cats looking at one another, as if in an interrogation: “Any issues?” Meanwhile, the shopkeeper only glances from a side and smiles.
Rain 是一位於三藩市土生土長的插畫家。她在香港和中國大陸探訪親友的時候，獲得了不少創作靈感，當中包括愜意的日常生活點滴。有趣的是，雖然 Rain 的作品明顯呈現生活日常中的瑣碎事，但是它們一方面代表隨意忽略的車水馬龍；另一方面卻以愛心，重新塑造了細緻的真情實景。的確，在繁華的大都市內，細節很容易便會被人遺忘。這個時候，Rain 提醒了我們，到處皆有欣賞小事的空間。
Rain is an illustrator born and raised in San Francisco. Her visits to family in Hong Kong and China have become a source of inspiration for the artist’s creations, which often involve themes such as cosiness and everyday life. Here is when things get more interesting: whereas Rain’s works do depict everyday life, they juxtapose the casual dismissal of a bustling cityscape with a meticulously observed reality that is recreated with loving appreciation. It is daily life but not quite, because details tend to go unnoticed in a metropolis. Rain, however, reminds us that there is always space for appreciating the small things in life.
Taxipunk
香港的朋友或會對此情此景感到格外親切。藝術家受到香港的士司機視線滿佈電話的啟發，結合對數碼龐克（cyberpunk）的想像，重塑一種香港式浪漫。
Friends from Hong Kong may feel particularly close to this scene depicted here. Inspired by how the city’s taxi drivers set up phones everywhere, and a cyberpunk imagination, the artist evokes a romance of Hong Kong.
Traditions: Mirror
以鏡子反映日常的家庭聚餐，間接道出了畫面外的故事，引發無限想像；貓貓當然也是座上之客。
Reflecting an everyday family meal, the mirror tells the story beyond its surface subtly, with infinite possibilities for imagination. The cat, of course, is part of it all.
貓貓則在 Rain 心思細密的插圖中佔據了重要的位置。牠們常常被刻畫成街邊檔販安靜的「貓店長」，彷彿生意與之無關（那又可是真的）。牠們還在一幅特別以招財貓為題的畫中贏得相當注目，利用「貓海攻勢」佈滿整個畫面。從此可見，Rain 的畫作既舒適又複雜，只因它們為一個本來平平無奇的世界注入了一種外星（喵星？）般的力量。試想像一下，要不是把所有看似別無意義的板塊砌起來，哪又何來一副神奇的拼圖呢？
Cats, in particular, occupy a significant space in the dense illustrations of Rain. They are most frequently depicted as the quiet co-shopkeepers of street side vendors, as if the business is none of their own (which is true). Still, they deserve their fair share of attention in a maneki-neko special, where different kinds of the popular Japanese “lucky cats” fill the frame. Rain’s illustrations feel comfortably complicated, as they breathe an otherworldly quality into an otherwise mundane world. How can a wonderful jigsaw puzzle be completed without putting together all the seemingly meaningless pieces?
All Cats Are Good Luck
招財貓們，集合！因為所有貓貓皆帶來好運，所以永遠不會不夠運。
Maneki-neko, assemble! Because all cats are good luck, we are always lucky to be surrounded by cats.
說到拼圖，不得不提及 Rain 與藝術拼圖平台 SOONNESS 的合作。SOONNESS 看中了 Rain 作品內充滿故事的世界，而把她小小的畫作放大成共一千塊的智力拼圖。根據藝術家與 SOONNESS 的訪談，Rain 將其創作過程本身比喻為一輪拼圖遊戲，並希望玩拼圖的人能夠如她般享受逐步建立畫面世界的樂趣，甚至留意到一些平日被忽略的細節。原來，畫面外的故事正正在於我們作為觀眾或者拼圖的玩家，慢慢感受藝術家的每一點心思，再影響我們接觸這個世界的方法。無論是 Rain 的畫布抑或拼圖，她都展現出一種十分值得讚頌的生命色彩。
Speaking of puzzles, Rain’s collaboration with the art puzzle platform SOONNESS must not be missed. SOONNESS recognises the story-filled world in Rain’s artworks, and enlarges their small canvases to jigsaw puzzles with 1,000 pieces. According to an interview between the artist and SOONNESS, Rain compares her creative process to a game of puzzle, hoping that the player will be able to enjoy constructing an illustrated world (as she does), and even begin to notice everyday details that are dismissed. It turns out that the stories beyond surfaces are really about us, as the audience or puzzle players, feeling the artist’s careful design slowly and changing how we perceive the world at large. Whether on her canvases or puzzles, Rain displays a vibrant colour of life that is highly commendable.
Cantaloop
Rain 的其中一款拼圖作品。在密集的音樂唱片舖內，來尋寶的人總會找到各自的心頭好。
One of Rain’s puzzle artworks. In a dense music record store, the treasure hunter is sure to find their next favourite.
Rain 的創作故事有改變到你對日常社區以至世界的看法嗎？或許下一次走在街頭的時候，不妨停一停，留意身旁有趣的小事物 —— 說不定還會聽到「喵店長」的歡迎叫聲呢！
Has Rain’s creative story inspired you to look at the community or even the world differently? Next time, while you are walking on the streets, perhaps stop for a while and notice something small and interesting — who knows, maybe there will be a welcoming miaow nearby!
In Your Image
這個以人類骨頭為原型的機械人，坐在未來的古董店，凝視着自己的原型。儘管時代變遷，可是「貓店長」仍舊不離不棄地睡覺！
This robot based on human skeleton is sitting at an antique shop of the future, staring at its own counterpart. Times change, but the cat never gives up on sleeping!
圖片提供：Rain Szeto 與 SOONNESS｜Courtesy of Rain Szeto and SOONNESS