Rooo Lou portrait

Rooo Lou

The power of the empty stare

“My inspiration comes from memories and photographs. I paint people who are significant in both places, in a sense, to depict my reality”

Rooo Lou paints evocative portraits with minimal detail. His figures have no facial features, only dots for eyes to create surprisingly poignant stares. Lou always begins by drawing digitally – a natural impulse given his graphic design roots. After creating thick black outlines, he fills in shapes with colour. The background comes first, and the palette is then decided around that. For texture, h...

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Bio

Rooo Lou was born in Osaka, Japan in 1988. He lives and works in Tokyo.

Career

Rooo Lou began his career by taking commissions on Instagram. He realised there was a demand for caricatures, and started drawing people on request.

Collaborations

In 2021, Rooo Lou designed the 25th anniversary merchandise for Japanese rock band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation.

Collaborations with Rooo Lou

Avant Arte and Rooo Lou have one upcoming collaboration.