Cups full of art - Marion Meyer Contemporary Art

354 north coast highway :: laguna beach :: california :: 949.497.5442
www.marionmeyergallery.com :: marion@marionmeyergallery.com
Boey explaining his art at an exhibition at Marion Meyer
Contemporary Art. He generates enough interest to sell
his ‘disposable’ cups for hundreds of dollars.
He started out studying advertising first and only stumbled into animation by chance:
Though he had always loved to draw and had been fascinated by Disney’s animated
cartoons since he was a tot, he had no idea there was a career path in that area.
“A year into my (advertising) course at university, a friend showed me what courses to take
to gear me towards animation. About two years into my studies, I got my first job at a video
game company, and I have been working with them for 10 years now,” Boey, 31, says.
While an accomplished animator in his day job, Boey’s nights for the past three years have
been occupied with developing as a “cup artist”. There definitely isn’t a career path in this
field, but he’s made it very much his own. His incredibly detailed art on Styrofoam cups
sells for anywhere between US$140 and US$900.
“I don’t tie myself down to any particular style; I do whimsical and realistic drawings,” he
says. “Therefore my cups tend to have designs that appeal to a broader range of people.
Collectors, students, you name it. The price depends on time spent and content.
“The cups can take anywhere from a few hours to months to do, because I draw directly
with a single fine-point Sharpie (a brand of marker pen). No sketching on the cup,
therefore, I have no room for error.