Day By Day

Julia Kuo's visions of Cleveland capture glimpses of old neighborhoods and everyday places in a swirl of strong lines and rich colors. The 26-year-old freelance illustrator's art blog, 100 Days in Cleveland, pays tribute to the city by sharing the digital images she builds out of sketches of each place.

Kuo, who grew up in Los Angeles before moving to Cleveland four years ago, says her blog was originally just something she did for herself. "I've always wanted a visual record of why I like Cleveland, and this will be a good package once it's completed," Kuo says of the collection she'll have at the end of her 100 days of sketching. Each original drawing is scanned and digitally colored using a Wacom computer tablet and Photoshop software. Kuo also sells her prints on Etsy for $10 each.

Kuo chooses each spot because she feels it's worth sharing. "I don't ever worry about it being visually interesting enough," she says. "It should have a little bit of history when it comes to Cleveland, and it has to have personal meaning too."

We asked Kuo to tell us the stories behind four of her favorite works from the 100 Days in Cleveland project.

HEIGHTS ARTS

Hundreds of aluminum cans and clusters of blue plastic bags make up a beautiful scene of blooming trees and flowers on Cedar Road in University Heights. "I didn't know much about this before I drew it, but I've seen it many times and thought this is what public art should be like," Kuo says. "And this is one of those places where I could not sit and draw, so I had to drive with one hand and take a picture with the other hand."

THE CULTURAL GARDENS

"[They] are a metaphor for why I like Cleveland," Kuo says of the gardens along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard that represent the city's various ethnic groups. "The gardens were probably once well known by the public but have become a bit worn and tired over the years. When you actually take a good look at them, you can see that they still retain their charm, and you can't help wanting to spend a little more time there."

THE BELGIAN VILLAGE

"I've always driven by and wondered what these were because it doesn't fit in on the side of this major road," Kuo says of the small cluster of houses that date back to the 1930s located along Fairhill Road between Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Coventry Road. "It's just really random because the houses are so beautiful, but they're just sitting here next to a bus stop, and they don't look like any of the architecture around the area."

WEST SIDE MARKET

"I'm on the balcony here, where I used to get breakfast in the morning, and it'd be very quiet," Kuo says of her best-selling print that looks down into the market from above during the early hours of the morning. "You could see the vendors coming in one by one and opening up their shop. It's just so different from the normal, hectic, everyday bustle of the West Side Market."