Winny Liu was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1998. She grew up under her grandmother’s care, due to both of her parents working long hours. She was not allowed to play outside and did not have cable or games to pass time. This meant she had to find an indoor activity that would occupy her attention. She eventually took a liking to doodling on old newspapers, magazines and napkins with blue and black ballpoint pens. She used art as an activity to pass time and on school assignments that required drawings or paintings. She was entirely self-taught, up until her first formal art class at the University of Washington. Up till that point, she had never worked with charcoal or oil paints.
