Illustration has always been considered the poor cousin of fine art, but ML Chiratorn Chirapravati can attest to its unwavering appeal, its staying power - and its rather astonishing rewards as a career.

His celebrated minimalist drawings - deliberately shunning sophisticated technique in favour of an easy-going optimism - appear in magazines like Ploy Gam Phet, Praew and Seventeen and on book covers, cards and T-shirts. His style is immediately recognisable: clean lines, cheerful design, people with round faces in pastel shades.

There was little surprise that all 17 framed groupings of Chiratorn's illustrations sold out almost instantly last week at Timothy Yager Fine Art. What was surprising was that each piece commanded from Bt120,000 to Bt200,000.

The 17 framed offerings together combined 324 illustrations in groups of 12 to 20. They remain on view all this month in "Love, Companions and Dreams", at the Bangkok gallery that has previously caused sensations with sales of original prints by Picasso, Warhol and Renoir.

On display are the watercolour illustrations and collages created by Chiratorn over the past dozen years. He does 15 illustrations a month for the three magazines, yet this is only his second solo show in all that time, the first hosted by the Oriental Hotel in 1994.

"It was time to give myself a gift," he says, adding that all the works from the Yager show will be amassed in a limited-edition book "for my ardent companions".

Chiratorn - known as Khru Toh because he also runs a small art school at Promenade Decor, where Yager is, and teaches at Chulalongkorn University - has grouped his illustrations in frames according to composition and medium.

"They were all created to illustrate short stories, poems and novels, but it's not necessary to depict everything that's in the story," says Chiratorn, 47.

"Good illustration should have a distinctive style to attract the reader's attention, so that they're eager to read the story."

The paintings seem easily rendered, but the lines are precious and neat. Chiratorn prefers to omit details and rely on outlines.

"My work isn't like cartoons - there's a dream-like effect," he says. "I just pick up the simplest forms. My flowers have four oval-shaped petals and people's faces are just round forms. I love the circle because it's born from the shape of the sun and the moon - my sources of energy.

"Many people say when they enter the gallery that it's like being in 'Alice in Wonderland'," he chuckles. "The work reflects my character: I'm an optimist who lives in the B-plus pink world. I believe in the cycle of life, so I try to do positive things, and maybe in my next life I'll get positive things in return.

"To brighten up this life we have to love and know ourselves. That way we can follow our desired path and shine brightly and be happy."

Chiratorn says he never makes preliminary sketches for his illustrations, instead relying on improvisation, including mixing colours that are a long way from the hues squeezed from a paint tube.

"I enjoy the rush of being impromptu," he says. "Even though a line can get out of shape, it's still charming. I'm not mired by academic rules. I always tell my students that illustrators needn't be faithful to their subject, otherwise their work is just photography."

Those students, by the way, have included acting coach Ornchuma Yutthawong, businesswoman Nuanphan Ostananda and actress Pawanrat Naksuriya.

Chiratorn is also a "food stylist" and a fashion designer, in the latter role producing clothes for a label bearing his name that are sold at his art school, and occasionally sneaking the Louis Vuitton monogram into an illustration.

"My grandmother loved to read Vogue magazine - I grew up with fashion magazines - so fashion is my great source of inspiration. I love to draw women because it's fun to make up their faces with trendy colours and hairstyles. My works in this exhibition reflect the fashion trends over the past 12 years."

As a child, Chiratorn traced the cartoon characters in the newspaper and "played photographer" with a big, fake camera, pretending to take his siblings' pictures, then handing them his drawings of them.

He graduated with an art degree from Chulalongkorn's faculty of education and immediately went into illustration. His devotees include the noted sister illustrators Pattreeda and Nualthong Prasarnthong and celebrity-turned-artist Supornthip Chuangrangsri, whose own works show Chiratorn's influence.

"Love, Companions and Dreams" continues until April 29 at Timothy Yarger Fine Art, on the ground floor of Promenade Decor on Wireless Road, next to the Nai Lert Park Hotel.

The gallery is open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 6pm. Call (02) 655 0882.

Khetsirin Pholdhampalit

 The Nation