DPW Spotlight Interview: Hong Yang

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Hong's painting "Peonies" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.




From Hong's DPW Page:

I started my art education at the Art Students League in New York in 2017. I always seek to advance my knowledge by taking numerous workshops across the country. The flower painter Michael Klein has been a significant influence on me. I have also taken workshops with Robert Liberace, Dan Thompson, Katie Whipple, Sean Cheetham, Zoey Frank and Tony Ryder.

My current obsession with flower paintings dates back to my childhood love for gardening. I currently live in Los Angeles with my husband and two tuxedo cats. You can find me on Instagram @hyangpainter. Member of California Art Club.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting and how you taught yourself to paint. 

In 2016, I signed up for a Robert Liberace painting workshop when I had next to no knowledge of oil painting. I was hooked immediately. My picture was horrible then, but I was fascinated by Liberace's teaching, the Latin names of bones and muscles, and the old masters he introduced us to.

In 2017, I went to graduate school (not an art school), and I spent every summer and winter break at the Art Students League in New York. I had read about this place in numerous art history books, so you can imagine how excited I was. I enjoyed the freedom bouncing from studio to studio, and the congenial spirit among students. The most important thing I learned is that you are responsible for choosing your own art education. No one can take the burden off you.

Since then, I have taken many workshops to advance my art education. In other words, I design my own curriculum. Some workshops focus on specific techniques and processes, which are always intriguing. Some don't teach techniques per se but expose me to more possibilities and higher aims of art. The latter include Zoey Frank and Martin Campos.

Peonies
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Hong's interview.

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist? 

I still consider myself a student of classical traditions.

Now I want to learn to use color, rather than chiaroscuro, to describe form, space, and atmosphere. I am also exploring different ways to organize pictorial space. The ideas growing on me don't immediately find their way into my paintings. It takes time to simulate.

Garden Roses 1
(click to view)

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

I don't think I have started my painting career as I am still in the student mindset. I signed up for DPW hoping to sell some works to fund my future workshop tuition. I have to handle many administrative issues selling my works while juggling a full-time job. I am still learning the ropes.

What mediums have you experimented with? 

Oil, watercolor, charcoal, graphite, silverpoint, woodblock printing, and clay sculpture.

Sweat Peas and Roses
(click to view)

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away? 

I love them all, but oil painting suits my temperament better. I hope to return to watercolor someday. Richard Schmidt said watercolor is a master's medium and I totally agree.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring? 

I want to explore collage as a means to design, compose, and to abstract.

Garden Roses
(click to view)

What inspires you most?

Roses are my current obsession. After I moved to LA, I discovered a place that sells freshly cut fragrant garden roses. I feel such a deep connection with these roses, gazing at them all day. They talk back to me with perfumes and scents, sometimes loud and sometimes subdued.

What does procrastination look like for you?

When I have free time but can't get myself to paint, I often read art history books or books written by painters. I even take days to write book reviews on them, as an excuse not to paint. Sooner or later, I get sick of such futile philosophical musing, I can't wait to go back to the physical act of painting.

Last Peaches of the Summer
(click to view)

Thanks, Hong!

© 2019 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Yangzi Xu

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Yangzi's painting "Rainy Night" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.



From Yangzi's DPW Page:

While juggling hats as a marketer, a mother, and a wife, she squeezed every single moment to practice her art. She started with watercolor, but eventually migrated to acrylic and oil. Her subject drifted in many directions, but again and again, she came back to painting cityscapes. She discovered something magical about city streets. The reflection of car lights on a rainy day, the blurry silhouette of buildings in the snow, the endless play of light and weather on the streets, all dominated her art.

Yangzi is mostly self-taught, but was greatly benefited by studying under masters such as Bill Bartlet, Alvaro Castagnet, and recently with Xiangbin Shi.

Her works are collected by private collectors from many parts of the world. (click to read more)

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

While growing up, my favorite activity was drawing, but in the middle of my teenage years, other interests carried me away.  It was not until about seven years ago when I was dragged by a friend to accompany her to a watercolor class and the passion for art suddenly came back to me in full force. I have been painting almost every day since then.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career? 

Since my passion for painting was rekindled seven years ago, there were only some short spans that I paused, mostly due to family reasons such as giving birth to my daughter and moving. Other than that I've been pretty consistent with it.

Rainy Night
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Yangzi's interview.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I painted in watercolors for a few years. During this period I didn't try other mediums, mostly because we lived in a small apartment. Two years ago we moved to a larger house and I started painting in acrylics and very soon migrated to oil and settled there.

In my watercolor days, I explored a variety of subject matters, but since I moved to oil my focus has shifted to cityscapes, especially city streets in inclement weather -- rain, fog, snow, you name it.

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring? 

Perhaps charcoal and graphite -- I've dabbed in figure and head drawing in the past and I am interested in exploring that again.

Lost in the Rain
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most? 

My previous watercolor teacher Bill Bartelt and his paintings are huge inspirations for me and motivate me to capture the moods of Chicago and other urban milieu.  I have been living in Chicago most of my adult life, but it wasn’t until I saw Bill's paintings that I started to paint them.

Since I started painting in oil, I got a lot of inspiration from Jeremy Mann for his lush cityscapes.

What does procrastination look like for you? 

I need to clean the desk; I need to re-arrange the easel, I need to place an online order for a few crucial paintbrushes… okay, now I only have 10 minutes to paint…maybe I should just skip it today.

I am getting better at observing myself; if I suddenly become very active with trivial things, it is usually a sign of procrastination.

State Street at Dusk
(click to view)

What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art? 

Telling myself all I need to do is to simply show up - it's okay if I make a lousy painting or even destroy a work-in-progress one, as long as I show up and do something.

If you have a day job, you know you simply must show up no matter what. To me, this mindset is very helpful to allocate time for painting.

On some days if I don't feel like painting, as long as I get started, I usually get absorbed and make some progress. If I am really not in the mood, I still spend time in the studio to sketch out ideas or select reference pictures.

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings? 

I keep a queue of ideas and reference photos. I constantly look at my queue, tweak the order, and add things to it. This way, I almost always know what the next one, or next ten things that I want to paint.

I use iPhoto folders to save and organize reference photos, inspirations, painting ideas and so on, and I found it tremendously helpful. I use an iPad at home, and can access and edit the folders and materials on my phone whenever and wherever I need to.

Snowy Day
(click to view)

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging? 

I always allow myself to experiment and fail. I constantly try to extend myself, but just a little bit every time.

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist? 

Being patient! Due to personal reasons I stopped selling art for a while and restarted recently, and things are pretty slow for now. I hope with time more opportunities will emerge.

Rainy Day in Chicago
(click to view)

What makes you happiest about your art?

Inspiring people, connecting with people and bringing people together.

Seeing the world through a new lens and finding beauty in everyday life.

Thanks, Yangzi!

© 2019 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Larisa Nikonova

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Larisa's painting "Dahlia" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.



From Larisa's DPW Page:

I am a professional fashion designer. I had my own business for a few years and painting was always my dream. After moving from Russia to Canada I started painting. I tried different techniques and styles in various mediums, but I chose to work with oil and flowers, painting from life. I constantly study and participate in exhibitions, competitions and awards.

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting. 

I always was painting from my early childhood.

I studied in art school, finished art college and Art Industrial Academy in Saint Petersburg in Russia for fashion design and my work was recognized by the most famous Russian designer Vicheslav Zaitsev and received many certificates.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

I just started my painting career after I moved to Canada. Before, in Russia, I was in the fashion business for a few years, I had my own designer atelier.

Dahlia
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Larisa's interview.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with? 

I worked with all mediums during my art life; each medium has its own language, expression and different strings and strategy. Acrylic allows one to make many texture variations. During my study for fashion design I worked with gouache a lot but this material didn’t become one of my favorites. Watercolor is so lovely and very delicate for work.

Bouquet with Lisianthus
(click to view)

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away? 

Every medium is good in itself, it just takes time to adapt to a material. I prefer oil. It is the most flexible material for expression; it doesn’t dry too fast and it’s possible to work with layers.

How would you like to develop your career next? 

I wish to go France and Italy for landscape painting. Painting and traveling are the most wonderful things for an artist.

Flowers from Childhood
(click to view)

Who or what inspires you most?

Nature, especially flowers, are the most inspiring things. Just one flower can be a start point for a big floral composition.

What does procrastination look like for you?

After a weekend break, my setup time takes a while; to find all necessary things for work and have another a cup of tea.

Wedding Memories
(click to view)

What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

It is just my sacred time with my myself and a good audiobook. Just ensuring my painting time is firmly in my schedule and whatever... I am painting!

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?

Fresh view of my subject, to feel passion and hunger for painting. If you don’t feel it, take a break.

Spring Flowers
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

Somebody’s work, anything beautiful is evocative for me.

What makes you happiest about your art?

The process of painting and appreciation by people makes me happy -- good words and especially when they want to have my painting.

Thanks, Larisa!

© 2019 Sophie Marine

DPW Spotlight Interview: Brian Miller

Each week we will spotlight a different DPW artist who will give away one of their best paintings. To enter to win Brian's painting "1125: Two Tears" go to Daily Paintworks and click on the link at the top of the page announcing their interview.



From Brian's DPW Page:

Making flipbooks with the corners of all my notebooks. Art school. Degrees in animation and filmmaking. Professional graphic design career. Children's book illustration. Font design. Web design and development. Then a switch to programming and problem-solving. Discovering mixed media art journaling and the freedom to play with paints, ink sprays, stencils, monoprinting, collage, and mark-making. Teaching art classes online and through in-person workshops. It has all been good and fun. But I'm not sure that I really and truly FELT like an artist until I began a daily painting practice in March 2016. Committing to making a small painting each day has really allowed me to develop my personal expressive style with new freedom. (click to read more)

Instagram: @brianmillerart
Website: www.brianmillerart.com
Location: Orlando, FL USA

Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.

I have been an artist all of my life. I went to art school in the 80s, and I have a degree in animation and filmmaking. But I didn’t really start painting seriously until a few years ago after my wife Debbie and I took an art workshop with Lisa Daria Kennedy. It was on abstract flowers -- but unknown to us it actually was a not-so-subtle sales pitch for daily painting. After the workshop we said let’s try creating a painting every day for a month -- then two months -- then three months… and now we have painted almost every day for the last 3 1/2 years. Over 1,250 paintings each.

Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?

Since my painting career didn’t really start until the last three or so years I haven’t really had any stops. Before this season, I would often want to paint and make art, but I never made the time for it. I was too busy with work and the other obligations of life.

1125: Two Tears
(click to view)

Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Brian's interview.

What mediums and genres have you experimented with?

I mostly paint in acrylics. When I travel, I do a little watercolor or gouache just because it is so portable.  Recently, I am dabbling in oils. I really want to paint in oils, but the lightbulb has not fully clicked yet. Right now, it doesn’t seem as comfortable as my acrylic work.

Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away?

Acrylic has really stuck -- it is my go-to medium.

1166: Cool Drink
(click to view)

Which ones are you looking forward to exploring?

I’m really excited about getting better with oil painting – I do want to master this medium.

Who or what inspires you most?

As far as inspiration, the pre-Impressionists, Impressionists, and post-Impressionists are like light and air to me.  A few years ago, Debbie and I were visiting the National Gallery in London.  We had been enjoying the Sainsbury wing and the works of the Old Masters (1200s – 1700s) and we crossed a walkway that took us into a room of work by Manet and Degas and Sargent – and I literally felt like I could breathe more deeply -- the light and life of the colors, the bold brushwork, the freedom to break the rules.  It was so beautiful that it made me want to cry.  These artists and others (Matisse, Van Gogh, and more contemporary artists like John Button, Kiata Mason, and Sarah Sedwick) also motivate my current fascination with painting the still life. I love being able to set up my own scene to paint from. It seems like there are endless possibilities there. I think I have become more of an observational painter lately. I like to look at something and then paint from that. I am not a literal painter, though. I will often take liberties with what I see. I feel I have the complete freedom to reinterpret the subject matter any way I want. As an artist, I am responsible for the painting, not the source material.

1251: Dots of Flowers
(click to view)

What does procrastination look like for you?

For me procrastination is finding some non-essential busy work. I like to “re-organize” my studio, create an improvement on our website, setup an inventory system, or refile all the digital copies of my work as ways to divert from the anxiety of the blank canvas. All these things are needed, but I will often do one of the easy things when I should just be creating the art.

What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?

My wife and I wake up every morning at 5 AM, hit the coffee to brew, put on some music or a podcast, and get to our easels. We like to get our painting done first because this is what we consider the most important part of the day. The creativity feeds our souls for the day. If we waited till after work, we would have a harder time getting started. Also, I cannot underestimate the blessing it is having a spouse who is on the same journey. We are able to encourage each other.

1242: Feeling a Bit Blue
(click to view)

How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?

I like to work in series. I usually gather a grouping of items to paint at the beginning of the week. I then try to paint variations on this during the week. If all else fails, I choose flowers. Not because I am a flower guy, but because they are full of variety and interesting shapes and colors. Also, let’s face it – they are beautiful to have around.

How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?

I try to take continuing education workshops at least twice each year.  These opportunities to immerse myself in a learning experience always invigorate my own art practice.  Also, we usually participate in several group art shows each year.  Sometimes these shows have themes that are established by the curator, other times, we get to set the themes.  Either way, working toward a show is a good exercise for me to explore new themes or techniques or push myself in some way artistically.

1182: Patterns and Shadows
(click to view)

What do you feel you are learning about right now as an artist?

Personally, for me the act of painting helps me to slow down. It is a quiet time in my day where I can observe and respond without a lot of external pressures. Until I started to paint seriously, I did not know this was missing from my life. Also, not directly about art-making, but related -- I love teaching art. We have been teaching a six-week course in daily painting at a local community art school for the last year and a half. We have had seasoned artist and beginners in our classes, and I really enjoy trying to find ways to encourage each artist with their art-making goals. Early next year Debbie and I are planning on offering a series of on-line classes.

What makes you happiest about your art?

The first thing that I need to mention is how excided I am about having a body of work. For a long part of my adult life I dreamed of having a large collection of art that I had created. But mostly it was a dream. Being able to look back and see the path of over 1,250 paintings makes me proud of what I have been able to accomplish.  On a technique specific level, I absolutely love painting the negative space around something – a tree, flower petals, or the area through a glass. I think this is so magical – how you can shape something by painting what is not there. It always makes me happy.

Thanks, Brian!

© 2019 Sophie Marine