What do you aim to say by the themes in your art?

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When I am making a drawing, my intention is to explore a question that I have about life,
identity, or culture. I want to show how different emotions and experiences can coexist (such as happiness and sadness), through the contrast in style and color. I also try to focus on concepts such as confusion, interpersonal loneliness, and internal conflict, because processing these emotions has led to growth in my own life.

Where does your inspiration come from?

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I am inspired by everything in life: my experiences, history, music, tangible things that I can see, intangible concepts, science, nature, history (mine and others’), etc. I try to use my artistic voice as a way to express the intersections between these various aspects of life (such as the intersection between culture and one’s present). Recently, I have started turning to my feelings and connection to my Chinese culture as a source of inspiration.

Do you have any experiences that have impacted your art?

 

Much of my art is inspired by the times in my life where I felt disconnected to my culture, and my efforts to gain that connection back. Additionally, one of my main motivations for making art is to help me process my relationship with isolation and introversion. I try to highlight those emotions through the figure and composition of my pieces. My questions and own internal conflicts inspire the contrast and the dramatic style that I utilize in my digital artworks and watercolor
backgrounds.

Do you feel your art challenges existing barriers?

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I create art as a way to challenge simple or generalized perceptions of how life works (i.e.,
mental barriers); one way that this is done is by drawing connections between seemingly
contrasting ideas, for example.

 What are your long-term artistic goals?

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I hope to further not only my technical skills, but also the ways in which I am able to represent abstract ideas through texture. My goal is to allow people to connect to the artwork through their own unique interpretations of the underlying meaning. I also hope to become more in tune with the way that my digital art pieces can utilize patterns and color.

 What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

 

I still consider myself an aspiring artist, not just because I am young, but also because I am constantly learning new techniques and improving my skills each day. Thus, my advice to others is to be open to exploring new art mediums, ideas, and styles, because that is how growth is facilitated.