Tutor’s Feedback Action Points.

My Tutor was happy with my progress I have been doing so far at this level of my studies. His recomedations were the following:

• Keep working on the body of work. This is what I ensured- I get enough time to do so, because I need more items for the exhibition I am working on. I will allocate a separate post to this matter, demonstrating the latest work I did for Part 3 and my experiments with the prints of my original drawings.
• Work on getting critical feedback from any contacts I might have. I did so, it is placed below in this blog post.
• Ensure I document as much as possible to demonstrate the exhibition preparation and stop delaying with the venue choice. This was done in June, the venue is booked and I gathered the materail to post in my learning log.
• Look for books: “David Hockney” at the Foundation Louis Vuitton and “Spring Can Not Be Cancelled” by Martin Gayford, which is about David Hockney. I was lucky and I found at bookstore the LV book about David Hockney, so I can study it.
• To ensure that I clearly define my goals for the final submission, as I aim to sell my artwork. I did so and wrote about my personal, artistic, and professional goals in a separate blog post.

Project 1.

Exercise 1. Purposeful conversations.

This assignment requires us to “invite your peers to contribute their own questions, insights and responses, what question would you most welcome, and what question might prove especially challenging? This is an opportunity to explore several options and avenues before getting down to your research.

Document or record your discussions to enable you to capture the process, the dialogue, points of discussion and pertinent questions. 

Reflect on the key elements that arise from the discussion and how this might feed and inform the type of ‘exhibition’, different kinds of ‘spaces’ and your ‘curation’ of the ‘event’. Who might your ‘audience(s)’ be and what type of dialogue might be enabled, and facilitated through the work, space and the curation?”

For this assignment, I have invited my friend, who majored in Creative Writing and Film Studies at Columbia University and NYU, and is currently an adjunct professor at NYU, teaching an introductory creative writing class for undergraduates. Below I post her questions she fathered in slides about my work.

For readers convenience I copy the questions here below:

General questions about your work ♥

—It seems like you’re often working with a multiple panel layout. What about that format attracts you? Are there any particular freedoms and challenges with that kind of composition?
—How much of the work comes strictly from your imagination versus how much do you treat as still life and have a particular object or landscape in front of you as you paint? There are such close-up, attentive details to the plant life you paint, and yet something about your work feels more otherworldly and poetic than within the tradition of stern realism.
— What is your dream effect to have on your audiences? What would you love for people to feel, reflect on, and experience when they see and engage with your paintings?

—Can you tell me about the detail on the far left, on the upper edge of the paining, where there are unexpected colder colours of pink or lilac and light green? Your play with light there makes the painting seem like it’s glowing. What was your process like regarding this detail? Did that element emerge closer to the beginning of the project or at the end

–What energy and emotional notes does that dark blue colour carry for you? To me, it seems both peaceful and moody, somehow mystically mysterious. Did you find yourself in a particular state of mind while painting this? Did any choices you made surprise you?

I answer the questions on the first slide below:

I started working on the multiple detached panels because I wanted to expand my composition and not be limited to a single rigid choice. I also imagine that this solution is beneficial for my viewers and clients, who can play with the pieces, arranging them as they like, and changing the arrangement whenever they want, getting more visual pleasure from my artwork and being included in the creative process.

I don’t paint from my imagination. My paintings are the result of my admiration for the beauty of plants, which is why I work on details. I look at them and just feel an urge to paint because this is the way how I feel connected with a Divine. I don’t need my imagination, since I am completely satisfied if not overwhelmed with Creator’s aesthetic sense and power. I just let myself be loose, allowing the process to be driven by how the colours and medium unfold themselves on the surface under my hands and heartbeat.

My “dream effect” I wish I had on my audience is that they want to keep my piece on their walls in their living or professional space because it makes them feel better.

I use shimmering mediums in gold and various hues of gold because this adds some revitalising notes to the overall composition, as well as complexity, which is necessary for the subject of the painting. Another reason is that my visual language is strongly influenced by traditional Japanese visual artists, such as the Kano school (Kano Motonobu (1476-1559), Kano Eitoku (1543-1590), and Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).

In my creative process, I am very much driven by the medium, which is ink, its properties and colour. When I apply the first layer of ink to the surface, it begins to take on a living quality. When I add another layer, the colour changes; it changes constantly. While it is drying, I come back in a few hours or the next day, and it looks different again. Every layer I apply further, even if there are no drawings or details, the painting is already alive and self-sufficient. It is worth noting that the colour speaks differently to me depending on he size of the surface. In my perception, the layers of the medium are living their own lives, as if they have their own consciousness, and this consciousness determines the course of the creative process. Thus, I don’t need an exact idea in my imagination when I start the painting; I just have a general idea, a mood, a sensation, which manifests in details further under the medium’s energy. For example, the dark blue colour is a base for the painting, and the entire colour palette I used for the flower. I usually don’t work with brown and its shades, as well as bronze and dark grey hues; however, I did it this time, and the outcome was engaging.

This was a good exercise as a starting point to think more and reflect on what you say about your art.

Here are the questions from the second group of slides above:

—The white you use throughout this painting beautifully illuminates certain parts and makes them feel somehow dreamlike or even sanctified. I’m very curious about that choice and its effect. What is your relationships with light and dark? Do you approach that spectrum through a more naturalistic lens or do light and dark carry particular emotional, spiritual, philosophical, political, etc. tones and messages for you?

—I’m so curious about the movement in this piece. There is something that feels jarring and restless about this painting. Its title “Miami Night” reminds me of the writer Joan Didion— she wrote incredibly piercing and measured, moody essays that meditated on culture, politics, control and disillusion and has one book that focuses on Miami. Were you provoked to paint this by something you experienced or felt in Miami? Is there a particular emotion or internal state you associate with wind? Is that kind of weather a more disturbing or liberating natural force for you?

—Throughout your work, you seem to be particularly drawn to the relationship between blue and yellow in varying tones. What attracts you to these colours? Do they carry a certain symbolism for you? How would you describe the particular conversation between these two colours side by side?
—I’m really attracted to how you’ve depicted flowers here. There’s something so gorgeous and alive about the flowing motion of their patels, and even something quite uncanny— the innermost petals remind me of teeth and their crowded movement seems somehow pained to me. I also adore the asymmetrical effect you went with for the double panel. What does asymmetry mean to you? How would you describe the life force of these flowers? Are they in a stage of flowering or withering?

—This seems to be one of your larger paintings. What do you consider when deciding on size and scale? Where would you imagine this displayed? What kind of material and emotional environment do you dream for this painting to belong in?

I answer the questions on the second slide group below:

This work served as the basis for my current “Riviera garden” project, which ultimately took on a distinct appearance. It is completed on six A3 paper sheets and was part of my search for visual language components for the Garden theme. I didn’t plan any symbolism in light and dark so far, so whatever I used within the “dark and light” concept was free from any narrative during the creation process. However, when the work is finished, I can find how the light and dark times resonate with a philosophical concept of duality of life.

The “Miami Night” is indeed a very sensational work. I was observing a late-night scene from my hotel room’s balcony and was taking some photos. It was a dark and windy night: the palms, the water in the sea, the seashore, and the sky – everything was moving in one unified motion, yet each had its own pace and amplitude. That universal eternal move was so tangible, so I became a part of it.

The blue painting with seven white peonies holds significant symbolic meaning for me. They reflect the fact that me having seven daughters. Each flower is different, a reflection of the personality of each of my daughters. They all float in intense blue, a colour directly related to my faith, where dark blue is associated with Krishna. It is a noble, profound symbol of eternity – no beginning and no end. This painting is a good example of my spiritual aspirations. The yellow gold incorporated in the composition signifies a dialogue between complex things. Both colours – dark blue and shades of gold are strong as statements, but they cohabit one space, enriching it.

The painting above is one of my notable works, where I experimented with different media to build texture. I was inspired by the Irises (1701-1705) of Ogata Kōrin ( 1658-1716). I wanted to create my own interpretation of this beautiful flower, a symbol of nobility, courage and romantic love. I was also exploring the qualities of a blue colour. This is a very romantic painting about a strong romantic attraction. If you notice each element — the bulbs, the stems — everything is well-defined and strong, versatile and intense, due to texture and different tones. This is my interpretation of how romantic love can be. It is never dull, and it is tender and intense.

Exercise 2. Writing your artist statement.

I have included the Artist statement I created for the Level 3 Advanced Practice Course, which I posted on 12.12.2024 https://zhan-art.com/2024/12/12/level-three-advanced-practice-self-evaluation-artist-statement/

I will do the updated version of the artist statement by the end of this module in my last post after I will do all the research and exercises in this module.

“My artistic impulse originates from my sense of being myself in the world of the Creator. I draw and paint because I am overwhelmed with Life, exploring and celebrating my existence in the world around me. I focus on the beauty and sparkle of the Divine I carry as a soul, like everyone else. This profound sensorial experience makes me paint plants—flowers, trees, and greenery—because I see them as one of the most sensual manifestations of the Creator’s aesthetics. I am enchanted by their colours, shapes, structure, and versatility. Flowers are a pure, highly elevated positive Creator’s emotion, and I humbly try to pass a tiny fraction of it onto my canvas. I can describe this sense as deeply spiritual. My paintings are created with inks, aquarelle and pastels because I want to reduce my negative environmental impact, so I prefer to use natural, less toxic materials. I share the view that many people hold, that visual art is one of the best forms of food for thought and can influence a viewer’s mindset tangibly and compellingly. My artworks are among those that aim to elevate viewers’ sentiments, spirits, and emotions, helping to detach ourselves from matters that block the genuine feeling of a joyful existence every Soul is privileged and blessed to experience by the Creator.