On The Spot: Joohyung Seo

Smooth, cloudy and ethereal, they are like desires or extended-lost childhood recollections. Joohyung Seo’s illustrations merge visual storytelling with impressionist spontaneity to carry out some of the most atmospheric art you’ll appear across. 

Looking at her mesmerizing will work, it is challenging to think about that Joohyung has officially started her artistic career only previous yr. In this week’s On The Spot, the Korean illustrator tells us much more about her path so far – and how it all started out with robots and pyramids.

The place do you live and what does your studio search like?

I stay in a quite busy port metropolis in South Korea, but the good thing is my neighborhood occurs to be in the quieter portion. My studio is also my property, so the boundary between workspace and other “living spaces” is incredibly blurry. It is a smaller, humble area with a messy desk, a good deal of books (half of them comic textbooks), and minor souvenirs I collected from all the spots I have visited around the earth. 

It’s a excellent little house wherever I can focus quite very easily, having said that it would be even much better if I could also get a cat as a studio assistant!

How did you develop into an artist?

I formally commenced out as a freelance illustrator last 12 months, right after graduating from school. As a child, I experienced a pair of different aspiration work opportunities in mind – one of them was a scientist (I wanted to create robots), and a further one particular was an archeologist, as I have been fascinated with historical Egypt archeology since I was youthful.

Nevertheless, as the many years passed, I recognized that what I seriously preferred undertaking was drawing the robots, and that I was precisely really intrigued in the art of historic Egypt. And so I observed myself spending a good deal of time drawing and portray, and believed it would be magnificent to be equipped to do this for the relaxation of my everyday living. But though I was enjoying producing art, I was not absolutely sure if I would be in a position to make this operate as a job. It took me a while to make your mind up owing to financial fears.

Now, as you can see, the decision has been made. I just went for it and started out performing as a freelance illustrator. I begun out with personal commissions, album covers, logo models, and now I’m also operating a print store.

Airplanes

Do you paint just about every day? What does your common day search like?

I try to paint most times of the 7 days, unless I’m obtaining wrist soreness. Immediately after obtaining what I would argue is a healthy and realistic volume of caffeine in the early morning, I follow the designs I set up the preceding working day. I generally commence the day by undertaking brief scientific studies or sketches, and the study subjects change dependent on what I assume I have to have to make improvements to on, no matter if that be anatomy, colours, and so forth. Then I get started functioning on any ongoing initiatives and take care of my print store orders, which includes functioning to the submit place of work on transport times. 

When I have more cost-free time, I like to start off the day by going on very long walks really early in the morning, typically for about an hour or an hour and a fifty percent. For most of the working day, I draw and paint right until the time comes to get ready for bed and plan out what to do the up coming working day. And the cycle proceeds!

You have a distinctive model. How did you acquire it?

My model is massively inspired by the art of Georges Seurat. His drawings have a lovely atmospheric top quality to them and I did a good deal of scientific tests of his operate as very well as functions motivated by his design and style. 

I was also closely inspired by the town where my faculty was positioned. There were times all through winter when it would get quite foggy at evening, creating my environment seem like fuzzy charcoal drawings. I took a lot of pictures for reference and use them until this day. 

And soon after I graduated from college or university, I received a probability to vacation to New York Town and spent a great deal of time in museums. Day-to-day I would study oil paintings and pastel drawings incredibly carefully and specifically referenced a large amount of impressionist paintings. I recognized there ended up several subtle coloration nuances even in one thing that seemed like a really tough and uncomplicated stroke, and recognized there were rarely any flat pure colors in the paintings. There were at the very least 1 or two other hues blended in into that one stroke, building the whole painting have a type of beautiful feathery and lively appear. Anytime I get started portray I always consider to bear in mind this and integrate it in my individual function. I was also influenced by the appear of paints peeling off from outdated mural paintings as very well as rust – I consider to carry that outdated, worn out, and mysterious excellent to my operate. 

Who are the people you paint?

The two people I generally paint, who shall remain unnamed for now, are very best mates who have been separated due to situations further than their command. I produced the yellow character to be the embodiment of childhood and the other character who is typically painted with a darker colour (typically purple) signifies the transition into adulthood. 

What are your most important inspirations?

In some cases it’s publications and flicks I enjoyed, other periods it is the want to illustrate emotions I am having a hard time expressing by means of certain phrases. A ton of the time it’s what I notice all around me, like the colours of the sky and light-weight, as nicely as the atmosphere. 

My most important creative inspiration is, all over again, Seurat and his drawings. Some folks could have recognized I draw a lot of figures in profile check out and that comes from me watching Michelle Ocelot’s Prince et Princesses religiously as a boy or girl. I love the graphic good quality of his videos and my reminiscences of seeing Prince et Princesses possibly creep in subconsciously into my work.

Knight in Crimson

If you could pick out a single location on Earth to are living and paint, where by would it be?

I just can’t feel of any specific cities or even nations, but I would unquestionably like to stay in a position with a cooler weather. I really like going on lengthy walks as it can help me distinct my thoughts and distract myself from stress, but carrying out that in the course of incredibly hot and humid Korean summers has been complicated for me. As an individual who is not pretty great with heat, a place with shorter summers would be terrific. The warmth here can sometimes be unbearable and I would enjoy to paint outdoors additional.

Do you have any other hobbies besides art? 

I like cooking and baking. I find it quite therapeutic and meditative, especially when I’m planning the substances (for example, chopping veggies into great even slices) and seeing their hues alter as they cook dinner. It helps me loosen up when I’m battling with my projects, furthermore I close up with some great foods to munch on! Aside from that, I also delight in reading and observing flicks each time I have no cost time. 

Rendez Vous

What are your inventive strategies for the long term?

In conditions of initiatives, anything I usually needed to do is making a lot more narrative-primarily based illustrations like reserve illustrations and comics. I’m at the moment incredibly fascinated in doing book covers or variant covers for comics. In any other case I just want to continue to keep generating additional art, even more produce my model, and experiment with far more critical, darker tones.

Instagram: @jseojd_art


Angelia S. Rico

Leave a Reply

Next Post

Time and Reflection: Behind Her Gaze

Mon Oct 10 , 2022
 History-mapping draws the broad and slender, the recognized and mysterious previous to the current. Through my residency at the Aminah Robinson household, I examined the impulses at the rear of my prose poem “Blood on a Blackberry” and found a kinship with the textile artist and writer who designed her […]
Time and Reflection: Behind Her Gaze

You May Like