Do you create for yourself or for your audience?

I really like this question, which is something I ask myself from time to time. For most of the time I do art just to satisfy myself. I express my feelings and emotions through art, through the undefined space in the images. When I draw, I only think about myself, and so one can say I create art for myself. However, one has to admit too that it is very easy to stray away especially in an art community like DeviantArt. Artists easily fall into the trap of doing art for the sake of more numbers. I had once tried that, and I learnt a lesson from that. To me, it is actually alright to do art for your audience, as long as you treat that as a way to develop your skills in a particular area of art. However, if you then strike for originality in your art, you have to put your heart into making art, ignoring the audience you are going to have. Original art cannot be created from the audience, because the audience is the confinement. It limits your ability to create new things. Still, I do art for myself only, and posting things on DeviantArt is just to share my feelings, but not to entertain anyone as the objective.

If there is something deep and lasting that you can give to the digital art community what would it be? (it doesn't have to be a piece of work in particular, it can be something metaphysical)

I believe that many artists may think in the way I do, hoping that one’s works can influence the way a particular field of art usually goes. What I am saying is that the happiest thing for an artist is to see your works affecting other people and changing their minds. For most of the time, one of the aims of my works is to inspire others and change their points of view on a particular subject. That is the highest level of art to me. Hopefully people, who got bombarded by your new ideas and concepts, can turn such inspiration into something else, which will be even more exciting and interesting. I will be very happy to see such a great and also helpful impact from my artworks to the others.

Do you have any projects and artworks in the near future that we should look forward to?

I am working on Spring Edition, which is a gallery by many different artists. This project expresses how the artists interpret spring this season through many different ways like photos and paintings. It should have released when this article is out. At the same time I am now one of the admins of depthCORE, and definitely I will spend more time in this wonderful abstract art group. I haven’t had any ideas for new projects in the coming months, for I won’t be having much free time after my graduation. Still, I will continue to do art when time allows. Right now I am trying some new ways of abstract art, which will involve more modeling and also lighting skills. You can expect some more diversity is my coming pieces, though you need to have enough patience, heh.

Where do you see yourself seven years from now? Where do you see the digital art/skinning community as well?

Wow, seven years, that’s a long time really. I have no idea about the future, but I will imagine myself being a registered architect after the harsh and demanding university post-graduate programmes. Doing art will definitely be the thing which occupies most of my free time. Hopefully I find my new love, LOL. Um, talking about digital art field, I really don’t know. You see in the past one or two years so many things have changed. Everything happens in the speed of light, and there is no way to predict what will happen in the world of networks. But I am looking forward to seeing how digital art goes beyond the Internet. In other words, digital art should be treated like other concrete kinds of art in the museums, like sculptures and oil paintings, so that more people can be aware of it and enjoy it.

What do you think is the best way to learn digital art? Can you give some advice to the viewers/surfers/artists reading this article?

The best way is to look at others’ works. Yes, when I say ‘look at’ I really mean looking at works deeply. The way of looking is to understand the ideas behind the colors, lines and shapes. It is not just merely looking at a picture and comment immediately “very nice”, which is the common thing in DeviantArt. If you appreciate a piece of art, you look into it, extract the ideas, feel the depth inside and finally interpret the picture using your own knowledge in your mind. You digest the image and the meanings behind. That is the way I learnt abstract art. I have a folder in my computer storing a lot of masterpieces from digital artists, and I often look at them pieces by pieces. The aim is to, first, feel the piece, and then second, understand how and why the artist can create such feelings. Gradually you know how to create the right kind of desired atmosphere, and only till then can you create something called art. Of course, you must find good works to look at.

I don’t think I am qualified to give any advice, heh, but I do have something to say if you ask me, which is about the increasing numbers of different art communities like DeviantArt. I think in some way many artists have lost their real meanings in their art simply because popularity and numbers have taken the first place in their heart. Some artists, pathetically, do art for the sake of gaining views and numbers. There is nothing wrong to seek more attention as a way to obtain more comments for further improvement in one’s skills, but that is not about the contents and objectives of art. Art is to express oneself on something, and if art loses meanings, it is just a showcase of skills. I hope artists can always remember what they are doing and expressing, and continue to ask themselves why when they are creating their masterpieces. That will improve your thinking. Great artists have great thoughts, but not just great skills. Be open-minded, because your imagination is your real confinement in art.

And your last words...

Art only becomes one of the most important things in the past several years, right at the time I learnt how to make a website. In those days, what I learnt isn’t just something about how to use Flash or Photoshop, or other 3D programmes and CAD things. Art opens my mind, acting like a special channel for me to express my feelings. When I was angry, I drew; when I was happy and excited, I drew. Soon after you have completed a piece, you feel new dimensions and concepts inside. It gives new ideas and even surprises you. That is the most precious lesson I have ever had. I never thought that art could give me such a great impact to my thinking and attitudes. Now, I must thank God for giving me such insights, which can also be used in my studies (architecture) and other design work. I hope you can feel and learn the same. Last but not least I must thank Pixelcatalyst for giving me a chance to share my thoughts, thanks!

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