YILLIN LIU
My work is based on showing the beauty of nature. My chosen mediums are pencil drawing, acrylic painting, pen drawing, collage, and Chinese brush painting. I chose these mediums because I believe I can produce beautiful and meaningful works of art using them. I want to use my art to present the beauty of this world, the beauty of mother nature. People are destroying this world with and I want to remind them of how beautiful this place is. I cannot believe this fascinating world is slowly being destroyed, so I would want to express my inner feelings through art.
My initial exploration was pencil sketching and pen drawing. Ms. Cragg showed me different techniques and strokes of Chinese brush painting. I also started to work on an Honest-Courage-Kindness 2-point perspective painting project for our school chaplain, Mr. Uko. This had me thinking of incorporating Chinese brush painting and acrylic painting in my project.
The first artist that inspired me was Dick van Duijn. He is a Dutch photographer that took mesmerizing pictures about nature. He focused on taking pictures of squirrels and animals. He captures indelible moments of nature connections and animals through his camera. His way of communicating is very unique, and it inspired me to do similar artwork.
The second artist who has deeply influenced my art is my art teacher, a master of oil painting and pencil drawings. Mr. Yao Wen Kui has given me much advice on how to lay out my artwork and taught me the techniques I need to produce artwork. Another artist whose work I admire is Martin Johnson Heade. He focuses on painting flowers, however, the flowers have different looks that make the viewer feel differently. I will incorporate some of that way of showing a message by adding emotion to the subject of the artwork. My fourth artist is Zhou Wei Ping. He was my mother’s art teacher in Shanghai, and he was incredibly good at Chinese brush painting. His paintings were amazing and his techniques were on point. I want to add some Chinese brush painting in my artworks so I could have a blend of Asian style art and European style art. My fifth and my last artist is the famous Claude Monet. I love the way he uses colors and how he expresses emotion through it. You barely see humans in his painting, and for me, it’s the power of nature who speaks. I would like to use a variety of colors in my paintings and artworks.
The biggest challenge I’ve had this year was also my biggest success. Trying to find the way I would express my artwork was difficult. I could’ve drawn pictures about the damages to the earth, however, I chose to use the beauty of nature to transfer my message. People have seen too many negative sides, but a little beauty and sweetness will help them better understand.