On The Spot: Joohyung Seo

Delicate, cloudy and ethereal, they are like desires or extensive-missing childhood reminiscences. Joohyung Seo’s illustrations merge visible storytelling with impressionist spontaneity to carry out some of the most atmospheric art you are going to appear throughout. 

Looking at her mesmerizing performs, it is difficult to envision that Joohyung has formally commenced her inventive job only last calendar year. In this week’s On The Location, the Korean illustrator tells us more about her route so considerably – and how it all started off with robots and pyramids.

Wherever do you are living and what does your studio glance like?

I are living in a really busy port city in South Korea, but the good thing is my neighborhood occurs to be in the quieter part. My studio is also my house, so the boundary in between workspace and other “living spaces” is very blurry. It’s a modest, humble house with a messy desk, a great deal of textbooks (half of them comic publications), and little souvenirs I gathered from all the locations I have visited all-around the planet. 

It’s a perfect very little place exactly where I can aim really quickly, nevertheless it would be even greater if I could also get a cat as a studio assistant!

How did you turn out to be an artist?

I officially began out as a freelance illustrator previous year, immediately after graduating from higher education. As a child, I had a couple of distinct dream positions in intellect – one particular of them was a scientist (I preferred to build robots), and a further one was an archeologist, as I have been fascinated with historical Egypt archeology due to the fact I was youthful.

On the other hand, as the many years passed, I recognized that what I genuinely appreciated executing was drawing the robots, and that I was specially incredibly fascinated in the art of historical Egypt. And so I observed myself investing a ton of time drawing and portray, and assumed it would be awesome to be equipped to do this for the relaxation of my daily life. But though I was savoring generating art, I wasn’t positive if I would be in a position to make this perform as a career. It took me a even though to make your mind up due to fiscal considerations.

Now, as you can see, the determination has been created. I just went for it and started doing work as a freelance illustrator. I started off out with non-public commissions, album handles, brand layouts, and now I’m also functioning a print store.

Do you paint every day? What does your regular working day glimpse like?

I consider to paint most times of the week, until I’m having wrist agony. Immediately after obtaining what I would argue is a healthier and reasonable quantity of caffeine in the early morning, I adhere to the programs I set up the earlier working day. I normally start off the day by carrying out fast scientific studies or sketches, and the analyze topics transform based on what I consider I need to have to boost on, whether or not that be anatomy, colours, and many others. Then I start out performing on any ongoing tasks and consider treatment of my print store orders, which incorporates jogging to the write-up business on shipping and delivery days. 

When I have much more no cost time, I like to start the day by likely on lengthy walks extremely early in the morning, ordinarily for about an hour or an hour and a fifty percent. For most of the day, I draw and paint until finally the time will come to get all set for mattress and program out what to do the subsequent working day. And the cycle continues!

You have a special type. How did you build it?

My design and style is hugely motivated by the artwork of Georges Seurat. His drawings have a lovely atmospheric good quality to them and I did a whole lot of experiments of his get the job done as nicely as will work motivated by his design and style. 

I was also closely motivated by the metropolis the place my higher education was located. There have been times during winter season when it would get very foggy at night time, building my environment glimpse like fuzzy charcoal drawings. I took a good deal of photos for reference and use them till this working day. 

And right after I graduated from faculty, I bought a opportunity to vacation to New York City and spent a large amount of time in museums. Day to day I would review oil paintings and pastel drawings really closely and especially referenced a large amount of impressionist paintings. I observed there had been a lot of delicate colour nuances even in some thing that seemed like a really rough and basic stroke, and realized there ended up not often any flat pure colours in the paintings. There were being at the very least a person or two other colours blended in into that just one stroke, making the whole portray have a form of wonderful feathery and energetic search. Whenever I start out portray I generally test to recall this and incorporate it in my possess perform. I was also impressed by the seem of paints peeling off from old mural paintings as nicely as rust – I check out to bring that previous, worn out, and mysterious excellent to my do the job. 

Who are the people you paint?

The two people I frequently paint, who shall remain unnamed for now, are greatest friends who have been separated owing to conditions beyond their regulate. I designed the yellow character to be the embodiment of childhood and the other character who is often painted with a darker color (ordinarily purple) represents the transition into adulthood. 

What are your largest inspirations?

Occasionally it’s textbooks and motion pictures I liked, other situations it’s the need to have to illustrate emotions I am obtaining a really hard time expressing via particular phrases. A lot of the time it’s what I notice all-around me, like the shades of the sky and light-weight, as well as the ambiance. 

My most significant artistic inspiration is, yet again, Seurat and his drawings. Some individuals may possibly have recognized I draw a large amount of figures in profile perspective and that will come from me observing Michelle Ocelot’s Prince et Princesses religiously as a boy or girl. I really like the graphic excellent of his flicks and my reminiscences of seeing Prince et Princesses likely creep in subconsciously into my get the job done.

If you could choose one particular location on Earth to reside and paint, the place would it be?

I simply cannot imagine of any specific towns or even international locations, but I would surely like to reside in a area with a cooler weather. I adore heading on extensive walks as it can help me very clear my intellect and distract myself from panic, but executing that all through warm and humid Korean summers has been tricky for me. As someone who is not extremely excellent with heat, a area with shorter summers would be great. The heat in this article can often be unbearable and I would really like to paint outdoor a lot more.

Do you have any other hobbies in addition to artwork? 

I enjoy cooking and baking. I come across it incredibly therapeutic and meditative, in particular when I’m planning the substances (for instance, reducing greens into nice even slices) and observing their hues transform as they prepare dinner. It helps me take it easy when I’m struggling with my initiatives, additionally I conclude up with some excellent meals to munch on! Besides that, I also appreciate looking at and viewing movies when I have cost-free time. 

What are your inventive plans for the potential?

In conditions of tasks, one thing I often wanted to do is generating additional narrative-based illustrations like reserve illustrations and comics. I’m presently incredibly intrigued in performing book addresses or variant handles for comics. Otherwise I just want to keep building a lot more art, even more acquire my model, and experiment with much more serious, darker tones.

Instagram: @jseojd_art

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