Throughout 2007/2008, I was living in South Korea. I knew this was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I picked up some paint, found a space, and put on a little show. This was my second time exhibiting internationally, and my first time showing in Asia
Seoul, 21″ X 31″ Watercolours on paper, 2008
This was my first time using watercolours in about nine years. I was using the kind of composition that would normally use for acrylic while using a different medium. While I am happy with the end result, the process itself was not great; it felt like I was fighting the paint the whole time, trying to force my materials to do what I wanted them to do.
I made a YouTube video documenting my experience creating this painting, which can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wr4-a-X0NBo
Busan, 21″ X 31″ Watercolours on paper, 2008
This is the second watercolour painting I made while living in Korea, and I had a much better time with this one. Rather than forcing the watercolours to work the way I like my acrylics to work, I loosened up, and let the paint do what it wanted to do. It was looser, faster, and far more fun.
I also made a little YouTube video showing the creation of this piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5fWyQHEIgA
Chonan #1, 21″ X 31″ Watercolours on paper, 2008
When I first set foot in Chonan, I knew I had found a special place. It might have been the giant hot pink dinosaur just steps away from the subway, or it might have been the food and wider streets, but this city just had great vibes, and I fell in love with it. I am very happy with how this painting turned out. This image was on the home page of this website for a number of years, and it was printed on the back of my last batch of business cards. And, like with the last two, I made video showing the process behind the making of this piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzt-AhOWTMA
Chonan #2, 21″ X 31″ Watercolours on paper, 2008
I wanted to make a painting of each major Korean city, but I liked Chonan so much, I painted it again. This time, I focused on interior shots rather than exteriors. This was a bit of a new direction for me to take for source material.
Here is a link to the video showing the creation of this piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi-LPYYMJzQ
Tom takes a closer look.
Tom and Sylvia looking at my work
Installation shot
Korean refreshments.