A blurb on what inspired me to create my artworks and aura painting



Sunday 16 October 2016

Another successful painting delivery to Korean musicians and friends!

Once again I spent my summer back in Korea where this time I stayed for a considerable lengthily period. Although it is an understatement to say that many things did not go as planned - ah, isn't life always full of unexpected turn of events that leave you speechless at times? - during my staying I did successfully managed to retrieve the missing parcel full of paintings and get hold of the content all in one piece. Fortunately what started as an horrible ordeal ended well and I had the satisfaction to see my latest aura paintings safe in the hands of their rightful owners. It was definitely one of the highlight of my staying: for an artist, there isn't anything better than seeing the happy face of those you created something for, receiving your work. Here folowing all of the photos with the owners (and subject of the paintings) holding their own aura portrait. For those of you who had the opportunity to meet Midian and Messgram in person, hope you can see the resemblance between the painted aura and the person!

~ I would like to take this opportunities to say thanks to those who helped me to get hold of the missing parcel. My appreciation for your effort and thanks are never-ending, sincerely ~

Messgram:



Midian:











New series: Duality (Emptiness)

This is the first painting of my new series called Duality, a private collections of work dedicated to the complex nature of interactions between two parties. In any human relationship of whatever type- friendship, family, or love - there is always one side that gives and one that receives more. This is somehow a never-ending dance that changes according to situations, time, characters, needs of each party.

I wanted to represent on canvas the complexity of this fragile balance, the utmost factor that determines when relationships flourish and when they break into oblivion. For this I visualised a three aimed to symbolize the symbiotic nature of relationships, the balance of given and receiving, the fullness and the emptiness in it  (and the fullness of the emptiness at the same time).

One side of the tree is gold and one side is silver, duality between day and night, god and goddess, flesh and bones, fullness and emptiness, love and lack of love: both are somehow beautiful and important on its own right, but need each other to understand and fully appreciate their true nature. However we see it, the tree would not survive without this fragile balance, as there will not be any emptiness without fullness and vice versa.

I am in the midst of planning an art exhibition where this series will be exhibited. Hope you like this piece (and the others to come in the series!

The Duality Series (Emptiness)

~ Fullness is emptiness ~
 ~ Emptiness is fullness ~

The Black Rose Ball 2016 (Vampires themed Gothic Ball in York)

It was a pleasure to return once again to the Black Rose Ball in York, surely one of the most amazing Gothic extravaganza masquerade events in the Goth Community (and non...) here in the UK. This year's event was themed Vampires, and for those who know me well, indeed really appropriate to my taste!

 ~ The Black Rose Ball organizing committee ~

 




All the profits from the ball goes to charity, so once again I wanted to contribute to the event's tombola by donating a small artwork (18"x 16"). I have to admit that I left the painting for this at the very last minute - actually it dried only a few hours before the ball! - the piece went down well with bidders, and with my delight it found the perfect owner, the couple Caroline and Cy Dudley, art collectors and organisers of art exhibitions here in Yorkshire. They said they will add my piece to their private art collection and I could not have asked for more!



~ The Tombola winners of my artwork ~

Additionally the Black Rose Ball will see me as a model for next year event's leaflet, website and promotion material - brand new experience which was very strange and intense for me, considering I am always enjoy working behind the scenes and never in the spotlight. I am currently authorised to release only a sneak preview of the set for next year's ball with a few snapshots I took during the shooting.


Wednesday 8 June 2016

New aura painting - Messgram (Jahnny)


From time to time in our life we are lucky enough to meet a person whose joy and general happiness is so contagious everyone can feel it without need for aura reading. The Korean band Messgram's talented and powerful singer Jahnny Shin is exactly one of those special people, those who are able to brighten up the spirit of whoever is in their proximity. In my last couple of times in Korea I had the opportunity to watch Jahnny performing on stage with his band and the luck to get to know him very well in person


Jahnny is the real mastermind behind Messgram's success, and whilst his showmanship is like no one when he is sharing the stage with the other Messgram's - ever so captivatingly beautiful - vocalist Gi Young (김지영), it is also true that in person Jahnny is more like the fire that keeps everyone warm in winter and the breeze that gives solace from the summer heat. His fierceness and dedication to fighting any battle (and I mean it) till the very end, is what gives his aura a special strength, fuelled by a mix of true leadership and happy companionship characteristics. 


The vision I have from Jahnny's aura is strangely not of a natural landscape but more on the line of a God-like extremely strong energy like that of Apollo's, the God of healing, truth and music,  the sun and light, the one that rides a four-horses chariot to move the sun across the sky for the benefit of others. 

For this reason, I tried to represent his aura on canvas by primarily working with shades of gold, red and black. The painting is extra glossy (unfortunately the effect does not come across in digital format) since it is aimed to mimic the effect of flames. I tried my best to convey a very dynamic feeling with a multitude of curves and spirals.

Jahnny - The fierceness of the Sun


 

Tuesday 24 May 2016

MIDIAN - More aura paintings - the complete series!

I have met a countless number of bands in my life, some proved to be really wonderful people, others perhaps not as inspiring as their music, thus unfortunately a bit of a disappointment. If for some bands music is just a business and they can simply change their line-up as easy as a company would go through different employees, for others the band is perceived more like a family and not simply a bunch of talented people playing music together. The Korean band Midian is definitely part of the latter type, with its members living and breathing the band's music to the fullest but also taking care of each others like only a family would do.


And as it can happen to the best families, when some members might have to go separate ways and new ones are welcomed into the nest, so Midian have recently been through a big line-up change: they acquired three new members who not only jumped into the Midian family bandwagon fully, but also complimented it to perfection.  Since I had previously created an Aura Series dedicated to all the members, upon being introduced to the new line-up it felt quite appropriate to complete my series with additional three new paintings. 

This time the first member I painted was the guitarist J (재학) whose aura is a burst of energy sprinkled in candy-floss kindness. 

The colours scheme used for this painting is based on the perception I had upon encountering J, similar to the image of flowering prunes in a beautiful sunny morning spring, moved by a light breeze and blessed by the relaxing calm natural sound of a stream and the chirping of birds. This is the best way I would describe J's aura and the vibes that it gives to whoever is in his proximity.


J (재학) -  The Plum Tree in full bloom

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The other newly acquired guitarist in the band is Namwoo (남우), whose personality and aura are one of the strongest and solid I ever encountered. Whoever gets to met meet this talented musician is easily captured by his solar disposition, friendliness and cheerfulness, which are also perceived as a strong and magnetic charisma on stage.
The vision that came to my mind when trying to capture such energy on canvas was that of a beautiful sun-kissed multicoloured sea landscape covered in a million of mixed seaside plants, on a cliff edge.
It was not easy to find online something that even came closer to the idea that popped to my mind, but I tried my best to find the most similar image. The painting is actually super sparkling, coated with extra glossy painting to give the same perception leaves that are reflecting the sunlight would do.

Namwoo (남우) - The sunny seaside garden 

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Last but definitely not least is the permanent keyboards player, Sangkun (상건), one of the pillars and reference points for the the band with his strong yet extremely calm personality and aura.
There is somehow a mysterious dark vibe coming from his aura, as well as an aristocratic feeling of intricate patterns, like that of a coral barrier or underwater landscape reflecting on the surface of the seawater.
The picture in my mind is that of the seaside basking in the moonlight, with the ongoing appearance and disappearance of silver stripes caused by the moonlit and the movement of waves. I tried to convey the same feeling in my painting, by creating a complex patter in silver and white. I added a glossy effect to enhance the idea of water reflection, which is particular evident when seeing the painting from different point of views.


Sangkun (상건) - The mysterious moonlight sea


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The variety and complexity of the energies of all the newly acquired members of Midian comes across rather well when seeing all the paintings side by side.

From the bottom of my heart I genuinely wish that this new Midian will reach even more success than ever before and most important, all the recognition that they truly deserve for being such a special musical family.